News item | 13-10-2022 | 13:45
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations signed the covenant ‘Transparency of initial rents’ with industry and interest groups. Through this covenant, potential tenants of a private sector home receive more and clearer information about the property on offer before they sign the lease. This allows them to make a better assessment of whether the house is worth the rent. This also prevents disputes afterwards between tenant and landlord.
More and clearer information in home advertisements
The agreement states which information landlords will in any case include in an advertisement. This concerns, among other things, the rent with a breakdown of any service costs, the surface area and the energy label. It also includes other important information, which is not yet always included in home advertisements. For example, the income requirements, the amount of the deposit, the annual rent increase, the rental period and the type of contract. A new feature is that landlords indicate whether the home has sufficient points according to the home valuation system to be offered in the liberalized segment. Transparency about this up front can prevent disagreements about the rent between tenant and rental afterwards.
As many landlords as possible on board
The Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations signed the covenant with Aedes, IVBN and Vastgoed Belang. This is a best efforts obligation and not a legal requirement. The ambition is that all landlords will state the housing information in advertisements. That is why the signatories are also in talks with rental platforms to agree standard entry fields for the housing variables.
Affordable housing program
Because demand is higher than supply, rents in the private sector are under pressure. This makes it difficult for potential tenants to determine whether a property is worth the requested rent. The covenant improves the information position and protection of the tenant. It is part of the Affordable Housing programme, which focuses on, among other things, the regulation of the mid-market rent.