The municipality of Breda has been ordered by the court to pay compensation to real estate dealer Marcel Van Hooijdonk. The amount can be up to 1.4 million euros. According to the judgment, Breda acted incorrectly, incompletely and unlawfully when Van Hooijdonk wanted to sell a former squat on Catharinastraat. The intended buyers, including DJ Tiësto, dropped out because of this.
The plan for Catharinastraat 87-89 in Breda seemed so beautiful in 2016. The ‘rotten tooth in the city’, as mayor Depla once called the former squat, would finally get a good destination. An investment company of Tijs Verwest aka DJ Tiësto wanted to buy the two neglected buildings and rent them out immediately to Villa Boerebonta youth aid organization in Breda that he has a warm heart for.
Incorrect, incomplete and illegal
That was going in the right direction until the purchasing party spoke to the municipality, as the court found in the appeal. According to the judgment, Breda provided Tiësto and associates with incorrect, incomplete and therefore unlawful information. This includes a change in the zoning plan and the necessary permits. According to the municipality, these would not be issued, so that the plans of the investors and Villa Boerebont could be canceled. The deal was called off.
Real estate trader Van Hooijdonk believes that he has suffered considerable financial damage as a result and the judge agrees. The municipality of Breda must therefore pay him compensation. How high it will be, an independent agency must now determine. Van Hooijdonk wants 1,406,000 euros, plus the statutory interest, according to the judgment.
Stiff relationship
The vicissitudes surrounding the sale of the former squat on Catharinastraat are not isolated. The municipality and real estate dealer Van Hooijdonk, who owns more buildings in the city, have a difficult relationship and regularly get into each other’s hair legally.