Reclaiming brokerage costs in case of rental problems

Questioner

Dear legal aid office, I read many articles about the unjustified charging of brokerage fees when concluding a rental agreement with a broker. Since I donated an amount of 1100 euros to this when moving last year, it seemed only fair to me to ask for this back. The office in question wanted to speak to me by phone (not by email), I explained the situation. That I am not an expert but that I have come across online that it is not allowed to charge brokerage costs since I only responded to the house, and did not ask them to find a house for me. In summary, the director came up with the following argument: - I don't understand why you've been living there happily for years and now you're coming up with this (I've been living there for a year and I've really had a lot of hassle that I'm now solving myself) - I recently bought a BMW for 80,000 euros, now I have calculated all the parts myself and it only costs 20,000 euros, so I am going back to the dealer to ask for the remaining money back - do you think we have been around for 20 years if things happen that are not allowed by law? - shouldn't you do a better job of investigating your affairs before informing us, I don't think there's any point in really working on it for such a low amount. - You don't think we're going to give money back every time, do you? I can't find on the broker's website whether they are affiliated with anything to send a complaint letter. What steps should I take now? Thank you regards

Lawyer

Day, from the comments you may conclude that the director does not intend to give you your money back. I think it is wise to at least formulate your position in a letter. Then, if you are going to move, you could consider offsetting the brokerage costs against the outstanding rent. If you have also paid a deposit, then perhaps suspend/offset the rent for two months. However, I advise you to have a lawyer look at the problem, if necessary I can help you with that.

Lawyer

Hello, offsetting the rent as proposed by Ms. Ferwerda is not wise. You owe the rent to the landlord and not to the real estate agent, since you probably concluded the lease with the landlord. There are therefore two separate legal relationships, so offsetting the claim on the real estate agent with the debt to the landlord is not possible. I advise you to send a formal notice with the request for reimbursement of the costs. To clarify your rights, I refer you to an article on this subject via the link below. http://www.insightlegal.nl/huurrecht/geen-bemiddelingkosten-huur-zelfstandige-woning- advocaten-huurrecht/

Questioner

both, thanks for your quick response! The director of the broker is indeed not planning to pay back the brokerage costs. I hope to continue living in the current situation for some time and the rent/deposit were paid to them once at the time but are otherwise deposited into an account elsewhere. Thanks for the insightlegal article, very enlightening, unfortunately the case does not exactly meet my description and unfortunately I am left with some questions. In the article it concerns an independent home. I do not know exactly whether that is the case with us. I am the main tenant of a house with only a lock on the front door. And 2 friends have a rental agreement for non-independent living space with me. in addition, we do not rent directly from a landlord/private individual, but via a company that can be addressed as a manager (management group). Does this also fall under private individual as mentioned in the article? Perhaps you can give me an estimate of whether it is actually worth hiring a lawyer and going to court. I really have no idea what additional costs could be. thanks again!