Living with friends? Discover your options!

Questioner

Hello, Is there a possibility to live together in a house with 3 friends? My father wants to buy a mortgage-free house for us, with the intention that we rent it and therefore live in it. However, the municipality states that you need an environmental permit for 3 or more people. After calling, we came to the conclusion that this will quickly cost 5000 euros without any certainty. Is there a possibility to live together if I enter into a cohabitation contract with one of my friends and the other two do the same? In a cohabitation contract we can include whatever we want. This means that we indicate that we pay for groceries and rent together but want to keep everything else separate. If we dissolve the cohabitation contract, this will have no further consequences if I understand it all correctly. So if we have entered into these cohabitation contracts, does this mean that we fall under the two different / unrelated persons and that we can therefore live together? This means that we would not need an environmental permit.

Lawyer

Yes, that is possible, but it will result in you being considered as allowance partners, first check that on the tax authorities' website. Furthermore, a bank will usually not give approval for renting and/or subletting a house.

Questioner

I will look up more information about allowance partner. However, I have one more question. Why will the bank usually not agree to the rental and/or subletting of a house? My father buys this house mortgage-free. This means that it is simply his property that falls into Box 3. According to our research, this should not cause any problems.

Lawyer

Ok then there is nothing wrong. A local regulation or zoning plan could possibly throw a spanner in the works. (renting is then prohibited).

Questioner

Does this mean that when I sign a cohabitation contract with my boyfriend we are automatically allowance partners? If so, does this mean that we only receive healthcare allowance once and no longer per person.

Lawyer

It is possible that the joint income is so high that the right to health care allowance lapses.

Questioner

Income will not be so high that it will expire. Does this mean that one of us will still receive the health care allowance?

Lawyer

You can do a test calculation on the website of the tax authorities. You can only have one allowance partner. http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/themaoverstijgend/rekenhulpen/toeslagen/wie_is_mijn_toeslagpartner Incidentally, any rental agreement, even if it is not licensed by a municipality, is still considered proof that you are not living together for the tax authorities. However, I assume that you recognise each other as allowance partners and that you will share a household.