Rental law and waste tax: Free advice

Questioner

I am a tenant of a non-independent living space, but I have received a bill for waste disposal tax and water board tax. I should not actually have to pay this (in the case of non-independent living space, this is charged to the landlord), but now my contract states that I will have to share this amount with my housemates and that the landlord will not be involved in these payments. Can I still get out of this or is this binding? At the time of signing the contract, I did not know that there were rules about renting a non-independent living space and not having to pay these levies. I can file an objection with the municipality with a copy of my contract stating that it is a non-independent space, but if the landlord finds out, what could be the consequences for us, given that we did sign for this?

Lawyer

It is indeed true that in a non-independent home there is 1 tenant who receives the assessments and who must share this with the other tenants. How this should be done, can be arranged among themselves and possibly put on paper.

Questioner

Link: www.rotterdam.nl/product:waste-of-waste If you click on: Can the Waste Tax assessment be imposed on the tenant? It will clearly state that tenants of a non-independent residential space do not have to pay this. So this doesn't really answer my question.. Does anyone know more about this and can give us some advice? Thank you in advance!

Lawyer

You are absolutely right. I was thinking about the arrangement in connection with another case that I currently had on my desk and that applies to an independent living space. My apologies for confusing the two. The landlord should have settled this via the rent, that you have still received an assessment, you can file an objection with the municipality. with a copy of your rental contract if you have received the assessment from the municipality. You should also request the landlord to adjust the rental agreement and include these costs in the rent. If the landlord does not agree with this, he will have to go to court to continue this in this current manner. Termination for this reason is not allowed. Again, my apologies for confusing the two.

Questioner

It can happen! Good to hear that termination is not possible, but it is a twelve-month contract after which it can be determined whether there is a 'possibility of extension'. Isn't this a reason why they would want us out? And probably call it under a different name? I would find it a shame if I had to look for another house in a year..

Lawyer

If the contract only lasts twelve months, they could choose not to renew the contract again. If this were the reason, you can object to the non-renewal and take it to court. Especially if it was renewed each time before. Then it is up to the judge to decide what to do with it. What the outcome will be is never known. But it would not be right if they did not want to renew the agreement for this reason. If you would like further help and/or advice, please feel free to contact me.