Tenancy Law: Consequences of Illegal Subletting


Questioner

From October 1st I will be living with my boyfriend in Amsterdam. However, I have a nice (rental) house in Utrecht through a private individual that I want to keep. I would like to make my girlfriend happy with it to live there for at least the coming year. Now I know that my landlord has wanted me out of the house for a long time, no idea why. So I would rather not share with him that I want to sublet the house. My rental contract does not state that I am allowed to sublet the house. What are the consequences if I secretly sublet the house and my landlord finds out?

Lawyer

The landlord can then proceed to terminate the lease, I fear for you. Subletting is only allowed with permission and illegal subletting is a valid reason for termination.

Questioner

Thanks Joop for your answer. And besides termination, is there also a possibility that I will receive a fine? For example, if I ask for more rent than I pay myself? If I deregister in Utrecht and register in Amsterdam, will my landlord receive a notification of this by post? And is it correct that the subtenant is allowed to stay in the house (rent protection) if my landlord proceeds to terminate the lease. I would like to hear it!

Lawyer

Fine is only possible if this is stated in the rental agreement. In any case, there is no legal basis to charge a fine because you receive more rent than you pay. As far as I know, the landlord does not receive a direct message. He can request the information, by the way. I am not 100% sure, but when I rented out my own home, I did not receive any notifications of registrations. Finally, the subtenant does indeed have rental protection. He or she can request the landlord to take over the sublease agreement and if he or she refuses, the landlord will also have to go to court to terminate it.

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