Rental law: Rental agreement without signature

Questioner

Our company rents out homes via the Vacancy Act. A candidate has indicated that he would like to rent a home (by email) and has provided all his details (proof of identity, income details, etc.). The concept rental agreement has been drawn up and sent by email to the tenant for checking. Now, more than a week later, the candidate indicates that he has found another home and is renouncing the home. Can he be held to the rental agreement?

Lawyer

In principle, there is no cooling-off period for signing a lease. This is a big difference with signing a purchase contract, where this is the case. You can claim one month's rent from the tenant. Please feel free to contact me for further information.

Lawyer

The question is whether an agreement has already been reached, despite the fact that the lease has not yet been signed. Did the potential tenant give his 'approval' by email before or after you sent him the lease in draft form?

Lawyer

In order to answer the question of whether you can hold the tenant to the agreement, it must first be determined whether a rental agreement has actually been concluded. A written agreement is not required for this. The rent can also have been agreed upon verbally. A rental agreement is concluded as soon as the parties have reached agreement on the essential parts of the agreement, namely the object to be rented, the price and the duration of the start date of the rental. If you have already reached agreement with the tenant on these points, either verbally or in correspondence, you can hold the tenant to the agreement and in principle demand compliance with the agreement. However, this is only partially useful, as the tenant is entitled to terminate the lease agreement with a notice period of 1 month, so that the lease will still end. In this context, the parties agree that the tenant will pay 1 month's rent as compensation for his shortcomings. You can also hold the tenant to the agreement and claim payment of the rent until the final end date of the agreement. I am specialized in tenancy law and if desired I am happy to assist you in this matter. If you have any questions or would like legal assistance, please feel free to contact me without obligation and free of charge.

Questioner

Thank you very much for all your responses. I will communicate this to the candidate.

Lawyer

Success!

Lawyer

I wish you the best of luck with that.