Want to know about rent increase? Discover your rights!

Questioner

I live in a student house with 2 other students. It is a house that my landlord rents to us. Now my landlord wants to increase the rent by almost 10%. Now we would like to know if my landlord has that right, or if he is allowed to increase the rent by a maximum of 3.9%. Thank you very much in advance.

Lawyer

In principle this is not allowed unless it concerns a deregulated rental property. Then this is allowed. The landlord normally has to adhere to fixed rent increases per year. I advise you to inform your landlord of this in writing. If you cannot reach an agreement, I would be happy to look at your case.

Questioner

How do I know if I live in a deregulated home?

Lawyer

This should be stated in the rental agreement or if the rental price exceeds the limit of 710 euros.

Questioner

I can't find it in my lease. Where would I find it? But I pay 275 euros per month, and so do my housemates. Will we end up above that limit in total?

Lawyer

You are below that limit and therefore the landlord is not allowed to increase the rent by 10%. I advise you to object to the increase. If the landlord persists, please contact me for further assistance.

Lawyer

Even in the case of a deregulated rental property, the landlord may not simply increase the rent by 10%. First of all, what is stated in the rental contract is important. In addition, the legislator offers landlords of deregulated residential property the possibility to increase the rent to market conform once a year at most. The landlord may therefore in any case not increase the rent to more than the market conform rent. However, ultimately the judge will test the reasonableness of the new rent. I am a lawyer specialized in real estate law; tenancy law is an important part of that. If you qualify for a legal aid (that is legal aid subsidized by the government) then I can assist you on that basis.

Questioner

But it is not entirely clear to me whether or not we are a liberal rental property. We live here with 3 students and we each pay a rent of 275 euros per month. Our landlord therefore receives three times 275 euros per month for this house. This is above 710 euros. Does this mean that we are a liberal rental property?

Lawyer

No, the rents are normally not added together, unless it has been clearly agreed that the rent is a fixed amount that you contribute to. If this fixed price is more than 710 euros, you can assume that it concerns a deregulated rental property.

Lawyer

It depends on what is stated in your rental agreement. If you rent the entire home together, the rents must be added together. If you each rent a room with use of common areas, then it is a question of renting non-independent living space (room rent) and the rents are not added together.