Can the new owner of my chalet simply change the contract terms?

Questioner

Dear Sir/Madam, I have been renting a holiday chalet for about a year now. The owner of the chalet has now sold this chalet to her brother-in-law. He called me to tell me that with the takeover of the chalet, he wants to increase the rent by 75 euros and in addition he will also ask me for park costs and tax of approximately 35 euros per month. When I agreed on the rental contract at the time I did not have to pay this, she took care of it. Now my question is, can the new owner of the chalet just do this through his new contract? From what I see on the internet, it is a matter of purchase not breaking lease, so in my opinion he should simply keep the current contract in place. My old landlord was supposed to give me a copy of the contract at the time, but this never happened, and I trusted that she would do so in due course. I asked for it a few times last year and each time she said, yes, I will drop it off soon. Now I texted her to ask for the contract after all and she now says, yes, that doesn't matter anymore, because it was a contract for six months so it expires with the sale to my brother-in-law. It seems to me that this contract has been tacitly renewed because I have been using it for over a year now and want to continue doing so. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards,

Lawyer

You are right: purchase does not break rent and increases must have been agreed.

Questioner

Dear Mrs. Ferwerda, Thank you very much for your quick response. I would like to hear from you how this is now with the fact that I never received the lease from her. How can I now make myself strong against the new landlord without having the contract with the previous owner in my possession? He called yesterday and said that the new contract I have to sign is a matter of accepting it or I get two months to find something new, but that can't just happen even though he is the owner of this chalet now? Kind regards, Jeroen Dorsman

Questioner

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Lawyer

The plaintiff must prove otherwise and he cannot. You can prove the existence of a tenancy relationship and the price. He will have to start an eviction order. (what was the duration of the contract, every six months then extension?) Do you actually live there?

Questioner

Ok that's good to hear, So without a contract he can't change anything about my current situation regarding rent and implement extra costs. Good to hear. Officially I don't live there, but in practice I do, but given the fact that I am registered with my parents after my divorce and have two children that I have with me on the weekends, there is no other choice for me than to stay in this chalet because there is no room for me and two children at my parents' house and besides, they cannot handle it mentally. The landlord was aware that I would be staying here permanently by the way! The contract was for six months with tacit renewal, so after six months I did not have to sign a new contract with her and I continued to rent and therefore pay rent every month. Thank you very much for this information! I appreciate you taking the time to answer me so quickly. The new landlord will come by with the contract later, but I can just tell him this to make it clear that I am not doing anything wrong by not agreeing to the new contract. In principle, he should be aware of the regulations regarding this. Ok thanks again for the quick response, because at first I was inclined to just agree because you think you have your back against the wall. Kind regards.

Questioner

I just had a conversation with the landlord. He says that if I don't agree, and he gets the authorities involved, then I don't have a leg to stand on. Because this is not about living, but about recreational use of the chalet. I will lose if he gets all the agencies involved because he has been through this several times and he has won every time he said. I said that I had obtained information from you and that he cannot just throw me out even though I do not have the old contract in my possession. the current basic rent is 600 euros, he wants to make that 675 plus the 35 euros for park costs etc. According to him, that is also in the contract that I had with his sister-in-law and that I would have to pay her those costs for a whole year at the end of our contract. I can't check this because I don't have the contract, but I think she said that she would pay those costs. What is wise to do now? If I agree, my monthly payments will be much higher, if I do not agree, I will have to be out by the end of February, according to him. I still hope for an answer to this question. Kind regards.

Lawyer

If you occupy the chalet with the landlord's knowledge, it may even be the case that your second contract is considered to be one of indefinite duration! But in the least, you can still use it for another six months. If the landlord thinks otherwise, he can go to the authorities, if he knows the ins and outs (but I don't think so). He simply has to show the contract, it is possible that you have agreed on increases in terms. But do you also think about the situation of an indefinite rental contract?