How can I legally make an urgent request to tenants to pay rent or otherwise face eviction?

Questioner

I have been renting the house next to mine to tenants for a number of years now. At the moment they are 4 months behind on their rent. They have been very behind on their rent for some time now and it has been worse (6 months). Their rent includes gas/water/electricity. A family with 2 small children (0 and 3) lives there. In addition to the fact that they are very behind on their rent, the house is seriously neglected and I can see from the mail I receive for them that they have serious financial problems. In previous months I have talked to them about cleaning up and paying the rent arrears. I have been very understanding and helpful. At the moment I feel that this cannot continue and that I am no longer helping these people by being lenient and letting them continue to fall behind on their rent. I have contacted my GP and she has told me to contact you about how I can approach the process of collecting the rent. I would prefer that these people look for another home, also because the home is very neglected and I am very worried about the children. I have also contacted Stichting Veilig Thuis about this. However, they cannot help me because there are no concrete indications of abuse. I am hoping you can help me with the issue of rent collection and possibly an eviction. Thank you in advance. Yours sincerely,

Lawyer

This is an unpleasant situation because you are so closely involved with the tenants. But they do need to take good care of your house and pay the rent. You can talk to them to see if the problems are being addressed. You can also do this after you have written the letter. Deferred maintenance is also a reason that can apply for termination, but it must be very serious. You can mention it together with the rent that has not been paid. You can mention your own conditions and the law. Normally, two to three months is required to request termination and eviction. I can help you with writing a proper letter so that the distance between the parties is somewhat greater.