Can landlord refuse new tenant?

Questioner

Together with two other housemates I rent a house from a private landlord. One of the two housemates will be living together and leaving the house on October 1st. The other housemate and I have therefore started looking for a new housemate. A few days ago we emailed our landlord that we want to make a contract change because someone is leaving and the new girl is moving in on October 1st. Our landlord then emailed back the following: “Because we want to sell in the (near) future, we are no longer accepting new tenants. I think it would be wise to make an appointment in which we can discuss the consequences of the new situation.” This came completely out of the blue for us. Our questions are therefore: Can our landlord just do this without prior notice? How many rights does the new girl have, if she already gave notice to terminate her lease at her old house for this? Do my other roommate and I now have to split the rent in half? (That is unaffordable for us) We read online that a landlord can evict us if he wants to renovate; can it really be that easy? Or do we have rights in this too?

Lawyer

That depends on whether the contract states that you can choose yourself or that it is only use. If it is in the contract, the landlord cannot simply change it. If it is not in the contract, the landlord can terminate that right with a reasonable term. Mick Veldhuijsen