Report abuses by landlords

You can file a complaint about a landlord if:

• you are looking for a private rental property (not from a housing association).
• you are renting a residential property from a private landlord or a rental agency. A rental agency brings tenants in contact with private landlords.
• you are a foreign employee (migrant worker) with a worker-tenant agreement. In this case, you are working and are housed through an employment agency.

Do you rent through a housing association? If so, you can submit your complaint to the association renting out the property. The association will deal with the complaint itself.

You can report abuses in the following situations.

The landlord

• discriminates against you  
• threatens you or makes you feel scared
• asks too high of a deposit (exceeds 2 times the basic rent)   
• does not provide the rental agreement in writing 
• does not provide good information about:  
• your rights and duties as a tenant (if they have not been included in the rental agreement)
• the amount of the deposit and the date when you will get the deposit back after termination of the rental agreement
• the contact details where the tenant can reach the landlord 
• the contact details for the municipal hotline for complaints about landlords
• for service costs: you must get a full breakdown of the costs

The rental agency:

• charges you mediation fees

• your name, address, telephone number and email address. You can also file a complaint anonymously. You will then not need to provide your details.
• contact details for the landlord or the rental agency you are reporting
• the address of the rental property  
• description of the situation, if possible with photos and supporting documents 

After you file a complaint

• You will receive a copy of your complaint. The municipality will assess your complaint as quickly as possible. It is not always possible to inform you about this. For example, if you filed the complaint anonymously.
• After investigating your complaint: does it seem like the rental property is not following the rules? The municipality can then oblige the landlord to rent out the property according to the rules. Or it will give the landlord a fine. If the situation is not extremely urgent, the municipality will follow up on the complaint later. 

Free.

A municipal official will discuss with you how it can address the situation. How long it will take to resolve the complaint depends on the particular situation. It is possible that the Begin link: Fair Rent Team (Huurteam), end link. could deal with your complaint. You will then receive notification from the municipality.

Screening complaints

The municipality is unable to check, use or resolve all complaints. Sometimes it needs to build up a case and this takes time. It is therefore very important to document your report well. The municipality will always deal with complaints about serious situations and reports with good accompanying information.

Good Landlordship Act

The Good Landlordship Act came into force on 1 July 2023. The law is intended to protect people looking for a rental property, tenants and foreign employees (migrant workers) with a worker-tenant agreement. Under the new law every municipality must have a hotline for complaints about landlords. Read more about the Begin link: Good Landlordship Act, end link. .

• Begin link: Good Landlordship Act, end link.
• Begin link: Rental advice from the Fair Rent Team, end link.
• Begin link: Rental Helpdesk (Huurbalie), end link.
• Begin link: The Hague Housing Inspection Bureau, end link.