Rent arrears and ontruiming: how an eviction works, step by step

In the Netherlands a landlord cannot decide on their own to remove a tenant who is behind with the rent. Changing the lock, putting belongings outside or cutting off the electricity and water is unlawful. An eviction needs a judgment from a kantonrechtersubdistrict judge and a deurwaarderbailiff to carry it out. The process takes time, and at every stage there are routes the tenant can take.

In this post we go through the letters that arrive over rent arrears in the order in which they come.

The order of the letters

With rent arrears the process usually runs in the order below. The debt can be settled at any stage, but each further stage adds new costs to it.

1. Betalingsherinneringpayment reminder. The first reminder that the rent has not been paid, without any costs.
2. Veertiendagenbrieffourteen-day letter · The final warning that must be sent before collection costs can be added. The law requires a letter giving the debtor 14 days to pay before collection costs can be added. If nothing is paid within that period, incassokostencollection costs are added; these are at least 40 euro.
3. Report to the municipality. Once the arrears are more than 30 days old, and after at least one written reminder, the landlord reports the situation to the municipality.
4. Letter from a deurwaarderbailiff. The claim has been handed to a bailiff, and new costs are added to the debt.
5. Dagvaardingsummons. The landlord summons the tenant before the kantonrechtersubdistrict judge to have the tenancy terminated and the home cleared.
6. Vonniscourt judgment. The judge gives judgment.
7. Service and ontruimingeviction. The deurwaarderbailiff serves the judgment and announces the eviction date.

The letter from the municipality

Since 1 January 2021, housing associations (woningcorporaties) and private landlords have been required to report rent arrears to the municipality at an early stage. This is called vroegsignaleringearly warning · The landlord reporting rent arrears to the municipality. The landlord first tries to make contact with the tenant, sends at least one written reminder, and reports once the arrears are more than 30 days old.

After receiving the report, the municipality must make the tenant an offer of help within 4 weeks. The offer can come by letter, by phone or through a home visit from a municipal worker. Accepting it is not compulsory, and the service is free.

This letter is not a sanction and not an inspection. The municipality does not collect the debt; it offers support to resolve it.

What to do first

Contact the landlord and ask for a written instalment plan. Housing associations often agree to instalments and usually have a set procedure for them. We recommend getting the agreement in writing and paying both the monthly rent and the instalment on time. A new delay can cause the agreement to fall through.

Check your right to huurtoeslagrent allowance. If your income has dropped, you may have become entitled to rent allowance, or to more of it. You apply to Dienst Toeslagen. The allowance is calculated from the month in which you meet the conditions and can also be claimed afterwards; but applying early means the payments start early too.

If there is more than one debt, go to the municipality. Schuldhulpverleningthe municipality's free debt help is free, and the debt counsellor talks to the creditors on your behalf. If it is considered necessary, the counsellor can ask the court for a temporary measure that halts the eviction for up to 6 months. This option is set out in the Faillissementswet, which also governs the Wsnpstatutory debt restructuring, and the request is made by the debt counsellor, not by the tenant.

When a dagvaardingsummons arrives

The dagvaardingsummons states a hearing date or the last day for a written defence. This date must not be missed. If no defence is put in, the judge decides without hearing the tenant (verstekjudgment in default · A judgment given without hearing the defendant, when no defence was put in), and in such a judgment the landlord's claims are usually granted as they stand.

Before the kantonrechtersubdistrict judge you do not need a lawyer. The defence (verweerdefence) can be given in writing or orally at the hearing. At the kantonrechtersubdistrict judge the defendant pays no court fee.

The judge weighs each case on its own circumstances. In established practice 3 months of rent arrears is generally seen as enough to terminate the tenancy, but that is not an automatic rule. In the defence, these points carry weight:

• how much of the debt has been paid and how the rest will be paid,
• whether there is an instalment agreement or a debt process started through the municipality,
• whether the landlord met the duty to report to the municipality,
• whether children or a person in need of care live in the home,
• what caused the debt, for example job loss, a delayed benefit or a divorce.

In some cases the judge does not terminate the tenancy straight away but makes termination conditional on a set payment plan not being kept. That is why it matters to arrive at the hearing with a letter from the municipality's debt counsellor or with a concrete payment plan.

After the judgment

When an eviction is ordered, the deurwaarderbailiff serves the judgment on the tenant and gives a period for leaving the home. In judgments this period is usually 14 days from service, but the judge can set a different one. What counts is the period stated in your own judgment.

An appeal (hoger beroepappeal) can be lodged within 3 months of the judgment. Eviction judgments, however, are usually declared "uitvoerbaar bij voorraad", which means they can be carried out while the appeal is still running. An appeal requires a lawyer. For people on a low income, the Raad voor Rechtsbijstand covers most of the lawyer's costs.

If the debt and all the costs are paid after the judgment, the landlord can decide not to go ahead with the eviction, but is not obliged to. If the landlord does hold off, this is usually recorded in a written last-chance agreement. The terms of that agreement must be kept in full.

Belongings left in the home on the day of the eviction are stored by the municipality for a set period. We recommend finding out from the municipality before the eviction how long they are kept and on what terms you can collect them.

What to look for in the letter

• The sender. Landlord, collection agency, deurwaarderbailiff or municipality: the route to take depends on who sent it.
• The breakdown of the debt. Rent, incassokostencollection costs, interest and bailiff's costs should appear as separate items. If months you have paid show up as owed, you can object with your bank statement.
• The dates. The 14-day period in the veertiendagenbrieffourteen-day letter · The final warning that must be sent before collection costs can be added, the hearing date in the dagvaardingsummons and the eviction date in the service.
• The reference number. Use it with every payment and in every letter.

Letrin's role with these letters

Letrin reads the photo of the letter on your phone and explains what it says in your language: who the letter is from, which stage of the process you are at, how much of the debt is rent and how much is costs, and what happens on which date. To ask for instalments or to explain your situation to the landlord, it prepares a draft reply in formal Dutch, with the translation next to it.

It sets reminders for the dates in the letter: 7 days before, 2 days before, and on the morning of the last day. The hearing date in a dagvaardingsummons is among the dates that most need to be kept.

The photo does not leave your phone. No account is needed, and the first explanations are free.

Help

If you have received a dagvaardingsummons, we recommend contacting Juridisch Loket without delay; their advice is free. The municipality's schuldhulpverleningthe municipality's free debt help and its sociaal raadslieden are free as well. Letrin does not give legal advice; it makes the letter understandable and helps you keep track of the dates. Always check amounts and dates against the original letter.