Landlord must repay over €15,000 for mouldy, overpriced home

An Amsterdam landlord has been ordered to pay more than €15,000 to a couple who rented one of his homes.

They had been paying €1,300 a month.

The tenants, who have lived in the home since 1 November 2024, first took their case to the Huurcommissie, the rent tribunal.

It ruled that the maximum rent was €504.17 a month.

Reductions for boiler and mould

The tribunal also cut the rent further.

For four months the central heating boiler failed for several days at a time, and a patch of mould more than a metre wide grew in the kitchen.

During those four months the rent came to €201.67. The mould has still not been fixed, so the tenants still do not owe the full €504.17.

Energy label dispute in court

The landlord, who rents out nearly fifty other homes, admitted €1,300 was very high.

He still went to court to raise the maximum rent by almost €200, arguing the home’s energy label was better than the points system showed.

The judge disagreed. The landlord only registered an energy label D after a new boiler was installed.

When the tenants signed the lease, no label had been registered and the home was less energy efficient, and under the points system it is that starting situation that counts.

Mould blamed on tenants

The tenants made counterclaims, asking the judge to rule on the defects and rent reductions as well, and asking for a penalty payment to force the landlord to repair the mould.

The landlord said the mould was caused by a cupboard against the wall and by the tenants hardly ventilating. The judge rejected this.

The court did not impose a penalty payment, ruling that the much lower rent should give the landlord enough reason to deal with the mould.

Seventeen months of overpayment

Despite the tribunal’s ruling, the couple kept paying €1,300 a month.

Over seventeen months they paid €21,488.62, when according to the judge it should have been €6,453.37.

That is why the landlord now has to pay the tenants more than €15,000.

If this couple’s fight over rent points and mould has you wondering where you stand with your own landlord, start with what Amsterdam’s rules say for renters.

Source: AD