An Amsterdam landlord has been ordered to repay more than €15,000 to a couple who were paying €1,300 a month for one of his homes.
The tenants first went to the rent tribunal, the Huurcommissie, which set the maximum rent at €504.17.
The tribunal cut the rent further for defects.
For four months the boiler repeatedly failed and a patch of mould more than a metre wide grew in the kitchen, bringing the rent for that period down to €201.67.
Because the mould has still not been fixed, the reduction continues.
Landlord loses in court
The landlord, who rents out nearly fifty other homes, went to court to raise the maximum rent, arguing the energy label was better.
The judge ruled that what counts is the situation when the lease was signed, before a new boiler and a registered label.
The judge also rejected his claim that the tenants caused the mould.
The couple kept paying €1,300 a month despite the tribunal ruling.
Over seventeen months they paid €21,488.62 instead of €6,453.37, so the landlord must repay the difference.
Wondering where you stand with your own landlord? Start with what Amsterdam’s rules say for renters.
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