The provisions of the Dutch Tenant/Landlord Consultation Act gives the following rights to residents’ committees.
Right of Information
We are entitled to information about current policies by request. The landlord has to actively inform us about any proposed policy changes on:
- rent costs;
- rental and allocation policies;
- general terms and conditions of rental contracts;
- services included in service costs;
- plans for demolishing and renovating housing;
- plans for selling housing;
- maintenance and management;
- intention of landlord to merge with another company;
- policy on neighborhood livability and neighborhood restructuring;
- policy on contributions to housing for the elderly, disabled and those in need of care or assistance;
- landlord’s complaint committee rulings.
Right of Advice
If the landlord wants to make any changes in his policies, the committee has the right of advice. The process is as follows:
- Landlord informs the committee of intended policy changes.
- The landlord and the committee meet to discuss the details and resolve any ambiguities.
- The committee then has six weeks to give their advice. The landlord can only change the policy after they have received and responded to the advice.
- The landlord can only deviate from the advice if they provide a written motivation for this deviation within 14 days.
Right of Dialogue
The landlord has to speak to the committee when the committee requests a meeting, either on a proposed policy change or in response any information provided by the landlord. Besides that, the law mandates that the landlord meets with the committee at least once a year.
The committee and landlord decide jointly which topics get discussed during these meetings.