It will be easier to get a temporary rent reduction for people who have payment problems due to the corona crisis. Minister Ollongren of the Interior urgently introduced a law to make this possible.
Landlords have been commissioned to provide custom work to tenants who have financial problems due to corona. Temporarily lowering the rent is already one of the options. However, such a temporary reduction is not always an attractive option for landlords, because they are not legally able to return the rent to the original level after the agreed period.
“I think it is important to give landlords certainty about this legal option as soon as possible, so that they are not confronted with an unintended permanent rent reduction due to their leniency or for this reason do not want to take advantage of the possibility of a temporary rent discount” , writes Ollongren.
Customization
The minister’s proposal is contained in a letter she sent to the Senate. It is, among other things, a response to a motion by the House that called for the freezing of rents in the free and social sector on 1 July. However, the minister is not in favor of this, because there are also people who do not need this financial support. Better to look at it case by case, she says.
It remains for the landlord to determine what that customization entails. The minister is still talking to landlord organizations.
In the Parool, SP Senator Tiny Kox, who tabled the motion, is disappointed with the “inelegant” letter. “The Senate does not often pass motions. If that does happen, we attach importance to the minister executing or explaining why this is not possible. In this letter I read a lot of spider but little wool.”
Lease extension
The minister also said in the letter that she wanted to extend the Temporary Extension of Leases Act by two months. This could also temporarily extend contracts that expire in July or August. “This offers a tenant more peace and space to find replacement housing,” writes Ollongren.
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