Tenant violates VvE rules: court orders eviction

Tenant violates VvE rules: court orders eviction

That owners should adhere to the applicable regulations within their Owners Association (hereinafter: VvE), this is well known to most owners and users. That this is also the case for tenants is less well known. For one Amsterdam tenant, this led to termination of the lease. Real estate law attorney Myrthe de Vries explains how.

CoE regulations directly applicable to tenants

Article 5:120 BW regulates the applicability of the regulations of an MoU for the tenants of the apartments within a building. Namely, the article stipulates that the rules of the VvE on use, management and maintenance of the building, automatically apply to the tenants of the apartment rights. This means that tenants can invoke these provisions, but can also themselves be held accountable for fulfilling their obligations under the regulations. This does not require that there be a user statement signed by the tenant.

Violation of association rules leads to dissolution of lease agreement

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal, in a decision dated January 17, 2017 (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2017:153), without explicitly mentioning Article 5:120 of the Civil Code, gave effect to these obligations for tenants. The case concerned a lease of an apartment in Amsterdam. The landlord had given the tenant in summary proceedings sued for repeated subletting of the home through Airbnb. The owner demanded the eviction of the property. The cantonal court rejected the landlord's claim, however. According to the district judge, the deficiency namely, of insufficient significance to anticipate dissolution and eviction in a proceedings on the merits.

Landlord on appeal: tenant must vacate

The landlord then appeals. According to the landlord, the subletting by the tenant is not only in violation of the lease, but also in violation of the regulations of the VvE. The landlord thus believes that based on the breach of the lease agreement and a violation of the regulations, the eviction can indeed be ordered. This time, the landlord is more successful. In the ruling, the Court ruled that it was plausible dar the tenant had indeed sublet the property several times through Airbnb. Despite warnings from the landlord, the tenant then continued to sublet. This, according to the Court of Appeal, constitutes a violation of the regulations. The Court of Appeal refers to a shortcoming, but what is meant is that the tenant has acted in violation of the regulations, which constitutes unlawful conduct.

Tenants must comply with CoE regulations, or they will fall short

The Court emphasizes the importance for landlords than their tenants abide by the rules of the CoE. Landlords have an interest in ensuring that their tenants do not fall short in their obligations to other owners and occupants. The Court of Appeal also explicitly mentioned that it is not only the landlord who thereby violates the rules of the CoE, but also the tenant himself. Because when VvE rules are violated, the landlord himself also falls short, he has an extra strong interest in ensuring that his tenants behave properly.

Urgent interest in eviction for violation of VvE rules

Decisive for the urgent interest of the landlord is that the Court of Appeal gives great weight to the interest of the landlord to ensure that he himself no longer acts in violation of the rules within the VvE and thereby harms the other owners and residents. The Court ordered the tenant to vacate the apartment within six weeks.

Real estate law attorney in dispute with tenant

It is notable in this ruling that the Court attributed great importance to the landlord's interest in not violating the regulations of the association to act. The emphasis in this judgment is therefore on the obligations towards the VvE and not on the obligations under the lease. Also, in line with Article 5:120 DCC, the Court of Appeal appointed that the tenant's conduct also constitutes an act contrary to the regulations by the tenant himself. So this clearly shows that not only the owners have obligations towards the common owners, but also the tenants have those obligations. Want to know more about what you can do when tenants do not behave properly? Then take contact up with the lawyer real estate of Lexys Lawyers. He or she can also tell you when the VvE can take sanctions, for example, to protect the deny use of an apartment.