A student is not allowed to live in her apartment in West with her two girlfriends. The student became the owner in 2019 after taking over the house from her father. Her girlfriends are actually tenants and that is against the law, says the judge.
The apartment is part of a building that was split in 2018. According to the so-called division deed, an apartment must be used for a specific purpose. It is not allowed to deviate from this, unless the VvE of the building agrees.
Tenants or roommates
But in this case, the VvE does not do that. In fact, the association went to court to object. She points to the current destination of the apartments, which states that room rentals are not allowed.
The students do not see themselves as tenants, but as roommates, for which there is an exception in the deed of division. The friends do not pay rent, they say, but only contribute to share the costs.
Compensation
The court does not agree: “Giving use of part of an apartment in exchange for a fee, as here, is legally a lease,” says the judge. “This is regardless of what the student and her friends call the situation and whether there is a written contract.”
The judge also finds it unlikely that the students are roommates instead of tenants. “That would mean that a housemate can in fact also be a room tenant. That goes completely against the unmistakable intention of prohibiting room rental and is therefore implausible.”
Penalty payment
The judge judges that the students must stop the current construction within three months. A penalty of EUR 250 will be imposed for each day after that period. The total sum can amount to a maximum of 25,000 euros.