Example cases

A tenant of a room on the Ruygenhoeklaan in Utrecht paid € 2,766.84 annually in service costs. On behalf of this tenant, Bumarang has initiated proceedings with the Rent Assessment Committee to determine the actual costs incurred by the landlord. Only those costs may be passed on to the tenant.

The Rental Committee ruled that the tenant’s payment obligation per year was € 972.53. Because the tenant rented the room for two years, he had paid more than 1,900 euros too much in total.

On behalf of the tenant of a house in the old city center of Haarlem on the Ravelingsteeg, Bumarang has had the rental price of 1350 euros assessed by the Rent Tribunal who lowered the price to € 621.79. A difference of € 728.21 per month. The reduction saves the tenant € 8,738.52 per year.

We regularly see that rents are hundreds of euros per month too expensive. Some tenants are shocked by this and decide to leave it that way because of the big difference. The tenants in the example have almost 9,000 euros left over annually due to the reduction. It is good to remember that a higher rent is at the expense of you, as a tenant. Take care of yourself and don’t pay an unfair rent.

Correction of the rental price is often only possible in the first six months of the rental contract. The rent will then be reduced retroactively. In some cases, a longer period applies for the rent correction. This was also the case for the tenants of a house on the Westerstraat in Enschede. The rental contract was a temporary contract with a maximum term of two years.

For this type of contract, the rent can be corrected up to 6 months after the end of the fixed period (ie up to 2.5 years after the starting date). This tenant was waiting for his temporary contract to be extended. From that moment on, the landlord could no longer terminate the contract. Bumarang arranged a rent reduction of 40 euros per month. Because the contract had already run for 2.5 years and the rent reduction took effect from the start of the contract, the tenant received more than 1,000 euros back.

In addition to the basic rent, tenants often also pay service costs. Service costs are all costs that you pay to the landlord in addition to the basic rent. You can think of gas, water and electricity, but sometimes also furnishing, internet and cleaning are provided by the landlord. A landlord may only pass on the costs actually incurred. A landlord must prove these costs with an annual statement.

The tenants of a house on the Soestdijksekade in The Hague have had their settlement checked with the Rent Tribunal via Bumarang. The tenants paid 115 euros every month in upholstery costs. The Rent Tribunal set the service costs at 24 euros for the whole year! Due to Bumarang, the landlord had to repay more than 1,300 euros per year.