The Rent Commission is a government agency that can issue a binding ruling on the amount of the bare rent, defects and the payment obligation for service charges.
The landlord must abide by the Rent Commission's ruling. To obtain a binding ruling, Bumarang initiates proceedings at the Rent Commission on behalf of the tenant. Bumarang acts as an agent in these proceedings. The work and costs of the proceedings at the Rent Commission shall be at the expense and risk of Bumarang. Proceedings at the Rent Commission take an average of seven months.
The procedure conducted by Bumarang focuses on your rental agreement. The landlord or mediator will be informed that you have used our services. Bumarang will provide only the necessary data to the landlord. This means that only your name will be provided. Bumarang will make it clear to the landlord or intermediary that he only needs to contact us about the procedures.
Bumarang will handle your data with care. If Bumarang cannot make you an appropriate offer, you will be informed immediately. Then your data will be removed from our database.
No, there are no risks to consider. Bumarang always bears the cost of the procedures. We check carefully in advance whether you qualify for our services.
Only when we are convinced of this, we start a procedure. As a tenant you are very well protected in the Netherlands. This means that the landlord cannot terminate the contract because you start a procedure.
Most contracts are open-ended with a minimum rental period of one year. This means that the landlord can only terminate the contract in very exceptional cases. The landlord is bound by legal grounds for termination. These include structural rent arrears or persistent nuisance. This is almost never the case.
Some contracts do allow the landlord to terminate the contract after one or two years. If this is the case, it will be stated in the lease. If you start the procedure within this fixed period, chances are that the contract will not be extended.
Before we start proceedings, we always take a good look at your rental contract. We then inform you in detail about your rights and obligations. This way you know exactly where you stand. To avoid ambiguities, we advise you to contact us first before you contact your landlord yourself.
In most cases, your landlord cannot terminate the lease. We would be happy to advise you on the best thing to do. Please contact us to discuss your situation.
You terminate the lease by sending a termination letter by registered mail to the landlord. You do this at least 1 month before you want the contract to end. On our website you can download a free termination letter. Send this letter on time and by registered mail to the landlord and you will be sure that your rental contract ends on the desired date.
Didn't your landlord refund the security deposit? In most cases, the landlord is required to refund the security deposit. Only when there is demonstrable damage to the rented property caused by you, or when you are in arrears with your rent, can part or all of the deposit be withheld.
Proving damage to the rented property is quite a chore for the landlord. A recording statement must be made at the start of the lease. In most cases, this is missing. Damage to the rented property cannot be proven and the landlord must refund the deposit.
Have you not received your deposit back? Please contact Bumarang. Often we can give you back a large part of the deposit immediately. We will then contact the landlord to recover the full deposit.
The rent of a property is subject to strict rules. The maximum rent can be calculated using a point system. This includes the size of the house, its energy efficiency, its facilities and its value under the Valuation of Immovable Property Act.
The amount of points corresponds to a maximum rent. If the rent charged by the landlord is higher than the rent based on the points, the rent can be reduced.
If we suspect that the rent is too high then we start a procedure at the Rent Commission. This is a government agency that can give a binding ruling on the amount of rent. The Rent Commission's ruling is binding. After the Rent Commission's ruling, you can pay the lower rent.
Bumarang always works on a no cure, no pay basis. This means that it costs you nothing if we fail to help you.
For the reduction of the bare rent, Bumarang works with an immediate rent reduction. Bumarang pays you a fixed amount each month until the rent is reduced by the Rent Commission. From the ruling of the Rent Commission, you yourself will start paying less rent to the landlord. The rent overpaid until the ruling is for Bumarang. We hope that more can be recovered from the landlord than we pay to you. The difference is the profit for Bumarang.
If we do not succeed in reducing your rent then you may keep the amounts received from us.
An example:
Your rent contract started two months ago. The monthly rent is expected to be € 300.00 too high. We offer you € 100.00 per month as an immediate reduction.
For the first two months you will receive € 200.00 directly from us. During the procedure you will receive another € 100.00 every month.
On average, a procedure takes about seven months. In total, you will receive € 900.00 until the decision of the Rent Commission. After the ruling, you will pay € 300.00 less. The difference between the amount you overpay and the amount we pay you is our profit. In this example it is € 1,800.00.
The first step is to send us your lease. Sometimes we need a little more information in addition to that. This is especially about the facilities in the bathroom and kitchen. We then ask you to send some photos. On the basis of the contract and the photos, we will make a more detailed scoring of your home. We then know exactly how we can best help you. Then we will send you an e-mail with more information and a final offer.
No adjustment.
Are you suffering from leaks, mold or another defect in your home? Please contact us. We will gladly look at the possibilities to do something about it with you. You are probably entitled to a substantial reduction in the rent. We are happy to help you with this.
If you are in the first six months of your lease, you can start a procedure with the Rent Commission to lower your rent retroactively. Would you like more information about this? Feel free to contact us. We will be happy to tell you more about the possibilities.
If your contract is older than six months, you can make a proposal for rent reduction. Do you have any questions about this? Please let us know. We will be happy to help you. You can find a sample rent reduction proposal on our website. You can download this form free of charge.
For rent, it is not possible to check for old contracts to see if you have overpaid. For the service costs, however, it is still possible. Under the frequently asked questions about service costs you can find more information about the possibilities.
Haven't you moved in yet, but will you be moving in the near future? Then contact us soon. We can see if we can handle your procedure as a matter of urgency.
All charges in addition to the bare rent are service charges. The most common service charges are gas, water and electricity, internet, upholstery and furnishings. Service charges are paid in advance. The landlord has to settle this every year. The service charge statement is an overview of all costs incurred by the landlord.
The landlord is not allowed to make a profit on the service charge. If you have overpaid then you must get this back, even if you have moved out. Especially private landlords overcharge service charges and do not provide a statement. This causes tenants to lose a lot of money. Bumarang helps you recover overpaid service charges.
Bumarang will immediately pay you an amount based on the amount and composition of the rent and the length of the rental period. After we have paid you, Bumarang starts the necessary procedures at its own expense and risk to determine whether you have overpaid. If any amount is recovered after the procedures, it is for Bumarang.
Bumarang hopes that the amount returned is higher than the amount paid to you. The difference is our profit. If this amount is less than the amount Bumarang paid to you, then we make a loss. This is our risk. You do not have to pay anything back to us.
Bumarang calculates the service charge offer based on the contents of your lease. It is particularly important here how long the rental period has been and how the rent was composed. It is also important that we get a picture of the living situation.
For the contract costs and mediation costs, we look at the amount paid. In addition, the specific situation plays an important role. Sometimes the letting agent is bankrupt. In that case, the mediation fees cannot be recovered. For mediation and contract fees, it is important that you can prove that you paid the amount. A bank transfer or a receipt are very important for this.
If there are no service charges in your rental contract then you probably pay an all-in price. This is not allowed in the Netherlands, a rent must be split into bare rent and service charges. If you pay an all-in price. If so, we would be happy to look with you at the possibilities of splitting the price. In addition, you may have paid contract or mediation fees. We are happy to make you an offer to get part of this back immediately.
It is quite possible to start proceedings for an old lease. In fact, we prefer it. In that case, there is no longer a relationship with the landlord that plays a role. Service charges can be reviewed for reasonableness up to 2.5 years after the year in which you paid the service charge.
So for service charges you paid in 2015, you can start proceedings until July 1, 2018. Service charges paid in 2016 can be reviewed until July 1, 2019. If you have a contract that expired in 2015. Then make sure you have started proceedings by July 1, 2018. Are you too late? Then you can no longer start proceedings for that contract.
Landlords often make mistakes in service charge statements. Common mistakes include the landlord making an incorrect calculation, charging non-agreed cost items, or charging costs that are legally the landlord's responsibility.
Want to know if your settlement statement is correct? Send the settlement statement to us or give us a call. We'll be happy to look at your statement and help you get a correct one.
