On May 26, 2018, an article about the Nijmegen landlord Ton Hendriks. Under pressure from Bumarang, Hendriks promised to reimburse hundreds of tenants for the contract costs they paid.

Quote 500 member Hendriks gained national fame in 2017 through a fight with BNN presenter Tim Hofman. Hofman represented a group of tenants with complaints about their home for the #BOOS program. The meeting turned into a fight and Hofman was left with a broken jaw.

Unjustified contract costs

Tenants of an apartment complex on the Neerbosscheweg in Nijmegen had to pay Hendriks 500 euros in cash contract costs at the start of the rental contract. Hendriks charged costs for, among other things, registration, viewing and use of the keys.

Hendriks admits that this was wrong. Under pressure from Bumarang, Hendriks has decided to partially reimburse the contract costs. Hendriks has made a remarkable proposal to 250 tenants. Hendriks’ offer is to immediately pay back 200 euros and convert the remainder into a deposit that will be refunded after the contract ends.

Proposal not legally tenable

Hendriks’ proposal is remarkable and legally untenable. Hendriks admits to having wrongly charged costs. But instead of paying back the entire amount immediately, he makes a proposal to pay back only part of it now. The remainder is converted into a deposit that will be settled at the end of the rental contract. If there is damage, the repair costs will be deducted from the deposit. The question is therefore whether the full contract costs will ultimately be reimbursed.

It is not unusual for a landlord to ask for a deposit. The deposit can be used to repair damage or in the event of rent arrears. There are strict rules attached to this. The basic principle of the deposit is that it is agreed upon at the start of the rental contract. Agreements can then be made about what the deposit can be used for and within what period it must be repaid.

In this case no deposit has been agreed. Unilaterally converting the contract costs claim into a deposit is not permitted. We see Hendriks’ offer as an attempt to only partially reimburse the contract costs. The tenant remains dependent on Hendriks for the part that is converted into a deposit. If Hendriks believes that the accommodation is not delivered properly, the deposit will not be refunded.

We believe that the contract costs should be reimbursed immediately and in full. In our view, settlement or conversion is not possible.

Drop in the bucket

The proposal is also remarkable because Hendriks has only contacted 250 tenants. The complex on Neerbosscheweg consists of 300 apartments. It is known that Hendriks already charged contract costs to tenants in 2010.

We assume that at least 1,000 tenants have paid contract costs to Hendriks. There are probably even more. Based on this estimate, more than 500,000 euros have been charged since 2010. The fact that Hendriks has written to 250 tenants – and has now repaid dozens of them – seems no more than a drop in the ocean.

The role of Bumarang

The case started because Bumarang, then still under the name “Tradens”, advertised an immediate refund of 100 euros in exchange for the claim for contract and administration costs. Ten tenants took advantage of this and received an immediate refund.

These tenants did not want the hassle of reclaiming the contract costs themselves. Reclaiming contract costs often means a costly and time-consuming procedure before the subdistrict court, and the outcome is uncertain! This leads to many tenants leaving it at that. Because it usually involves hundreds of euros, this is a huge shame.

Final attempt

In a last-ditch effort to prevent more tenants from using Bumarang’s services, Hendriks decided to partially reimburse the contract costs.

The ten claims we have on Hendriks have now been partially paid. It is our expectation that we will have to go through court proceedings for the remainder. This procedure is expected to take approximately one year. In the meantime, we will try to contact more tenants and former tenants of Hendriks to inform them that they can reclaim the contract costs.

What next?

We believe that contract costs should be direct and fully refunded. Not only to current tenants, but to everyone who has paid contract costs to Hendriks in the past. We advise these tenants not to agree to Hendriks’ current offer. We are ready for all Ton Hendriks tenants to help them recover their contract costs now.

Receive contract costs yourself?

Have you also paid contract or administration costs in the past five years and are you curious whether you can get these back? Please contact with us! We are happy to look at the possibilities with you.