The VvE and the Tenant's Wallet
When you rent an apartment in the Netherlands, you are living in a property that is likely part of a Vereniging van Eigenaren (VvE), or Owner's Association. Every person who owns an apartment in the building is a mandatory member of this association, which is responsible for the collective management and maintenance of the building's common areas—the roof, facade, foundation, stairwell, elevator, etc. To cover the costs of this maintenance, insurance, and management, each owner pays a mandatory monthly contribution, often referred to as the VvE contribution or condominium fee. While this is fundamentally a cost for the property owner (your landlord), it has direct and often misunderstood implications for the tenant. The critical question is: which parts of this fee can the landlord legally pass on to the person renting the apartment? The answer is far more restrictive than many landlords would have you believe.
What Can Be Legally Passed to the Tenant?
The Dutch rental law is very clear on this point: a landlord cannot simply forward their entire VvE bill to the tenant. The only costs that can be passed on are those that fall under the legal definition of 'service charges' (servicekosten). These are costs related to services that the tenant directly benefits from. For example, if the VvE contribution includes a component for the electricity used by the elevator and the lights in the stairwell, or for the regular cleaning of the common hallways, these specific costs can be included in the tenant's service charges. Similarly, the cost of a maintenance contract for the elevator (liftcontract) or minor garden maintenance for a shared courtyard could also be passed on. The key principle is that it must be a real service provided, not a cost related to the ownership or long-term preservation of the property itself.
What Absolutely Cannot Be Passed On
This is where tenants need to be vigilant, as many landlords either ignore or are ignorant of these rules. The vast majority of a typical VvE contribution is composed of costs that are strictly the owner's responsibility and can never be charged to a tenant. These include:
- Contributions to the sinking fund (
MJOP): A large part of the VvE fee goes into a long-term maintenance fund (meerjarenonderhoudsplan or reservefonds) to save for major future repairs like a roof replacement or facade renovation. This is a core ownership cost and is not the tenant's responsibility.
- Building Insurance (
Opstalverzekering): The insurance for the building structure itself is a classic owner's cost.
- VvE Management Fees: The fees paid to a professional administrator (
VvE-beheerder) to manage the association's finances and meetings are an owner's expense.
- Property Taxes: Any property-related taxes, like the
onroerendezaakbelasting (OZB), are for the owner's account.
The Reality: Hidden in the Service Charges
The most common way landlords improperly charge tenants for VvE costs is by burying them within a vague, non-itemized servicekosten advance. The tenant pays a lump sum each month for 'services', with no clear breakdown of what this covers. At the end of the year, the landlord may fail to provide the legally required detailed settlement (jaarafrekening), or they may provide one that includes a line item like 'VvE contribution' without specifying which parts. This is illegal. A tenant has the right to demand a precise, itemized breakdown of all service charges. If you see 'VvE-bijdrage' on your settlement, you should immediately question it and ask for the underlying VvE documents to verify that you are only being charged for the allowable service components. This is a frequent point of dispute brought before the Huurcommissie (Rent Tribunal), which consistently rules in favor of tenants when landlords improperly pass on ownership costs.
