The Owner's Collective Responsibility
In the Netherlands, the direct equivalent of a Homeowner's Association (HOA) fee is the VvE-bijdrage, the mandatory monthly contribution that every apartment owner must pay to the Vereniging van Eigenaren (VvE), or Owner's Association. This fund is used to pay for the collective expenses of the building, such as major maintenance to the roof and facade, the building's insurance (opstalverzekering), cleaning of common areas, electricity for the lift, and administration fees. For a tenant, the most important thing to understand is this: the VvE-bijdrage is fundamentally and exclusively a cost for the property owner (your landlord).
A Clear Line: It is the Landlord's Bill
A tenant should never be asked to pay the VvE-bijdrage directly, nor should it appear as a single, unexplained lump sum on their annual service charge settlement. The landlord's membership and financial obligations to the VvE are a core part of their responsibility as an owner. These costs are, in theory, covered by the kale huur (basic rent) that the tenant pays. The basic rent is the landlord's income, which they use to cover their ownership costs, including their mortgage, property tax, insurance, and their VvE contributions.
The Backdoor: How VvE Costs Can Appear in Your Service Charges
While the landlord cannot pass on the entire VvE-bijdrage, they are legally permitted to pass on the cost of specific services that the VvE provides and from which the tenant directly benefits. This is where the potential for confusion and abuse lies. For example, if the total VvE-bijdrage includes line items for:
- Cleaning of the shared staircase
- Electricity for the elevator and hallway lights
- Minor maintenance of a communal garden
...then the landlord can legally include the tenant's share of these specific costs in the monthly servicekosten (service charges). However, they absolutely cannot include the portion of the VvE fee that goes towards the building's insurance, the long-term maintenance fund (MJOP), or the VvE's management fees. A tenant always has the right to demand a detailed, itemized breakdown of the service charges to ensure they are not improperly subsidizing the landlord's ownership costs.
