Legal Costs in Disputes

The 'Proceskostenveroordeling'

When a rental dispute escalates to a court case, the question of who pays for the legal costs (proceskosten) becomes critical. The general rule in the Dutch legal system is that the losing party pays. At the end of a case, the judge will issue a proceskostenveroordeling, an order that compels the losing party to pay the legal costs of the winning party. These costs include court fees (griffierecht), bailiff's fees, and a contribution towards the winner's attorney's fees (salaris gemachtigde).

However, there is a very important caveat that many people misunderstand. The contribution towards the attorney's fees is not based on the actual bill the winner received from their lawyer. Instead, the court awards a standardized, fixed amount based on a points system (liquidatietarief). The number of points depends on the complexity of the case and the actions taken (e.g., filing the claim, attending a hearing). This standardized amount is almost always lower—often significantly lower—than the actual fees charged by the lawyer. This means that even if you win your case completely, you will likely still have to pay a portion of your own lawyer's bill out of pocket. This system is designed to prevent legal costs from spiraling out of control and to discourage parties from running up excessive legal bills.

Clauses in Rental Contracts

Some rental contracts may contain a clause stating that if a dispute arises, the tenant will be responsible for all of the landlord's actual legal costs. Such a clause is generally considered an 'unreasonably onerous' term (onredelijk bezwarend) and is therefore unenforceable against a tenant. A landlord cannot use the rental contract to sidestep the standardized court system for awarding legal costs and place a disproportionate financial burden on the tenant.