Tenancy at Will

A Foreign Legal Concept with No Dutch Equivalent

'Tenancy at will' is a concept from common law systems (like those in the UK, US, and Canada) that has no direct equivalent in Dutch residential rental law. It typically describes a tenancy with no fixed term that either the landlord or the tenant can terminate at any time for any reason, with a very short notice period. This idea is fundamentally incompatible with the entire philosophy of Dutch tenant protection (huurbescherming), which is specifically designed to prevent landlords from being able to evict tenants 'at will'. Any contract for a primary residence where rent is paid is, by definition, a rental agreement (huurovereenkomst) that falls under the protective umbrella of the Dutch Civil Code.

Why It Doesn't Exist Here

The core of Dutch huurbescherming is that a landlord cannot terminate a lease without having one of a very limited number of statutory grounds for doing so, and they almost always need a court order if the tenant disagrees. The concept of a landlord being able to end a tenancy simply by giving notice, as would be the case in a tenancy at will, is legally impossible for a standard residential lease. A landlord cannot create a contract that bypasses these mandatory legal protections.

The Closest Thing: 'Bruikleen' (Antikraak)

The only situation in the Netherlands that remotely resembles a tenancy at will is an anti-squatting arrangement, which is legally defined as a bruikleenovereenkomst (loan for use agreement). This is critically not a rental agreement. The occupant is a 'user', not a 'tenant', and they pay a small 'fee', not 'rent'. Under a bruikleen contract, the owner can indeed terminate the agreement with very short notice (often just 14-28 days). This is a precarious and specific type of living arrangement for vacant buildings, and it is entirely separate from the regular rental market and its protections.