WHAT IF YOUR TENANT DOES NOT PAY?

Many landlords are confronted with a tenant who fails to pay rent or does not pay on time. This is very annoying, especially if you as a landlord are counting on the rent income to pay other bills. But what steps can you as a landlord take if your tenant fails to pay?

Calendar icon25 August 2016

JUSTICE OF THE PEACE HAS THE FINAL SAY

One of the tenant’s obligations is to pay the full rent on time to the landlord. If he does not, he is in breach of contract. In such a case, you as a landlord can ask the justice of the peace to terminate the lease.

The rental legislation contains no rule that stipulates the date from which the termination of the lease is justified.  The justice of the peace will decide in a sovereign capacity, taking the concrete circumstances into account. Thus, one justice of the peace may grant your application to terminate the lease at once, while another asks for 6 months in arrears. In general, 3 months in arrears at the time of the hearing is considered sufficient to be able to terminate the lease. But as already mentioned, each justice of the peace decides in a sovereign capacity so that exceptions are possible.

 

ALARMED TENANT

No minor details: very often, the tenant will be alarmed by court proceedings, and will make a payment right before the date of the hearing.  In the past, justices of the peace were inclined not to grant the termination of the lease in such a case.  A cassation decision may have brought about a change here. The court ruled that the termination can be granted for arrears which were paid right before the hearing.

Overview