Meld je – alleen, of samen met je huis, buurt, wijk, bewonerscommissie of huurdersvereniging – aan voor de actie Wij Weigeren de Huurverhoging via het formulier op onze website. Huur je in de vrije sector? Dan heb je niet dezelfde rechten als in de gereguleerde (sociale) sector. Je kunt de huurverhoging weigeren om een signaal af te geven, maar je bouwt wel huurachterstand op en daarmee ga je in feite een mini huurstaking aan. Meer weten over deze vorm van actievoeren? Kijk op de FAQ pagina .

2. Stop de automatische huurincasso bij je verhuurder per 1 juli aanstaande

Dat kun je per direct regelen met onze standaardbrief (download pdf) . Vul de brief in geef hem af of stuur hem op per mail of per post aan je verhuurder. Vraag gerust om een ontvangstbevestiging. Zorg ervoor dat je de huurincasso stopzet voordat de huurverhoging wordt afgeschreven.

3. Ontvangst voorstel tot huurverhoging

Minimaal 2 maanden van tevoren, dus voor 1 mei, krijg je schriftelijk van jouw verhuurder het voorstel tot huurverhoging. In deze brief staat de nieuw voorgestelde huurprijs per 1 juli . Ook lees je dat je voor 1 juli een bezwaarschrift kunt indienen bij jouw verhuurder. Om te kunnen deelnemen aan onze actie ontraden we je nadrukkelijk om hiervan gebruik te maken. Het verkleint je kans op succes en je zadelt jezelf alleen op met onnodig papierwerk. Ontvang je het voorstel tot huurverhoging pas na 1 mei, dus minder dan 2 maanden van tevoren? Dan is je verhuurder te laat met aankondigen, en moet deze een nieuw voorstel tot huurverhoging doen voor een later moment. Als dat niet gebeurt, kun je succesvol bezwaar maken tegen de huurverhoging door deze te weigeren.

4. Stel een periodieke overboeking in van het oude huurbedrag naar je verhuurder

Blijf ook na 1 juli het oude huurbedrag doorbetalen. Regel via internetbankieren een periodieke overboeking van het gehele huurbedrag die je al betaalde vóór 1 juli aanstaande. Startdatum van deze nieuwe periodieke overboeking is 1 juli (of de dag waarop je gewend bent om de huur te betalen). Daarmee weet je zeker dat je het oude huurbedrag blijft betalen en voorkom je dat je huurachterstand opbouwt.

5. Stel een periodieke overboeking in van de huurverhoging naar je spaarrekening.

Stel ook een periodieke overboeking in met het bedrag van de huurverhoging naar je spaarrekening. Door vanaf juli het bespaarde geld opzij te zetten, voorkom je in de toekomst eventuele schulden. (zie stap 9)

Lower the rents! Stop the rent increase!

Tenants can expect a rent increase of 5% in the social sector, 7,7% in the mid-range rental sector and 4,1% in the private sector. After the highest rent increase in 30 years in 2024, another mega rent increase will follow in 2025. While our wages were moderated, the rent has become unaffordable after years of cutbacks, mismanagement and market forces. To tackle the housing crisis, the government must structurally invest in public housing instead of unilaterally passing the bill to the tenants!

A quarter of tenants cannot make ends meet financially after paying the rent! Action group 'We Refuse the Rent Increase' (WWDH) is therefore fighting for social security and a multi-year rent freeze. We do this by massively refusing the annual rent increase as of July 1 based on a simple step-by-step plan. How? look at it Step-by-step plan and join us! Sign up and becomes active in one of our local networks!

about us

You sign up form for our action and following the Step-by-step plan are the first steps you can take to refuse the rent increase and enforce a rent freeze, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. What you can expect from us and what steps you can take yourself in the fight for lower rents can be read on the page about us. Do you have a specific question? Then take a look between our Frequently Asked Questions.

This action campaign is an initiative of and is made possible by the Bond Precaire Woonvormen (BPW). Learn more about this association that fights for the right to housing and the city and join of the national solidarity network? Read more on the page about the union.

step-by-step plan - Refuse the rent increase

Refusing the rent increase in the regulated (social) sector and as an occupant of non-self-contained accommodation (rooms) starts with following the steps in our Step-by-Step Plan. Click on the arrow to read a detailed explanation of each step. Prefer the complete step-by-step plan as a clear PDF? Download here in Dutch or in English. Do you have questions about the Step-by-Step Plan or our action method? See if you can find the answer on our frequently asked questions page (FAQ the rent increase)

before July 1st

1. Sign up!

Sign up – alone or together with your house, neighbourhood, district, residents' committee or tenants' association – for the action We Refuse the Rent Increase via this form on our website.

Are you renting in the private sector? Then you do not have the same rights as in the regulated (social) sector. You can refuse the rent increase to send a signal, but you will build up rent arrears and in doing so you are in fact going on a mini rent strike. Want to know more about this form of activism? Look at the FAQ page.

2. Stop the automatic rent collection from your landlord as of 1 July

You can arrange this immediately with our standard letter (download pdf). Fill in the letter, hand it in or send it by email or post to your landlord. Feel free to ask for a confirmation of receipt. Make sure you stop the rent collection before the rent increase is written off.

3. Receipt of rent increase proposal

At least 2 months in advance, so before May 1st, you will receive a written proposal for a rent increase from your landlord. This letter contains the new proposed rent per July 1st. You can also read that you can file an objection with your landlord before July 1. In order to participate in our campaign advised against we expressly ask you to make use of this. It reduces your chances of success and you only saddle yourself with unnecessary paperwork.

Do you receive the rent increase proposal after 1 May, so less than 2 months in advance? Then your landlord is too late in announcing it, and must make a new rent increase proposal for a later date. If this does not happen, you can successfully object to the rent increase by refusing it.

4. Set up a new automatic transfer of the old rent to your landlord

Continue to pay the old rent after 1 July. Arrange a periodic transfer via internet banking of the entire rental amount that you already paid before 1 July. The start date of this new standing order is July 1 (or the day on which you are used to paying the rent). This way you can be sure that you will continue to pay the old rent and prevent you from building up rent arrears.

5. Set up another automatic transfer of the rent increase to your savings account.

Also set up a periodic transfer with the amount of the rent increase to your savings account. By putting the saved money aside from July, you prevent any debts in the future. (see step 9)

After July 1st

You have already taken the most important steps! Please note that you are not doing anything that it is illegal. You can always stop participating in our action and reverse the steps mentioned above. Read what the Legal Counter (Juridisch Loket) has to say about the legal possibility of refusing a rent increase.

Refusing the rent increase can be quite exciting for some tenants. Also after July 1, seek support from one of the local solidarity networks or set up one yourself. Together with your neighbours, you are stronger against your landlord!

6. You continue to pay the old rent

From July 1st pay the old rent and put the amount of the rent increase on your savings account every month, as described in step 5. Your landlord's rent collection system notices that you have not paid the rent increase and sends you an automatically generated payment reminder. The collection system does not 'know' that by not paying the rent increase there is no legal basis on sending a reminder. Therefore, you are not in debt arrears.

7. Payment Reminders

The landlord might continue to send regular payment reminders whose tone can become increasingly threatening. These letters have no legal basis. 1st reminder, 2nd reminder, demand, last warning, pass on data to the municipality, pass on data to the collection agency, threaten with a bailiff: landlords are persistent and intimidating, while these letters are not permitted by law: after all, you are not in debt arrears.

It is also possible that your landlord contacts you by telephone about your “debt” and attempt to negotiate payments. You only have to say that you are not in debt arrears and that the landlord needs to sort this out internally.

8. Receipt of registered letter

If you have not submitted a notice of objection to your landlord before July 1 and you have not paid the rent increase, the landlord can only do one thing. They have to send you a registered letter within three months after July 1 (so before October 1st of that year). In this letter, the landlord repeats his rent increase proposal from the the 1st May. This is the legal route the landlord must follow in order to obtain the rent increase. The letter is registered because the landlord must be able to prove to the Rent Commission at a later date that the tenant was aware of the proposal.

Didn't receive a registered letter?

If you refuse the rent increase, the landlord must have sent a registered letter 3 months after the effective date of the rent increase, containing the rent increase proposal again. In most cases that is October 1.

Is your landlord too late in sending a registered letter? before October 1st then the rent increase will legally not take place as of 1 July. Congratulations, you have successfully refused the rent increase!

9. Did you receive a registered letter?

If your landlord does send a registered before October 1st, then as a tenant you have to decide what to do:

Either you decide to pay the rent increase retroactively. To do this, use the money that you have put aside in your savings account since 1 July.
Or the tenant decides to submit a petition to the Rent Commission (Huurcommissie) (see next step).

We recommend submitting a petition to the Rent Assessment Committee only if there is a real chance that you will be proven right, or if you want to continue the proceedings based on objections of principle. This means that the registered letter must contain formal errors (missing copy of the original rent increase proposal, for example), be delivered incorrectly or too late, and other exceptional situations. If the registered letter was sent on time and no further errors were made in the procedure by the landlord, then it is almost always hopeless to have the judgment of the legally established Rent Assessment Committee come out in your favour. You can also choose to continue the proceedings at the Rent Assessment Committee for reasons of principle. Consider for yourself or together in your solidarity network whether you have enough resources and energy to invest time in this and adjust your expectations.

Find out whether going to the Rent Assessment Committee is (or can be) promising by obtaining information from the legal counter, a lawyer, a local (tenant) consultation hour, our Frequently asked questions page or by emailing us.

Decided to pay the rent increase after all? Don't worry, there'll be another chance next year.

10. Filing an application with the Huurcommissie

If you decide in the previous step to go to the Huurcommissie, you must submit a petition before November 1st. If necessary, contact your own tenants' organization for help with filing a petition.

The costs for submitting a petition to the Rental Committee are 25 euros and as a tenant you will receive an invoice for this. Tenants with social assistance benefits or comparable income can be exempt from paying the 25 euros.

11. Handling of Huurcommissie

Now that you have notified the Huurcommissie, you will have to wait for their response. The Rent Commission can ask you to send additional documents, make a presiding decision or summon you to a hearing. Even then you can contact your tenants' organization for support or report this to us.

DISCLAIMER

This website provides a step-by-step plan for formally refusing a rent increase. As a tenant, you remain responsible in all cases for the steps you take or have taken when refusing a rent increase. The initiators of this website accept no liability in any form whatsoever.

Webinar

We regularly organize online webinars to inform residents and tenant associations about the progress of the campaign 'We refuse the rent increase' and to answer questions. Want to know more? Sign up through the form!

Residential consultation hours

There are tenant consultation hours in various cities where you can ask questions or become active in the campaign campaign We Refuse the Rent Increase. Curious about what is being organized in your area?

For questions or contact you can email to info@wijweigerendehuurverhoging.nl

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Review & Speech Rent Down demonstration

On May 10th, we gathered with about a thousand people on the Domplein in Utrecht with one clear message: rents must come down! 💥 We thank all participants, activists, squatters,

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Invitation to national action meeting We Refuse the Rent Increase April 19, 1:00 PM

Dear allies, in our fight for lower rents and against annual rent increases, we are organizing a national meeting on April 19 at 1:00 PM in Den Bosch for local WWDH groups

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support Wij Weigeren de Huurverhoging

Support Wij Weigeren de Huurverhoging with a donation! With your donation we will finance the website and campaign costs, among other things, and we can make this action as widely known as possible at national and local level, in politics and among tenants in the coming months.

Thanks for the support!

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For answers to frequently asked questions, take a look at our page FAQ the Rent Increase. Can't figure it out? Then email to info@wijweigerendehuurverhoging.nl. For press contact see contact details at the bottom of the website.

Action material

Do you want to commit yourself to our campaign? You can! Anyone who refuses the rent increase or supports our action can order action material via de Bond Precaire Woonvormen or one of the local pick-up locations! There are posters, stickers & flyers available to show your entire neighborhood that you refuse the rent increase this year! We encourage residents, neighbors, associations, or (action) groups to organize a flyer campaign locally and to go door-to-door against the rent increase! Do you want tips or help to organize such a local action? contact us.