New law to ease Mortgage lenders' regulations on Homestay rental
Minister de Jonge (Housing) announces a legislative amendment to make it easier for mortgage lenders to allow homestay rental.
Do you have a spare room at home? Then there is a good chance that you can rent it out and that it can be quite beneficial. Up to €6000 tax-free, you help someone in need of a room and it offers a unique and sociable experience. Moreover, most municipalities allow room rental without a permit and it does not affect your pension or other allowances. But the mortgage lender can sometimes prove difficult. A legislative amendment announced by minister de Jonge should change this.
Mortgage Lenders' Rules on Homestay rental
The national government and most municipalities apply the same rules for homestay rental in both owned and rented properties. If you meet the conditions, renting one room in your house to one person is allowed. But if you have an unpaid mortgage on your home, it's important to realize that not all mortgage lenders allow this.
The reason some banks do not allow this is because a tenant can eventually acquire tenancy rights. In theory, this can lead to problems, but in practice this rarely happens. What then could happen is that the "house must be sold by execution because someone cannot pay the mortgage, which depresses the value of the collateral." Therefore, banks say: 'only with our permission' or they do not allow it at all.
What is the situation now?
On NPO Radio 1 a host came forward who currently rents rooms in his house through the homestay arrangement. "I have been in touch with my bank, but they were adamant." There was no room for discussion about possible subletting, says the host. "As a result, you just start like a thousand other Dutch people, despite knowing that it's not allowed."
Like many people, he finds it important to contribute to a solution for the housing shortage, even though it's officially not allowed: "I also find it unexplainable that in a time of such severe housing shortage, you have to leave part of your house empty because it cannot or may not be done. That's not what I want. I have plenty of space here. So I am happy that I have people living here."
Legislative Amendment for Homestay Rental
That is precisely why minister de Jonge has announced a legislative amendment. This amendment should make it possible for hosts to terminate the rental contract upon sale, even if it is a fixed-term contract. "That makes sense," according to de Jonge. "It's not a separate dwelling. And thereby we meet most of the banks' concerns."
With homestay rental, there is an exception to the tenancy right. As a host you can terminate the contract within the first 9 months; during this period, the tenant has no tenancy right. With a maximum notice period of 3 months, someone can stay for a maximum of one year. Hospi Housing therefore always recommends this form of contract and term for this reason.
So it's always wise to sign a contract with a 9-month trial period and to terminate the contract after 9 months at the latest. This prevents you from 'getting stuck' with a tenant. Nonetheless, Hospi Housing encourages this legislative amendment. Permission from the mortgage lender can persuade many people and thereby greatly increases the potential of room rental as a solution for the housing shortage.
Which banks already allow it?
Many banks already allow room rental. For example, you almost always get permission from ABN AMRO and Rabobank. At the cluster of Volksbank (ASN, SNS, BLG Wonen) you need to ask for permission in advance, but they often make an exception.
Obvion, Venn, NIBC, and AEGON have sometimes given permission, but sometimes not. So with these banks, you need to be extra careful. ING has unfortunately almost never allowed room rental so far.
Florius does not see Kamers met aandacht and Hospi Housing as commercial rental organizations. This means that mortgage holders at Florius are allowed to rent out part of their home to tenants via the mentioned organizations.
Excited or have even more questions? Hospi Housing offers a completely free service to everyone who is considering renting out a room in their home. In this way, we can help as many people as possible find a room. Sign up here and schedule an introduction, and we will help you further!