Eindinspectie huurwoning last day OR last work day of month?

[vidak]

Hi all I hope you don't mind asking this in English but I really need help here.

I am ending my contract with the landlord (rental property agency) at the end of this month and they want to do the eindinspectie (final inspection) on the last working day of this month which is Friday 29th January.
That is not very convenient because could really use the Saturday (30th) to get everything done in the apartment so it's ready for potential inspection on the 31st or 1st February.

I understand that it is convenient for them to do the inspection on the last workday of the month because they don't have to do it on the weekend but that doesn't suit me. And since I'm paying for the whole month I should be able to leave the apartment on the last day of the month.
I checked the contract and nowhere it says that I have to do the last inspection on the last WORKDAY of the month. Have a look at what it says in the contract - here is the Dutch and English version:

-----
2.4 Beëindiging van de overeenkomst door opzegging dient schriftelijk te geschieden

overeenkomstig artikel 19 van de algemene bepalingen. De opzegtermijn van de huurder staat gelijkaan één kalendermaand. Dit houdt in dat bij een opzegging op bijvoorbeeld 6 april, dehuurovereenkomst kan worden beëindigd op 31 mei (De opzegtermijn van één kalendermaand heeftbetrekking op de periode van 1 mei tot 31 mei)

2.4 Termination of this agreement shall be carried out in writing according to article 19 of the general conditions. The applicable period of notice for the tenant equals 1 calendar month. This implies that when terminating for instance on the 6th April, this agreement can be ended on the 31st May (the calendar month period of notice applies to the period from 1st May to the 31st May).
------

When I told them it doesn't say in the contract I should do the final inspection on the last working day of the month they say "yeah well that's how we always do it and it's how it says in the overall law"
When I asked them to send me that part "where it says in the law" that I have to do that, they just told me that I can find it myself on the internet (????)

I just think they want to do it on the last working day of the month because it's convenient for them.

Can you help me - am I legally required do do the end inspection on the last working day of the month? If you could also point me to where it says that I would appreciate.

Thanks

[fonsoy]

Je hoeft de sleutel nog niet in te leveren toch, bij die inspectie?

[Rukapul]

It is typically not a problem to do the inspection before you move out. Actually, it can be advantageous, because if anything shows up you still have time to fix it (after you moved you, you do typically do not).

The general rule here is to make an appointment 'in goed overleg'.

[vidak]

@fonsoy No I think I don't need to hand in the key on the day of the last inspection, but I don't wan the end inspection to be on the Friday because I plan to do the work of cleaning/fixing and getting everything ready on Saturday. Therefore I preferably want to have the end inspection AFTER I done all the cleaning and fixing.

[vidak]

@Rukapul I understand your point but I already had the voorinspectie 2 weeks ago. There we agreed what needs to be fixed. Now I need time to do that before the last inspection. And them proposing the end inspection to be on the 29th January they are shortening my time to address those issues by a few days which I don't really like.

[Aftansert]

Most housing associations stipulate that the last day of the contract can't be in a weekend or national holiday. They mostly solve this by saying that any end date will be moved to the first monday that isn't a national holiday instead.

There isn't anything in the law about this though, so they are not being truthful about that. You may demand that the final inspection is either on the actual last day, or on the first monday after that, because you can simply deny anyone entry to your home.

I'm not sure this is the best course of action though. It's easy to get screwed over in final inspections, especially when dealing with small housing associations or private owners. Indeed, "goed overleg" would be the best, but you might be past that stage.

[Dracula]

But what happens if the final inspection still reveals problems?

Do you then have to fix it in the new month and pay rent that whole month?

Seems to be a final inspection on Friday still gives you 2 days to fix stuff if the inspection was nOK

[vidak]

@Aftansert Thanks for the info! What do you mean that I might be past the stage of "goed overleg"?

@Dracula I'm more worried that if I have the final inspection on Friday and they say ok THIS still needs attention and then I do indeed fix that but then they come back to me later and they say you remember about that thing that needed attention in the final inspection well you didn't do it well and then it's too late to do anything.

[Dracula]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 17:07:

@Dracula I'm more worried that if I have the final inspection on Friday and they say ok THIS still needs attention and then I do indeed fix that but then they come back to me later and they say you remember about that thing that needed attention in the final inspection well you didn't do it well and then it's too late to do anything.

Well I guess that is always the case even if the final inspection is on the first of February.

Also if the pre inspection was 2 weeks ago and you still have more than 1 week to go before the final inspection should you than not have enough time to fix the things that need fixing?

[vidak]

@Dracula Theoretically I do but I don't like being shortened an entire weekend of time to do that work just because it's not convenient for them to do the final inspection on the Sunday 31st.

[Dracula]

Well the rental company is a business that has working hours so maybe look at it from their perspective that Sundays is inconvenient for them.

[vidak]

@Dracula It's a business so we should do what it required by law and what's in the contract. Why would I give up my extra time to have work done for their convenience? If the contract and law are on my side especially.
Why don't they consider that it's not convenient for me to take an extra off day at work to get everything done or to have to pay more to start my contract at the new house earlier so that I can move out earlier for their convenience?

[Dracula]

I still feel that a final inspection is something different then the day you hand in the keys so not sure why they should not do it 1 or 2 days prior.

Also I you feel that if you have to take days of from work because you do not have enough time to fix everything I think you could have already know this sooner as I feel that multiple weekends (pre inspection was 2 weeks ago) of working to get things in order could mean that there is a lot of things wrong.

Well anyway good luck to you and I hope you get it sorted.

[ Voor 42% gewijzigd door Dracula op 21-01-2021 21:34 ]

[vidak]

@Dracula I think you're missing the point. Yes I do have enough time to fix it but my original question is whether I can request the final inspection to be on the last day of the month and not last working day of the month.
Even though I do have time I want to be able to have also the last weekend of the month available for it as well.

[Rukapul]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 17:29:
@Dracula It's a business so we should do what it required by law and what's in the contract. Why would I give up my extra time to have work done for their convenience? If the contract and law are on my side especially.
Why don't they consider that it's not convenient for me to take an extra off day at work to get everything done or to have to pay more to start my contract at the new house earlier so that I can move out earlier for their convenience?

Typical expat attitude witnessed with many colleagues

Point is there is no law on inspection(s). Culture defines these things do not happen outside work hours.

Point is you effectively waive the advantages of the final inspection. That is your choice.

The advantage of the final inspection only applies if there is time to fix a few things remaining. I.e. to fix identified issues on beforehand and have them inspected before the end of the contract with some margin. Tiny advantage is physical presence and immediately get that written confirmation.

The fact that they came up with multiple items that apparently cannot be fixed in an hour or so might be a signal to take it serious.

For all they care you drop the keys at their office on Sunday or even Monday morning.

[ Voor 3% gewijzigd door Rukapul op 21-01-2021 17:56 ]

[donleone83]

What came out of the pre-inspection? It can’t be much more than a wall that needs to be painted in a neutral colour or some holes in the wall that need to be filled in my experience. Which is literally only a couple of hours work. In my opinion, you’re being very difficult to be honest.

For these really small things you can always say you will fix them on the Saturday. You’re making it more difficult for yourself here. They’ll be far less likely to be cooperative if you yourself aren’t.

[vidak]

The fact that they came up with multiple items that apparently cannot be fixed in an hour or so might be a signal to take it serious.

@Rukapul Yes that's why I want to have that extra time in the weekend to address that

[Ardana]

donleone83 schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 17:58:
What came out of the pre-inspection? It can’t be much more than a wall that needs to be painted in a neutral colour or some holes in the wall that need to be filled in my experience. Which is literally only a couple of hours work. In my opinion, you’re being very difficult to be honest.

For these really small things you can always say you will fix them on the Saturday. You’re making it more difficult for yourself here. They’ll be far less likely to be cooperative if you yourself aren’t.

Not really true. I have experience with housing agencies that EVERY scratch and sign of use bill to the tenant, up to the cost for a new toilet due to a little chalk.

Personally, as a counseler, I advise ppl to have everything done during the final inspection, recieve a indemnification AND hand in the keys at the same time. Yes, I've seen ppl get an indemnification, and STILL billed for a lot, because the landlord said "after the final inspection you had access to the house and trashed the lot".

[vidak]

^ Exactly @Ardana that's why I want to have the final inspection and hand in the keys on the same day and sign that everything is in order or accept that some things are not in order and be done with it.
I don't like the idea of having the final inspection and then leaving a few days later which would leave them room to find "new things"

[Teknix1982]

What would happen if you put the time you spent on this topic on fixen the flaws in your house? With commen sense you can see what needs fixing. And you can ask a list of things they will check. Why focus on one weekend and spent valuebale time on the internet?

[vidak]

@Teknix1982 You're missing the point that's not the question.
I might not be in the apartment right now and only coming back to my apartment next Wednesday and then I would have only little time to move all the things out of the apartment, clean it, paint it .. I would want to have the weekend for that.

Or I might be having guests now and don't want to do work while I have guests. I will do it all when they leave and in that case I want to have the weekend.

Anyway please, you're missing the point. It's not whether I have time or not, the question is if I'm entitled to spend time in the apartment that I paid good money for.

[Fr33z]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 16:12:
Hi all I hope you don't mind asking this in English but I really need help here.

I am ending my contract with the landlord (rental property agency) at the end of this month and they want to do the eindinspectie (final inspection) on the last working day of this month which is Friday 29th January.
That is not very convenient because could really use the Saturday (30th) to get everything done in the apartment so it's ready for potential inspection on the 31st or 1st February.

I understand that it is convenient for them to do the inspection on the last workday of the month because they don't have to do it on the weekend but that doesn't suit me. And since I'm paying for the whole month I should be able to leave the apartment on the last day of the month.
I checked the contract and nowhere it says that I have to do the last inspection on the last WORKDAY of the month. Have a look at what it says in the contract - here is the Dutch and English version:

-----
2.4 Beëindiging van de overeenkomst door opzegging dient schriftelijk te geschieden

overeenkomstig artikel 19 van de algemene bepalingen. De opzegtermijn van de huurder staat gelijkaan één kalendermaand. Dit houdt in dat bij een opzegging op bijvoorbeeld 6 april, dehuurovereenkomst kan worden beëindigd op 31 mei (De opzegtermijn van één kalendermaand heeftbetrekking op de periode van 1 mei tot 31 mei)

2.4 Termination of this agreement shall be carried out in writing according to article 19 of the general conditions. The applicable period of notice for the tenant equals 1 calendar month. This implies that when terminating for instance on the 6th April, this agreement can be ended on the 31st May (the calendar month period of notice applies to the period from 1st May to the 31st May).
------

When I told them it doesn't say in the contract I should do the final inspection on the last working day of the month they say "yeah well that's how we always do it and it's how it says in the overall law"
When I asked them to send me that part "where it says in the law" that I have to do that, they just told me that I can find it myself on the internet (????)

I just think they want to do it on the last working day of the month because it's convenient for them.

Can you help me - am I legally required do do the end inspection on the last working day of the month? If you could also point me to where it says that I would appreciate.

Thanks

As said above: probably nog legally required but it looks like a lot of fuss over nothing. Moving takes time do I would not want to cram everything in the last weekend. Just move most of tour stuff a day or weekend before and do the final inspection on friday. Then if anything needs fixing you can use the saturday tot fix it and be done. If nothing needs attention then also great--> extra time to get setled in your new place.

[Teknix1982]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 18:12:
@Teknix1982 You're missing the point that's not the question.
I might not be in the apartment right now and only coming back to my apartment next Wednesday and then I would have only little time to move all the things out of the apartment, clean it, paint it .. I would want to have the weekend for that.

Or I might be having guests now and don't want to do work while I have guests. I will do it all when they leave and in that case I want to have the weekend.

Anyway please, you're missing the point. It's not whether I have time or not, the question is if I'm entitled to spend time in the apartment that I paid good money for.

It is give and take, if they demanded you to deliver the appartement a week or two earlier i can understand your position but they only ask you to do a final inspection on their last working day. Changing houses is something you can plan so I understand their position. If you have circumstances that prevent you from doing it earlier than sunday, maybe they will be reasonable. Not everything needs to be law and contracts. Compasion for each others situation is also reasonable?

[Mystic Spirit]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 18:12:
@Teknix1982
Anyway please, you're missing the point. It's not whether I have time or not, the question is if I'm entitled to spend time in the apartment that I paid good money for.

In any situation with security deposits, there is one simple rule: You don't have any leverage... So are you willing to risk the security deposit? If so, you are entitled to do anything you want. If you are not willing to risk it, it is better to comply.

[Qwerty-273]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 16:12:
When I told them it doesn't say in the contract I should do the final inspection on the last working day of the month they say "yeah well that's how we always do it and it's how it says in the overall law"
When I asked them to send me that part "where it says in the law" that I have to do that, they just told me that I can find it myself on the internet (????)

Welcome to or good bye from the Netherlands
Even a native will be bullied around with the same explanation that they can find the answer by themselves.

Basically the most was already said, there is no law that specifies when the voorinspectie or eindinspectie has to take place (or even if they have to take place at all). It makes sense for both parties to have this eindinspectie and signed by both parties to prevent fuss afterwards (and how to prove when a damage was created). See the relevant law: https://wetten.overheid.n...21-01-01#Boek7_Titeldeel4

Artikel 224
1. De huurder is verplicht het gehuurde bij het einde van de huur weer ter beschikking van de verhuurder te stellen.

2. Indien tussen de huurder en verhuurder een beschrijving van het verhuurde is opgemaakt, is de huurder gehouden de zaak in dezelfde staat op te leveren waarin deze volgens de beschrijving is aanvaard, met uitzondering van geoorloofde veranderingen en toevoegingen en hetgeen door ouderdom is teniet gegaan of beschadigd. Indien geen beschrijving is opgemaakt, wordt de huurder, behoudens tegenbewijs, verondersteld het gehuurde in de staat te hebben ontvangen zoals deze is bij het einde van de huurovereenkomst.

Also note the advise on https://www.juridischloke...huurwoning/huuropzegging/ . Especially if you have an opnamestaat or not included in your contract. And it also notes that in general the eindinspectie is done at the end or just before the end of the contract.

Or http://digitaalprocederen.nl/huurwoning-opleveren/ also mentions:

Enige tijd na de voorinspectie vindt logischerwijs de eindinspectie plaats. Vanuit de huurder bezien is het verstandig om de eindinspectie enkele dagen voor het einde van de huurovereenkomst te laten plaatsvinden. Op die manier heeft de huurder namelijk nog tijd om zaken die nog niet goed zijn opgeleverd alsnog te herstellen. Dat kan de huurder namelijk niet meer op het moment dat de huurovereenkomst is geëindigd. Als er dan niet goed is opgeleverd, loopt de huurder ook nog het risico dat hij schade aan de verhuurder moet vergoeden omdat de huurwoning niet opnieuw verhuurd kan worden.

[GlowMouse]

The law is very clear: when the lease ends, it is your responsibility to deliver the leased premises to the landlord in the same state it was delivered to you, reasonable wear and tear excepted. Inspections are a privilege, not a right (unless the parties agree otherwise). The reason you got a pre-inspection, beyond decency, is that the landlord's remedies are limited otherwise (they cannot recover their full damages unless they have given you the option to repair). The final inspection has no benefit to the landlord, so they are not keen on making themselves available in the weekend.
Your best course of action is to offer a one day extension of the lease, and hope they accept and still have a spot in their calendar on Monday. They may not even charge you for the extra day if you are nice about it and the inspection is early in the morning.

[Freezerator]

Did you ask them to do the inspection on Monday the first of February? Maybe they are open to that solution

[vidak]

Thank you all so much for the answers @GlowMouse @Qwerty-273 @Mystic Spirit

I understand what you're telling me, so I guess I'll make an appointment with them on Friday.
I'm just very irritated because these things were not in the contract and I read it carefully before ending the lease, it would be much more helpful to have know this beforehand than basically a few days ago.
Also when I was canceling my lease and when I sent an email to cancel the lease they actually requested me to send an "afgetekende letter" to their office. Good thing I had enough time to do that but still they noted none of these things in the contract and they all came as a surprise to me and now I'm expected to be reasonable here.
Just put in the contract or tell me beforehand - "end inspection will be on the last working day of the month" and "when canceling the lease you have to send the afgetekende letter" and everything is fine, there would be no surprises.

[vidak]

@Freezerator I did ask them of course and I actually offered to pay the extra day but they said the new tenant needs to move in on the 1st.

[Rukapul]

Good riddance. The 'aangetekende brief' (registered mail) is a bogus requirement. If it had not been delivered in time their response to your email would have provided exactly the same proof. Better even because you got a confirmation on the contents, not just the envelope

[Ardana]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 18:12:
@Teknix1982 You're missing the point that's not the question.
I might not be in the apartment right now and only coming back to my apartment next Wednesday and then I would have only little time to move all the things out of the apartment, clean it, paint it .. I would want to have the weekend for that.

Or I might be having guests now and don't want to do work while I have guests. I will do it all when they leave and in that case I want to have the weekend.

Anyway please, you're missing the point. It's not whether I have time or not, the question is if I'm entitled to spend time in the apartment that I paid good money for.

BTW, you do NOT have to clean and paint the apartment, unless you have previously painted it in a very vivid color. Like said, normal wear and tear you don't need to fix, and you certainly do not need to paint the walls (unless you put some exeptional color there yourself).

Landlords often try to trick leaving tenants into renovating the house for them.

May I ask you if you checked out if the rent was legal? On www.huurcommissie.nl you can find out how.

[Botticelli]

If they do insist on inspection on Friday, and no possibility to have a final one on Monday, I would propose the following to the agency:

A final inspection on Friday during which they provide you with a written list of points that need to be taken care of (signed by "inspector" and you).
After that you can take care of those points and document these (pictures etc.). In that case you have documented evidence that no remaining points are outstanding.
Furthermore I would make a small video of the house prior to leaving the last day to show the status of the apartment.

I'm wondering if an inspection has been done when you entered the lease? Otherwise they may request actions that are not reasonable as there is no status of the house at the start of the lease.

[Hydra]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 18:44:
Thank you all so much for the answers @GlowMouse @Qwerty-273 @Mystic Spirit

I understand what you're telling me, so I guess I'll make an appointment with them on Friday.
I'm just very irritated because these things were not in the contract and I read it carefully before ending the lease, it would be much more helpful to have know this beforehand than basically a few days ago.

I'm sorry but when you deal with people who have to do something as a job you should expect that to happen on a working day. It's rather silly to get irritated over something that just makes perfect sense and you didn't really think through.

These people doing the inspections have families too. It's just their job.

[IDtenT]

vidak schreef op donderdag 21 januari 2021 @ 17:29:
@Dracula It's a business so we should do what it required by law and what's in the contract. Why would I give up my extra time to have work done for their convenience? If the contract and law are on my side especially.
Why don't they consider that it's not convenient for me to take an extra off day at work to get everything done or to have to pay more to start my contract at the new house earlier so that I can move out earlier for their convenience?

If it's a business you're dealing with, it's not all that surprising to me that they operate on business days, but that may differ from country to country, I suppose.

You're getting incredibly frustrated by the whole ordeal, but why not pick up the phone and see if you can work something out that is reasonable for all parties. I see you're assuming the worst on all fronts and if you start approaching them with that tone, you will likely encounter more resistance, especially if they wield some sort of power to make life more difficult for you.
That's always the best course of action. I have some expats on my team and I've must have made dozens of calls to organisations, businesses and councils on their behalf over the past few years, as it all went awry the moment they read some stuff using Google Translate and tried to get their way passive aggressively. A friendly call got things sorted 9/10 times, barring the situations where a business would purposefully try to rip off a foreigner. In those cases you 100% have a point, as there are some businesses out there that try to exploit you not speaking Dutch and so on. The situation you are facing doesn't seem to be racist in any way however.

[99ruud99]

I would ask if it would be possible to have the inspection on Monday instead. Then they can be happy with the working day and you have your weekend.

Most companies don't have a new renter the very next day, especially now during corona.

Don't victimize yourself, you just didn't get your info in time. If you would have asked them when the inspection would take place 2 weeks ago you would have known.

We Dutchies don't like victim people, get over it and just say, hey my bad I thought it would be on Sunday. Could we work something out together to fix this?

[FitTiv]

Botticelli schreef op vrijdag 22 januari 2021 @ 09:19:


I'm wondering if an inspection has been done when you entered the lease? Otherwise they may request actions that are not reasonable as there is no status of the house at the start of the lease.

This. If there is no state or report made by them upon engaging the lease, you can leave the apartment as-is, because there is no written and signatured (by you) proof of the initial state.