You may occasionally see this in the media: (grand)children being threatened with eviction by a landlord because they, rather than the (grand)parents, are the tenants of the property. In certain circumstances, the law provides that a remaining occupant can become the tenant themselves. If the landlord does not cooperate, the remaining occupant must bring proceedings under Section 7:268 of the Dutch Civil Code to request permission to continue the tenancy. The second paragraph of this provision states that the tenancy continues until a final and binding decision has been made on the claim for continuation of the tenancy.
In practice, it regularly occurs that landlords initiate eviction proceedings in summary proceedings while the remaining occupant's claim (1) has not yet been filed, or (2) has not yet been decided by a final and binding judgment. Traditionally, eviction claims brought by landlords in summary proceedings were generally dismissed because Section 7:268(2) of the Dutch Civil Code was considered to prevent such proceedings. In short, only the court hearing the substantive proceedings could decide on such a claim, and therefore also on the landlord's eviction claim.
This question was recently brought before the Dutch Supreme Court, which delivered its judgment on 10 July 2026. The Supreme Court held that an eviction claim in summary proceedings may also be granted where the remaining cohabitant has initiated proceedings requesting permission to continue the tenancy and no final and binding decision has yet been rendered in those proceedings.
The Amsterdam housing association Rochdale rented out a social housing property in Amsterdam to the grandmother of the remaining occupant. The grandmother passed away in 2017. Rochdale was only informed of her death by the municipality in May 2024.
On 3 June 2024, Rochdale informed the grandmother's heirs that the continued occupation of the property had no legal basis and ordered them to vacate the property by 10 June 2024 at the latest. On 7 June 2024, the grandmother's cohabitant informed Rochdale that he wished to continue the tenancy agreement in his own name and that he would therefore not vacate the property on 10 June 2024.
Rochdale subsequently initiated eviction proceedings against the cohabitant. By judgment of 4 September 2024, the subdistrict court granted the eviction claim. The cohabitant was ordered to vacate the property within an extended period.
The cohabitant appealed the eviction judgment and, at the same time, initiated substantive proceedings seeking permission to continue the tenancy agreement.
The Court of Appeal overturned the eviction decision and rejected Rochdale's eviction claim. It held that the protection intended by the legislature under Section 7:268(2) of the Dutch Civil Code prevented the court in summary proceedings from making a preliminary assessment of the situation. According to the Court of Appeal, the questions underlying the claim to continue the tenancy could only be assessed by the court hearing the substantive proceedings.
The Supreme Court began by emphasising that a court hearing summary proceedings has the authority to grant interim relief in urgent cases, as provided for in Section 254 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure.
The Supreme Court then held that Section 7:268(2) of the Dutch Civil Code does not prevent an eviction order from being granted in summary proceedings, even if substantive proceedings are pending, where the summary proceedings judge considers it evident that the cohabitant's claim in the substantive proceedings will be dismissed.
Following this judgment, landlords—and in many cases housing associations—may regain control over their housing stock more quickly following the death of a tenant.
Naturally, there will still be situations in which a remaining cohabitant does meet the requirements for continuing the tenancy agreement. However, this is generally not the case for (grand)children. In such situations, the landlord may choose to regain possession of the property through the faster summary proceedings route rather than waiting for the often considerably longer substantive proceedings.
Do you need assistance assessing whether a tenant or remaining occupant has a realistic chance of continuing a tenancy agreement? Or would you like to initiate summary proceedings against a remaining occupant? Please contact one of our specialists in the Real Estate & Government team.
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