Tim de Vries

A landlord wishes to terminate a long-term lease of commercial premises within the meaning of Article 7:290 of the Dutch Civil Code (‘retail and hospitality premises’) because another party is prepared to pay a significantly higher rent. Several hundred thousand euros more per year! Is this possible? At the end of last year, the Dutch Supreme Court handed down a judgment on this issue.

On 10 April 2026, the Dutch Supreme Court handed down a judgment clarifying the legal test for the out-of-court termination of a residential tenancy agreement and, in the process, correcting a position it had recently adopted.

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.