At last, something has been done with these housing thugs who have been systematically looting newcomers to NL from the past decade..

Hope in due course they loose their license from NL and are even more severely fined.

By AD | October 9, 2009 11:18 PM

Atleast something has been done

By dallas | October 10, 2009 12:08 AM

Ah yes, I do remember Direct Wonen - I was desperate for housing 3.5 years ago when I first arrived in Amsterdam and they were one of the many rental agencies I was naive enough to contact for housing. Many of them are guilty of shocking price hikes but when people first arrive here they sadly know no better.

By Lulu | October 10, 2009 11:57 AM

It was the time!! These ouse agency as Direct Wonen and Roatvast are licenced thives

By Manuela | October 10, 2009 6:40 PM

What I noticed when I lived in the Netherlands is that expats who lived in Amsterdam complained about their housing situation and prices, only to fellow expats. They didn't seemed to bother taking their complaints further to someone who could actually make a difference, and they were unwilling to move to some of the cities close by.

You just have to move to Haarlem and you are living in a less crowded city that is even much cheaper too.

I worked in Amsterdam, and it is something that is unique with that city, but I looked forward going to my home in Haarlem.

By xen | October 10, 2009 11:38 PM

From personal experience, Direct Wonen does not have a good reputation in other parts of NL either. JM

By Julie Meinke | October 11, 2009 5:46 AM

We got cheated too by Direct wonen, they charged 35 euros for registration, and could'nt come up with one decent house in Almere.

By DK | October 11, 2009 5:15 PM

I hope that other councils around the country will also clamp down on them to, they are licensed sharks and way past their time for being stopped. My personal experience with them left me with a sour taste and a caution against Dutch housing companies in general, maybe it is wrong to tar them all with one brush based on one bad apple, but, they will get the whole renting industry a very bad name.

Come on other councils, get out their and follow the lead of Amsterdam, check them out and listen to peoples complaints.

By Andy | October 12, 2009 6:49 AM

All licensees and licensed brokers/property managers need to follow the law and local regulations.

By Erik Noordam | October 12, 2009 9:00 AM

How does one check the point system to determine if the rental amount is fair? Do I have to contact my thieving rental agency or can I ask for an inspection by the city? How does it work? I just moved to a new place where the agency raised the rent by 50 euro over the old rental price and nothing was improved.

By Sarah | October 12, 2009 9:44 AM

Sarah: You need to contact the Huurteam, Google for your local branch.

By Saskeet | October 12, 2009 3:54 PM

For support and assistance to people renting in Amsterdam, for example help with determining the points & maximum rent for flat has check www.wswonen.nl. Their services are free and confidential and they played a major part in getting Direct Wonen's licence revoked.

By huurteam worker | October 13, 2009 8:24 AM

I'm in the niddle of a legal action against them. Apparently it is my case that decided the city to take a decision. I hope I will see my money back...

By Paganhate | October 13, 2009 9:01 AM

Hello people
for information on which housing companies u can trust, always check the official website of the city, which is usually one of the first results in google when typing in the name of the city.

By mattie | October 20, 2009 12:07 PM

Great to read - Let's hope, perfect housing will be next. they charged me 1000 Euro for a 30sqm apartment (pretending it would have 50sqm) while the huurkommissie judged that the appropriate rent is 500 Euro...

By horst | October 25, 2009 10:11 AM

whilst I have in the past had a bad experience with Direct wonen, and can't say I am upset by the news, I do want to provide an Expat apartment owner's view of the point system now in place in Amsterdam.

I own a small apartment in Amsterdam, and have been renting the property out while I have been living \ working temporarily out of country. This year I rented my apartment through an agency, in the previous year I had a friend living there and did not need to have an agency involved.

both my incoming tenant and me obviously paid a "finders fee" to the agent. They provided a contract, and in my absence arranged early viewings of the apartment and managed the check-in. Soon after moving in, my tenant was approached by the rental commission in Amsterdam informing them there was every possibility they were paying too much rent, and would they like them to investigate and provide a legal report. Of course my tenant agreed, who wouldn't right? Its important for me to add here, I am not a Rental company, making money out of renting a series of apartments. I am merely a independent owner of a small apartment who is looking to cover the cost of my mortgage while working out of country (note that working out of country I am no longer eligible for the mortgage remote on interest.)

The result of this situation is that the max rental and service costs for my apartment have been more then halved. Not only this but I am required to back-date the lower rent until the start of the contract agreement. The total shortfall over the duration of the rental contract is approximately 13,000 euros!!!! I should note I was not charging a ridiculous amount for my apartment, it was fairly central in Amsterdam, in a nice neighbourhood and was under 1000e a month with a service company involved to manage all payments, despoists and to ensure that if there were any day to day problems, my tenant had a 24\7 contact for assistance. Prior to renting through an agency I was looking for a tenant via expat website and had a HUGE amount of interest, as nice flats under 1000e were pretty hard to find.

Clearly I cannot afford to reduce the rent AND back date the rent to the start of the contract. If my tenant forces me to comply with the legal report it will force me to cancel my current visa and return to Amsterdam earlier then planned. They would obviously have to leave the apartment earlier as well, there is an employment based clause in our contract that covers this. I am hoping I can come to a settlement with my tenant that will be reasonable to both of us but we will have to see.

As you can imagine, trying to manage this from abroad has been extremely stressfull and a huge worry. The commission reporting takes a LONG time, and this whole process and uncertainty has been going on for most of this year. I am very lucky to have a servce management company invovled to help with the process, I do not know what i would have done with their assistance.

I want to stress I think tenancy rights are important, but I believe my tenant and me entered into a clear agreement that at the time seemed fair to both of us. These new regulations basically tie the hands of an owner and removal any ability of create a contract that is fair and reasonable to both parties. If I was selling a car in Amsterdam, why should the governance limit the price I sell for if I have an interested buyer? The same argument exists for the rental of a house. Again I stress I am merely trying to cover most of the cost of my mortgage.

I just thought it would be interesting for people to read the view from a owner's point of view as all I seem to read on this issue are Tenant comments about "wow, how do I get the rent lowered" with little thought about the problems that may cause for a single house owner looking to temporarily rent their house. Oh and my agency, who created the agreement and contract, after taking the full fees from my tenant and me, are not interested in corresponding or responding to this issue at all!

By Dave | November 26, 2009 11:19 PM