Veurne District Court: lease terminated due to nuisance

Gepubliceerd op 08/04/2025

On 1 October 2024, the Veurne Peace Court (vredegerecht) handed down an important judgment in a case concerning the dissolution of a lease.  The case was brought by the Association of Co-owners (VME in Dutch) against a tenant who, according to the VME, was causing considerable nuisance in the apartment building.

Facts of the case

The tenancy agreement concerned a flat in Veurne leased by the owners to the first defendant for a period of nine years, starting from 3 October 2020.  According to the VME, the tenant caused serious nuisance and repeatedly violated the building’s internal order regulations.

The specific violations include disturbing the peace in the building, failing to close entrance doors, failing to clean up leaking rubbish bags, failing to properly place rubbish in the spaces provided for that purpose and throwing rubbish over the balustrade.

Evidence and judgment

The justice of the peace ruled that the facts were sufficiently proven based on several elements:

• The general assembly of the VME had unanimously decided to initiate the proceedings against the tenant, indicating widespread dissatisfaction.
• During the reconciliation hearing, it emerged that many co-owners had complaints about the tenant.
• The cleaning firm’s staff also confirmed the tenant’s misconduct, including verbal expletives, threats and false accusations.

Decision

The justice of the peace declared the lease dissolved to the detriment of the tenant as of 30 September 2024.  The tenant was ordered to vacate the flat within two months of service of the judgment.

In addition, the tenant was ordered to pay:

• An occupancy fee of 550.- EUR per month from 1 October 2024 until the complete eviction of the rental property;
• A re-letting fee of 550.- EUR;
• Court costs.

Legal context

This judgment is in line with previous case law confirming that a VME can take direct action against a tenant who fails to comply with statutory and/or regulatory obligations.  There are several court judgments in published case law in which the court, at the VME’s request, dissolves a lease for nuisance and breaches of the regulations.

What stays important here is that, according to case law, the owner-landlord should be encouraged to take the necessary steps with regard to his tenant(s). This is not evident from the judgment under discussion, but given that the judgment stated that it was impossible to reach an amicable settlement, it can be assumed that the owner-landlord did indeed make certain attempts to do so.

This judgment thus confirms the possibility for a VME to take direct action against tenants who cause a nuisance and do not respect the building’s regulations.

As a VME, do you have problems with certain tenants in your building or do you still have questions after reading this article? Do not hesitate to contact our office so that we can assist you in this regard.