Residents 'committee and tenants' organization rights

Tenant organizations and residents' committees have information law, consultation right, advisory right and agenda right. Resident committees have slightly less rights than tenant organizations.

Information law

Tenant organizations and residents' committees have the right to receive information from the landlord about:

• housing demolition plans;
• home maintenance;
• the rent;
• The information right applies to existing policy as well as to changes in policy;

Consultation right;

Tenant organizations and residents' committees have a consultation right. This means that in certain situations they can ask the landlord to consult with them. This consultation can take place in various ways:

Annually: the landlord must consult with his tenants 'organization and residents' committee at least once a year.
On request: the tenants 'organization or residents' committee can ask the landlord to consult with them. This consultation concerns the information provided by the landlord under the right to information.
In case of policy changes: the landlord must consult with the tenant organization and residents' committee concerned if he wants to change the policy or management.

Advisory right

The tenants 'organizations and residents' committees have the advisory right. This means that they may give the landlord written advice about his intended policy.

The advice should be as follows:

• The landlord provides his tenants with written information about his policy;
• The landlord will discuss this with the tenants 'organization or the residents' committee;
• The tenants 'organization or residents' committee is given at least 6 weeks to issue written advice;
• The landlord does not carry out his plans until the tenants 'organization or residents' committee has been able to issue this advice;
• Does the landlord want to deviate from the advice? Then he must report this in writing to the tenants 'organization or residents' committee within 2 weeks. He indicates why he does not follow the advice in whole or in part;

Right to place on the agenda

Tenant organizations and residents' committees have scheduling rights. This is the right to put topics on the consultation agenda.

Invite an external expert

The landlord, tenants 'organization and residents' committee also have the right to invite experts to participate in consultations with the landlord. The tenants' organization can also invite the external expert to provide written advice.

Right to consent to changes in service charges policy

To change the service charge policy, a landlord requires prior permission from the tenant organization (if there is one).

This does not apply to changes in the service charge package. Different rules apply to this.

Cost reimbursement for tenant organizations

A tenants' organization is entitled to a cost reimbursement from the landlord for:

• consultation with and advice to the landlord;
• informing and consulting tenants;
• training of the tenants 'organization, with a minimum of 3 training days for the members of the board of the tenants' organization;
• costs for inviting external experts, requesting information and advice from external experts and requesting written advice from an external expert;
• costs for the internal organization (eg office costs, rent of meeting room, sending newsletters).
• The landlord and tenant organization agree on a budget for a calendar year. The tenants' organization can spend this budget at its own discretion. The tenant organization is accountable to the landlord within 2 months after the calendar year for the spending of the budget. The landlord only has to reimburse costs that exceed the budget if he has agreed to those excess costs.

Consultation with municipalities and corporations

Since 1 July 2015, tenant organizations have also been able to participate in consultations between municipalities and housing associations.

Residents 'committee: fewer rights than tenants' organization

Resident committees have slightly less rights than tenant organizations. The differences in a row:

• Just talking about your own residential complex
• Resident committees are only allowed to discuss plans for their housing complex. For example about demolition and renovation of the houses in that residential complex. Or the service cost package for the residential complex.
• No right of consent over service charges
• The residents' committee has no right to consent to the policy for service costs. The tenants' organization does. Right of consent means that the tenants' organization must agree to the policy pursued. The landlord may therefore not pursue a policy that deviates from the wishes of the tenants' organization.
• No cost reimbursement for residents 'committee
  Residents' committees are not entitled to reimbursement of costs. The landlord must ensure that the residents' committees can perform their duties. For example, the landlord can provide meeting space. Or let the residents' committee use a copier

The above has been taken from the site of the National Government