BREAKING: Appropriate Lease Agreements Act and the Limitation of Short-Stay Leases to 30 Nights

On July 2, 2026, the Appropriate Lease Agreements Act was published for public consultation online. The proposal aims to curb the improper use of the short-stay exception by limiting “short-term” rentals to a maximum of 30 nights. We offer critical commentary on the legal soundness, the historical context, and the available alternatives.

What does the proposal say?

The core provision is that “short-term” rentals (Article 7:232(2) of the Dutch Civil Code) will be legally limited to a maximum of 30 nights. Rentals of residential space lasting longer than 30 nights will henceforth be subject to standard rental and rent control protections: notice periods and grounds for termination under the Dutch Civil Code apply, the housing valuation system applies, and the rules regarding service charges must be followed. To prevent so-called “carousel arrangements,” consecutive contracts with the same tenant within the same structural unit are aggregated. If the 30-night limit is exceeded, a lease agreement for an indefinite term takes effect starting on the 30th night. There is no transitional provision: upon entry into force, the rules apply immediately to all lease agreements, including existing contracts.

The proposal includes several compensatory measures. Employers who are also landlords and house employees on their own company property will be granted a new ground for termination if the employment relationship ended at least four weeks ago and the living space is needed for a subsequent employee. The existing grounds for termination for flexible housing with a temporary environmental permit (max. 15 years) will be extended to non-self-contained housing. Temporary contracts for migrant workers in certified housing (Roemer standards) and for all students have been announced but are not yet included in the bill itself: the former will be implemented via a separate Order in Council, while the latter will be added to the bill following the consultation period.

A Critical Perspective

We have several critical comments regarding the bill.
The most fundamental criticism of this proposal relates to the structure of the law. When drafting Article 7:232(2) of the Dutch Civil Code (short-term leases by nature), the legislature deliberately opted for a qualitative, factual criterion rather than a fixed term. If a specific term were included in the law, this could result in a situation where, for example, if a landlord provides temporary housing to his tenants in connection with a planned renovation, rent (price) protection would apply after the term expires. The current proposal does exactly what the legislature considered undesirable in 1999.

The legislature in 2015 faced the same question and again chose not to impose a time limit. The explanatory memorandum to the 2015 Rental Market Mobility Act explicitly states that Article 7:232(2) of the Dutch Civil Code is an “exception of very limited significance,” “which, in our view, must be interpreted very restrictively.” Instead of imposing a time limit, temporary lease agreements were introduced as an alternative. The expectation was that this would restore the short-stay exception to its original, limited meaning.

Hotels and Vacation Rentals: No Automatic Tenant Status, but Legal Uncertainty

A question that immediately arises in practice is whether landlords of hotels and vacation rentals are also covered by this law.

For providers of genuine tourist hotel rooms, the situation is as follows. Statutory rent protection for residential space applies only if the space constitutes “residential space” within the meaning of Article 7:233 of the Dutch Civil Code. A hotel room used as such by a tourist is generally not residential accommodation in that sense: the nature of the use and the parties’ intent are not focused on living there. In that situation, therefore, residential tenancy law does not apply, nor does the 30-night rule. Furthermore, the government expects that hoteliers who do not wish to enter into a regular lease agreement will simply stop offering stays longer than 30 nights to the same guest. However, this is a pragmatic expectation, not a legal guarantee: the classification as residential accommodation remains a factual and case-by-case assessment.

For vacation rental property owners, the situation is potentially much more far-reaching. A vacation home may indeed qualify as residential housing within the meaning of Article 7:233 of the Dutch Civil Code if it is actually used as such, regardless of what the lease agreement or zoning plan states. Recent case law shows that a chalet in a recreational park that is permanently occupied is simply classified as residential housing, even if the agreement excludes permanent occupancy. If a vacation home qualifies as residential space and the same tenant stays there for more than 30 nights, rent protection applies under the proposal.

The Rental Market Mobility Act worked: short-stay rentals declined

The government presents the failure of the 2015 Rental Market Mobility Act as proof that restrictions are now necessary. This requires a more nuanced view. Before the Housing Market Mobility Act took effect, landlords “regularly” used short-stay arrangements. After the introduction of temporary lease agreements, 20% of housing cooperatives in areas with housing shortages stopped entering into short-term contracts, whereas they had done so previously. Outside areas with housing shortages, that percentage rose to as high as 40%. The temporary lease agreement thus proved to be an effective alternative for a substantial portion of the market.

Moreover, the abolition of temporary contracts as of July 1, 2024 (Fixed-Term Lease Act) has actually led to a further increase in the use of short-stay arrangements. This is not evidence that restrictions are necessary, but rather that eliminating the alternative has exacerbated the problem.

A better alternative: long-term temporary leases with (one-time) renewal

The most obvious solution is to reintroduce temporary lease agreements, but with a longer term (such as five or seven years) and the option of a (one-time) renewal. This alternative is also identified as a policy option in the exploratory reports published in recent years.

The main objections that were once raised against temporary contracts have now largely been addressed. The main risk was that landlords would abuse temporary leases to raise the rent with every renewal. As of 2026, that risk no longer exists—or at least has diminished: with the entry into force of the Affordable Rent Act, mandatory maximum rent limits based on the housing valuation system apply, even at the start of new lease agreements. The rent risk is thus regulated.

A long-term temporary lease offers landlords the flexibility they need to invest in and rent to specific target groups, without having to improperly invoke the exception under Article 7:232 of the Dutch Civil Code. It also leads to less legal complexity: the array of exceptions in the Dutch Civil Code and the associated Orders in Council will not need to expand further for every new target group.

The balance is skewed

The proposal strictly limits the exception, but the corresponding alternatives are not yet in place. The temporary contracts for migrant workers require a separate Ministerial Order that has yet to be introduced into the legislative process. The more lenient student regulation will only be added to the bill after the consultation period. In the meantime, the restrictions take effect immediately upon entry into force, without any transitional provisions. For landlords with existing short-stay portfolios, this represents an abrupt transition.

Current status: a long way to go

The bill is still in the very early stages of the legislative process. Following the online consultation (which runs through August 28, 2026), the following steps, among others, must be completed: processing the consultation responses, advice from the Advisory Division of the Council of State, deliberation in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and finally, entry into force by royal decree. The government has not specified a target date for entry into force. Given the political sensitivity of the issue and the unresolved questions, it is realistic to expect that the proposal may still undergo substantial changes . It is also possible that certain provisions may be dropped or that additional transitional provisions may still be introduced. At the same time, there does appear to be broad political support for restricting the possibilities of short-stay visas.

What can you do now?

We advise landlords who currently use short-stay arrangements to have their portfolios reviewed in a timely manner to assess the potential implications of this proposal. Now is also the time to submit feedback via the online consultation: this is the only formal way to influence the content of the bill at this stage. You can do so at: Overheid.nl | Consultation on Appropriate Lease Agreements

We are closely monitoring developments. Do you have any questions? Please contact us.