Who Actually Lives Here? Investigating primary residence and prohibited subletting in residential tenancies

Where there are grounds to suspect that a tenant no longer has their primary residence at the rented property and/or has allowed a third party to use all or part of the property without permission, it is important to build a well-documented case.

The mere fact that a tenant is not seen, responds infrequently or that a third party is present at the property is not, in itself, necessarily sufficient. When determining a tenant’s primary residence, the factual circumstances ultimately matter, in particular where the centre of the tenant’s personal and social life is located.

Relevant circumstances may include where and how often someone actually stays and sleeps, where their personal belongings are kept, their registration in the Dutch Personal Records Database (BRP), utility consumption data, statements from local residents and other objective information.

The practical approach is therefore:
signal → document → limited investigation → confront the tenant → conduct further investigation if necessary → legal assessment