Temporary rental contract after July 2024 without explicit student clause — legally valid?
I’m trying to understand whether my rental contract in is legally temporary or if it could actually qualify as indefinite under the Dutch rental laws.
Facts:
- I signed a 24-month rental contract for an apartment.
- Contract start date: Semptember 2024.
- The rental aggreement explicitly says it is a temporary contract under Article 271 and ends on September 2026.
- However, this contract was signed AFTER the Wet vaste huurcontracten entered into force on 1 July 2024.
- As far as I understand, after that date rental contracts should generally be indefinite unless a specific statutory exception applies.
Important detail:
- I am enrolled at a university, BUT:
- the contract nowhere states that this is a student tenancy,
- nowhere mentions a student exception,
- nowhere says the temporary duration is linked to my studies,
- and the apartment is not described as student housing.
- At the time I rented the apartment I had already been living in the Netherlands for around a year and was working full-time.
- The landlord assessed me mainly through full-time employment payslips.
- I had also sent a university registration document by email during the application process, but this was outside the contract itself.
From what I’ve read:
- the student exception under the new law must be explicitly reflected in the contract,
- otherwise the default should be an indefinite contract.
So my questions are:
- Does merely being a student make the temporary contract valid, even if the contract itself never mentions a student exception?
- Can external emails/documents (like my university registration) compensate for the lack of wording in the contract?
- Has anyone seen similar Huurcommissie/court cases yet under the new law?
- Would this realistically be worth bringing to the Huurcommissie?
I just want to understand whether the temporary clause is actually valid under current Dutch law, and possible prepare for looking for a new home.
Posted May 8, 2026, 3:47 PM UTC
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