In the event of a dispute with the landlord, the rent assessment commission can pronounce judgment. Whether you are renting from a housing association or from a private landlord.
Renting from a housing association:
Engage the rent assessment commission if you disagree with the annual rent increase. For example:

• You disagree with the (annual) rent increase. You submit a notice of objection to the landlord. If you cannot resolve the dispute, the landlord will submit an application to the rent assessment commission. You do not pay the rent increase and you sustain from reacting to the landlord's reminder letter.
• There are serious maintenance defects due to negligence on the part of the housing association. For this reason the rent assessment commission lowers the rent. The landlord repairs the maintenance defects and subsequently increases the rent. You, however, find the repairs inadequate and do not wish to pay the increased rent.

Renting from a private landlord:
Engage the rent assessment commission in the following cases of renting from a private landlord:

• If the price is an all-in price (rent + gas, water and electricity).
• If you have a dispute about the annual settlement of service costs or about the amount of advance payment required for service charges.
• If the rent exceeds the maximum rent limit and the tenant wishes to have the rent lowered.
  If the rental agreement does not yet exist longer than six months and the tenant wishes to have the amount of rent and/or the state of repair assessed.
• You disagree with the annual rent increase (refer to the above)
• There are serious maintenance defects due to negligence on the part of the landlord. For this reason the rent assessment commission lowers the rent. The landlord repairs the maintenance defects and subsequently increases the rent, but you find the repairs inadequate and do not wish to pay the increase.

What doesn't the rent assessment commission do?

There are issues which are subject to the regulations for the renting and rental of living accommodation but for which you cannot apply to the rent assessment commission. In these cases there are other bodies which you can engage.

• Finding a new house: the municipal authority, a housing association or an estate agent
• Questions about business space: the Chamber of Commerce (www.kamervankoophandel.nl)
• Giving notice of termination of the rent: Legal Aid and Advice Centre (www.hetjl.nl) or Citizen's Advice Bureau (www.sociaalraadslieden.nl). Landlords can apply to a lawyer.
• Applying for a housing allowance: please refer to (www.toeslagen.nl)
• Questions about nuisance caused by your neighbours: the police. Nuisance caused by your neighbours can also be reported to the landlord.
• General questions about tenancy agreements:
  Legal Aid and Advice Centre and/or a lawyer.
• Repairing maintenance defects:
  the municipal authorities or the Legal Aid and Advice Centre. The rent assessment commission cannot oblige the landlord to repair any maintenance defects.
• If the rent exceeds a certain amount, then the living accommodation is considered to be deregulated and the point system and maximum rent limits for housing allocation are no longer applicable. In that case you cannot appeal to the rent assessment committee. What you can do, however, is have the rent assessed within the first six months of entering into a tenancy agreement. The point system in that case determines the maximum rent. It may occur that the rent assessment committee then establishes a maximum rent that lies below the deregulation limits. In that case the accommodation is no longer considered to be deregulated. A new deregulation limit is established each year.