An Amsterdam man will be evicted from his social housing after it was discovered that he was subletting his apartment for €2,000 per month. His actual rent? €616.
Housing association, Stadgenoot, brought the man to court and won after it was determined by the judge that the man had indeed been illegally subletting his apartment on and off since 2010, Het Parool reports.
The man argued that he remained living in the one-bedroom apartment, even when there were two extra occupants living there.
13 different people
Stadgenoot’s investigation found that, according to the Personal Records Database, no less than 13 other people had been registered at the man’s address since 2010.
The man claimed he rented out the property under a hospita agreement and slept in the living room. The the entire time.
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To paint a picture of the property, the apartment consists of a 14.5-square-metre bedroom, and a 17.11-square-metre living room.
Needless to say, aside from the fact that no genuine lodger agreement was found, the judge struggled to believe that the man had been sleeping in his living room since 2010.
No personal items
What also didn’t help the tenant’s claim, was that none of his personal items could be seen in photographs of the apartment sent to Stadgenoot by his subletters.
“Moreover, any personal touch is missing, such as private mail, photographs, and similar personal effects,” the judge argued, according to Het Parool.
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The tenant argued the photos simply painted a distorted picture of his living arrangement, and none of his items could be seen in the photos.
One more thing that didn’t help his argument? His two subletters allegedly locked the tenant out of the property at one point when he went on holiday. He claimed that they took his keys from him.
Social housing is not for personal profit
The man has ultimately lost his case. He must pay €782 in rent arrears (should be manageable considering the profit he was making), as well as €616 per month from January of this year until he vacates the apartment.
Responding to Het Parool, a Stadgenoot spokesperson says that:
“Our rental homes are intended for living in, not for subletting to turn a personal profit. That is why we tackle illegal subletting, and we are satisfied with this ruling. This ensures our housing stock remains available to the people it is meant for.”
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