NETHERLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Coco van Zuiden, Marijn Bodelier, Sabine Schoute and Simone Wijngaard, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
the rent. The application to the court must be accompanied by a report drawn up by one or more experts appointed jointly by the parties. If the parties are unable to agree on the expert(s) to be appointed, either party can request the court to appoint the expert(s). This statutory right to a rent review is mandatory law and therefore supersedes any contractual provisions, unless such provisions are approved by the court or deviate to the benefit of the lessee. 6.6 Determination of New Rent Indexation of rent is usually based on the con - Generally speaking, an option to tax letting and leasing is possible for all non-residential real estate (including rights in rem which are treated as a supply or services). The advantage of an option is that the lessor can recover input VAT on costs with respect to the real estate. Under certain conditions, it is possible to integrate the option in the lease. An important condition is that the lease clearly states that the lease will be subject to VAT and contains a declaration in which the lessee declares that the real estate will be used for purposes giving the lessee a right to at least 90% (or 70%) recovery of input VAT. Generally, the letting of real estate is a relatively passive activity. If, in addition to the more pas - sive letting, other services are offered, the letting may qualify as “letting plus”. It is important to determine whether the additional services are embodied in the letting performance or should be regarded as multiple separate services, for which the VAT treatment may differ. sumer price index (CPI). 6.7 Payment of VAT In certain cases, the lessor also charges the les - see service charges when letting real estate. In principle, service charges are taken separately
from the rent and are taxed with VAT. Service charges paid by tenants of residential proper - ties are considered to be embodied in the letting performance and are treated the same way for VAT purposes. 6.8 Costs Payable by a Tenant at the Start of a Lease The payment obligation of a lessee usually con - sists of rent and service charges plus VAT (com - pensation). 6.9 Payment of Maintenance and Repair The general statutory provisions impose only a few maintenance and repair obligations on les - sees. In short, the lessee must carry out all minor and day-to-day maintenance, including but not limited to the maintenance of technical installa - tions, the replacement of bulbs, locks, taps and glass, and painting the interior of the premises. Other maintenance and repairs are for the lessor. 6.10 Payment of Utilities and Telecommunications Utilities and telecommunications that serve a property occupied by several tenants can in principle be shared (pro rata) via the service charges. 6.11 Insurance Issues The common practice in the Netherlands is that insurance of the property is taken out by the les - sor. The lessor is not obliged to insure furniture and other objects belonging to the lessee that are in the leased premises, however, nor is the lessor obliged to take out business interruption insurance. Leases for business premises often provide that if a higher than normal premium for fire insur - ance is charged as a result of the lessee’s activi -
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