Penrose Tenancy Law and Real Estate Lawyers

Tenancy law

Tenancy law is indispensable within the broad field of real estate practice. It is the only constant factor in real estate. It concerns the use and exploitation of real estate, continuity. That is why it is a daily concern in various sectors, such as healthcare, retail, sustainability and logistics.

Under Dutch law an agreement between parties qualifies as a lease agreement when one party (the landlord/lessor) makes its property available to the other party (the tenant/lessee) for use and the tenant, in exchange for this use, provides a certain consideration to the landlord. The leased property must be properly described. A lease agreement can be concluded either in writing or verbally. A written, signed lease agreement is not a requirement for a legally valid lease agreement.

Renting and letting are usually subject to mandatory legal rules. The rules for renting and letting retail space are different from those for renting and letting office space or other commercial space, for example, and again different from those for residential space.

What are my rights as a landlord of office space? What requirements must be met when terminating my tenant’s retail lease? Can the rent for an office or retail space be increased without notice? What rent protection do residential tenants have? What rent protection do residents of a care facility who live in a care home have? What is the maximum rent and the maximum rent increase for this property? Can a landlord rent out the roof of a logistics hall to install solar panels? Is the landlord liable for damage caused to the tenant as a result of a leak? What is a green lease? What is a sale lease back and a triple net lease? What are the consequences of the new Affordable Rent Act (Wet betaalbare huur) or the Good Landlord Act (Wet goed verhuurderschap)? These are questions that we, as real estate lawyers, can advise on.

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Real estate transactions

In a real estate transaction, real estate is sold and transferred to another party. This can be done in various ways. It may involve the purchase and sale of land and/or buildings, or the purchase and sale of a private limited company in which real estate is held by means of a share transaction or an asset-liability transaction. It may also involve the purchase or sale of a project development.

The various ways of transferring real estate differ from each other in legal (and tax) terms.

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Developments and redevelopments

The development or redevelopment of real estate is a complex process involving a wide range of agreements in which multiple parties may be involved, such as developers, municipalities, contractors, and end users.

Whether it concerns new construction on vacant land, demolition and new construction, or the redevelopment of an existing building, each phase requires careful contractual documentation. This may involve a development agreement, purchase/realization agreement, construction agreement/turnkey realization agreement, cooperation agreement with the landowner, anterior agreement (also known as an exploitation agreement) with the municipality, and lease agreements. Be alert to the distribution of risk, liabilities, demarcation, and cost agreements. For example, when is a contractor allowed to pass on a cost increase in the contract price and when is he not?

Financing

Real estate transactions often involve financing and therefore financing documentation, such as loan agreements. They also involve mortgages and other securities such as pledges and security agreements such as guarantees and sureties.