commercial property and investment

In a case concerning the question whether a lessee of business premises is entitled to a rent reduction because of the coronapandemic, the Subdistrict Court of Roermond asked the Supreme Court preliminary questions on March 31. The answer to these questions is important for legal practice, because the answers from the Supreme Court will also give other tenants and lessors of business accommodations something to hold on to when solving concrete cases.

What is a purchase/contractor agreement? When parties agree that one of them will provide a piece of land and construct or finish a building on it for a fee, there is a contract for the purchase of the land on the one hand and a contract for work on the other hand with regard to the building. The part relating to the purchase of the land is governed by the legal rules of sale. On the part that relates to contracting work (building and delivery), the rules of contracting work apply. Therefore, it does not make much difference in practice whether one speaks of two linked contracts (purchase and contracting) or of one compound contract to which the rules for purchase and the rules for contracting apply in part.

At the start of a construction project, a client will often engage an architect, engineer or consultant to help him with the design (hereafter: 'consultant'). The legal relationship between the client and his consultant is - if nothing else has been agreed - governed by the legal rules for the commission contract. These legal rules can be found in the first section of title 7.7 of the Dutch Civil Code (art. 7:400 ff. of the Civil Code). The summary statutory regulation has a general and open character and is largely of a regulatory nature. It is therefore common for parties to make further agreements.

There are two different rental regimes for commercial property: rental for medium-sized business premises, such as stores and catering establishments (7:290 business premises) and other business premises (7:230a business premises). The applicable rental regime is indicated by the section of the Dutch Civil Code that applies to that rental regime. Rent for medium-sized business premises is regulated in Section 7:290 of the Dutch Civil Code and is therefore also referred to as 7:290 business premises. Section 7:230a of the Dutch Civil Code regulates the rent for other business accommodation, the so-called 7:230a business accommodation.

Lease contracts for office space, storage or other business premises are often referred to as 7:230a leases. This name refers to the applicable legal provision. Tenants of these leases are entitled to eviction protection after termination of the lease.