Question 1

What are the two Dutch commercial lease regimes?

Accepted Answer

Dutch commercial space splits into two legal regimes. Retail and hospitality space, called 290 space, anywhere the public walks in, carries a mandatory five plus five year lease system that binds tenant AND landlord, with a one year notice period and court permission needed to deviate. Offices, warehouses, and practice rooms, called 230a space, run on contractual freedom with far less protection. And there is one escape hatch: a retail lease of two years or less sits outside the protection regime, but stay one day past it and it converts by law into a protected lease that runs five years at the earliest, counting the two you already used.

Question 2

How long is a Dutch retail lease?

Accepted Answer

A retail or hospitality lease runs a mandatory first term of five years and then extends by law for another five. Both parties are bound. Termination notice is a full year, served by bailiff or registered letter, and deviating from the regime needs court approval.

Question 3

Can I sign a short Dutch retail lease to test a location?

Accepted Answer

Yes. A retail lease of two years or less sits entirely outside the protection regime. The trap is the conversion: stay in the space past two years and the agreement becomes a protected lease by operation of law that runs five years at the earliest, counting the two you already used, whether anyone signed anything or not.

Question 4

What happens if a space is both a shop and a workshop?

Accepted Answer

Mixed use is where Dutch lease disputes are born. Courts look at what the space is actually used for rather than what the contract calls it, and misclassification is the most common root of retail lease litigation. Get a Dutch huurrecht lawyer to read it before signing.

The Lease Decoder

Will the public walk in off the street to buy goods or services?