How to Reclaim an Illegal Agency Fee in Utrecht (2026)
If you rented a place in Utrecht and an agent charged you a "bemiddelingskosten" or agency fee, there's a good chance you did not owe it, and you can demand it back. You would not be the only one who paid it: in 2019 the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) found that about 70% of letting agents charged tenants fees they had no right to.
This is the step by step. By the end you'll know whether your fee was legal, how to demand it back, and where to go if the agency stalls. There's also a free tool that writes the letter for you.
Short on time? Use the free reclaim-letter tool, answer four questions and it generates a ready-to-send letter in English or Dutch. There's a Dutch version of the tool too.
Table of contents
- The rule in one sentence
- Was your fee actually illegal?
- How much money are we talking about?
- Step by step: how to reclaim it
- What to do if they refuse
- FAQ
The rule in one sentence
If the rental agent was working for the landlord, they are not allowed to also charge you, the tenant, a mediation fee for the same home.
That's the whole thing. It's the "you can't serve two masters" principle in article 7:417 of the Dutch Civil Code. Since 1 July 2016 it applies even when the landlord pays the agent nothing (Stb. 2016, 20). The Wet goed verhuurderschap (the Good Landlord Act), in force since 1 July 2023, did not create the rule; it gave the gemeente the power to act against agents who break it.
The key ruling comes from the Hoge Raad, in the 2015 ruling known as Duinzigt (ECLI:NL:HR:2015:3099): an agent who puts a landlord's home on its website, at the landlord's request or with their consent, is in principle working for that landlord. So if you replied to an agent's listing and had to go through the agent to reach the landlord, the agent was in principle the landlord's, and the fee charged to you should not have been.
Was your fee actually illegal?
Ask one question: who hired the agent?
- The agent advertised the landlord's room or apartment and you responded to that listing. In principle, the fee was not yours to pay.
- You personally hired an agent to go search for you. Then the fee can be legal, because you're their client.
The fee hides under a lot of names, and renaming it changes nothing. All of these are the same fee in a different outfit: bemiddelingskosten, agency or mediation fee, contractkosten, administratiekosten, courtage, inschrijfkosten, verhuurkosten.
If you paid any of these to an agent who worked for the landlord, keep reading.
How much money are we talking about?
It depends on the agent. When the ACM looked at these fees in 2019, the wrongly charged ones averaged just over 200 euro per letting, including when they were called courtage, administration, contract, dossier or registration costs. Your own invoice or bank statement is the only figure that matters for your letter. Whatever the amount, if the agent worked for the landlord, you did not owe any of it.
You can reclaim it up to five years after you paid, according to the Woonbond. Count from your payment date. If your payment is older than that, ask Het Juridisch Loket before you give up, because when the period starts depends on the facts. Keep every receipt, bank transfer, and message with the agency, that's your evidence.
Step by step: how to reclaim it
1. Gather your proof. The lease, the invoice or bank transfer showing the fee, and any messages where the agent presented the listing. This shows both that you paid and that they worked for the landlord.
2. Write a formal demand letter. Address it to the agency, state the amount and date, explain that the agent acted for the landlord, cite article 7:417 BW and the Wet goed verhuurderschap, and ask for a full refund within 14 days. You don't need a lawyer for this. The free tool writes the whole letter for you, in English or Dutch, just add your details.
3. Send it properly. Email plus registered post (aangetekend) so there's a record. Give them the 14 days.
4. Keep it businesslike. You're not asking a favour, you're stating a legal position. Stick to the amount, the date, the listing and the rule.
What to do if they refuse
If the agency has not paid after the 14 days:
- Het Juridisch Loket gives free legal advice and can tell you whether your case holds.
- The Huurcommissie (rent tribunal) is not the route for an agency fee. It decides on rent, service costs and maintenance; a fee is reclaimed through the kantonrechter below.
- In Utrecht, the gemeente's meldpunt Klacht over huren lists double bemiddelings- or administratiekosten among the subjects you can report, and you may report anonymously. The Woonbond, the national tenants' association, also advises members.
- As a last step, the kantonrechter (subdistrict court) handles small claims. The Hoge Raad settled the rule in 2015 (HR 16-10-2015, ECLI:NL:HR:2015:3099), and courts have ordered agents to repay since, for example Rechtbank Gelderland in 2018. You can also ask for statutory interest, which a kantonrechter awarded in a 2024 case about a university's housing fee.
You can also report the agency to your gemeente (municipality), which has had direct enforcement power over letting agents since the Wet goed verhuurderschap.
This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and situations differ, so for anything consequential, confirm with Het Juridisch Loket or a tenants' organisation like the Woonbond, or read the Rijksoverheid answer on agency fees (in Dutch).
FAQ
Can I reclaim an agency fee I paid a year ago? Yes, on timing. The Woonbond says you can reclaim it up to five years after you paid. Keep your receipts and messages.
The fee was called "contractkosten," not an agency fee. Does that matter? No. If it came from the landlord's agent, the name on the invoice doesn't change the rule.
What if I'm not sure who the agent worked for? If you replied to an agent's listing and had to go through the agent to reach the landlord, the agent was in principle working for the landlord, according to the Hoge Raad. You can ask them, in writing, who their client is.
Do I need a lawyer? Not to start. The first step is a written demand letter, and you do not need a lawyer to send one. If it escalates, Het Juridisch Loket gives free legal advice.
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