MyCastle is air castle – Camelot has to pay tenants

03 april 2019 - 

Charging tenants money to access the “MyCastle” website is not allowed. Landlord Camelot has to refund € 202,50 to everyone who was charged at the start of their rental contract. Tenants should also be refunded the € 100 they were charged for cleaning costs. This is the outcome of an Amsterdam court verdict. This district court (“kantonrechter”) ruling is based on earlier verdicts by the High Court (“Hoge Raad”) and will affect thousands of tenants all over the country.

The verdict concerns 10 tenants in the so-called WASA estate on the Naritaweg in Amsterdam Westpoort (near Sloterdijk). With !WOON’s help they started a test case to address the mandatory website charges. Earlier the High Court had already concluded that tenants should not be charged contract costs. Drawing up a contract is part of renting out housing and the cost is already included in the rent. Camelot then developed a website which tenants were obliged to use, and for which they were charged a fee.

“The court is of the opinion that the aforementioned costs exclusively or predominantly serve the interest of landlord Camelot Beheer. These costs are considered to be an inherent part of the regular exploitation of housing and therefore should be covered by the rental price. That is why the tenants cannot be charged separately.”

It is considered a so-called “unreasonable advantage”. The same applies for the € 100 cleaning costs charge that tenants had to pay in advance. Tenants are obliged to leave their housing accommodation in the same state it was when they moved in. They don’t have to pay for normal wear and tear. This also goes for professional cleaning after the tenants have left. “Camelot Beheer’s desire to have the apartment and the inventory professionally cleaned is their own decision, for which they should cover the charges”, according to the court.

How can other tenants get their money back?

1    Send a letter to Camelot asking for a refund

We have drafted a sample letter  (in Dutch) you can send to Camelot. If you get no response or a negative response within 15 days after sending the letter you can move to the next step.

2a   Do (or did) you live in Amsterdam?

If so, we can help you free of charge. Send an email to our Meldpunt Ongewenst Verhuurgedrag titled “MyCastle – your name” and include the following information:

• Your full name, email address, phone nr.
• Your rental contract, without the appendixes
• Proof of payment
• The date your contract ended (if applicable)
• Your current address (if you currently live somewhere else)
• Your bank account number

2b   Do (or did) you live outside of Amsterdam?

Collect the above mentioned information for at least 10 (preferably more) other current or former tenants in your housing complex and contact us via the meldpunt email address. We can put you in touch with our paralegal. This way the legal costs per individual remain manageable and claiming refunds will be worthwile.

More information on rent, contracts, additional costs and your rights on our English website.