MAES notaries help Amsterdam leaseholders with their transition. Fast, extra affordable, and excellent.

MAES notaries help Amsterdam leaseholders with their transition. Fast, extra affordable, and excellent.

The Municipality of Amsterdam, hereinafter referred to as the "Municipality," offers Amsterdam leaseholders a 25% discount on the redemption price and on the new lease payment in the perpetual leasehold system. You'll receive this transition premium if you quickly switch to perpetual leasehold. We can provide leaseholders—including private leaseholders, homeowners' associations, and investors—with quick, affordable, and expert guidance through the transition. This makes it even more attractive.

How does it work?

Ownership and limited rights

Ownership is the most comprehensive right you can have in a thing. Things are tangible objects susceptible to human control. A leasehold right is a limited right. A limited right is a right derived from a more comprehensive right that is preserved with the limited right. We have a closed system. This means that all possible limited rights are included in the law. Limited rights can be divided into rights of use and security rights. Rights of use include, in addition to leasehold rights, usufruct, easements, building rights, and condominium rights. Security rights are pledges and mortgages.

What limited rights are there?

Easements, leasehold rights, building rights, apartment rights, and mortgage rights are limited rights. They are also registered property. Registered property is property for which transfer or establishment requires registration in designated registers. Such registers are kept by the land registry. Registration is done by entering a copy of a deed in the designated public registers. This deed must be a notarial deed. This means that for the establishment, transfer, or transfer of a leasehold right, you always need to visit a notary.

Leasehold

A leasehold is a property right to use land owned by someone else. The municipality owns the land on which a leasehold right has been established in your favor. The applicable special and general leasehold terms and conditions stipulate these terms and the compensation (the ground rent) the leaseholder owes the owner, the municipality, for the use of the land.

The original purpose of leasehold was to prevent land speculation. The concept originated with Treub, then an alderman in Amsterdam. Leasehold revenues benefited the community, allowing them to finance communal facilities and ensuring that not only wealthy Amsterdammers could benefit from the land value (and its appreciation).

The leasehold system makes buying a home more affordable for buyers. After all, you don't have to buy the land yourself. You only pay a periodic fee for its use.

Leasehold forms (perpetual and perpetual)

There are various types of leasehold. For example, land can be issued in perpetual leasehold. There are leasehold contracts with an end date on which the value of the land, and therefore the ground rent, can be adjusted. But land can also be issued in perpetual leasehold. The value of the land subject to ground rent is then fixed forever and cannot be adjusted. This provides peace of mind and certainty. The municipality now allows you to switch from perpetual leasehold to perpetual leasehold, whereby the General Provisions for Perpetual Leasehold 2016 Amsterdam (AB 2016) apply.

Financing

Ground rent is tax-deductible, just like mortgage interest. The interest for buying out the ground rent is also tax-deductible, and you can finance the purchase of your ground rent as part of your mortgage or—usually for amounts under €25,000—as a loan. The interest you pay on the loan or mortgage to buy out the ground rent is deductible for income tax.

You can finance the redemption of the perpetual leasehold with a mortgage. The interest payments are deductible provided a contractual repayment schedule (linear or annuity) is established. The redemption amount may still fall within the scope of your mortgage registration. This offers the advantage of avoiding notary fees for a new mortgage deed.

Buying out leasehold in Amsterdam

On June 28, 2017, the Amsterdam City Council approved the Transition Scheme for Perpetual Leasehold. Leaseholders with a home can now switch voluntarily.

The Switching Scheme applies to all leaseholders with a residential property. They can choose to switch to perpetual leasehold. This Switching Scheme does not apply to owners of commercial or social real estate.

You can request a quote through the municipality's Switching Portal. The municipality offers favorable terms for leaseholders switching now. They will use the 2014 or 2015 WOZ value as the starting point. This can make a significant difference if you expect the WOZ value in Amsterdam to continue to rise significantly in the coming years. All switchers, regardless of the time, also receive a 25% discount on the final purchase price, in addition to a 10% discount on the land value. This also represents a significant saving, provided the land valuation is realistic.

Anyone who wants to buy out their leasehold all at once can get a quote from the municipality. Those who want to buy out their leasehold in installments can at least have the land's value recorded. They will have to serve out their current contract, but they will know what they'll be paying afterward. Those who don't want to switch at all will remain in the current system, with the prospect of a (significantly) higher ground rent due to a sharply increased WOZ value.

Model deeds prescribed by the municipality

The municipality requires notaries to use established model deeds for the transition from perpetual leasehold to perpetual leasehold, and makes a distinction between:

Model 1 (amendment to leasehold rights):

This model is used for ground-level homes. This could be a plot of land leased on a long lease, or a building divided into apartment rights, with each (private portion of the) apartment right leased on a long lease.

Model 2 (obligatory agreement):

This model is used for apartment rights where the common property concerns the leasehold. It allows for a transfer of ownership per apartment right through a mandatory agreement. A qualitative obligation, a chain clause, and a penalty clause are agreed upon to secure the transfer for subsequent acquirers of the apartment right and to make the deed registrable in the public registers. In the deed, the leaseholder also grants the owners' association power of attorney to execute a notarial deed amending the leasehold when all apartment owners in the association have transferred ownership.

Fatal term

The transition deed, whereby the leaseholder switches from perpetual leasehold to perpetual leasehold and declares the General Provisions for Perpetual Leasehold 2016 Amsterdam (AB 2016) applicable, must be executed no later than six months after the date of the municipality's decision. This deadline is stated in the letter of assignment we received and is monitored by us.

We will guide you through the transition and take care of all your concerns

Many Amsterdam leaseholders contact us to request assistance with their transition. They do this because they hear from other leaseholders that we handle the transition quickly, affordably, and efficiently. We're happy to take the burden off their shoulders.

Who are we?

We are MAES Civil-Law Notaries. An independent, full-service notary office serving individuals, businesses, and (semi-)government bodies in the Rotterdam-The Hague Metropolitan Area. Specializing in family law, corporate law, and real estate, we guide our clients through the moments that truly matter in life—both professionally and personally. We offer peace of mind, reliability, and security. We provide customized solutions and, with our discount label, Basisnotarissen Rijnmond, offer very affordable, ready-made solutions. Impeccable, dedicated, and honest.

We are not part of the Amsterdam Ring of Notaries, but the municipality—after selection based on expertise, quality, capacity, and experience—has admitted us to the portal in consultation with the chairman of the Amsterdam Ring to facilitate the transition for Amsterdam leaseholders. In appropriate cases, we collaborate with Amsterdam notaries of our own choosing.

Where are we?

Our office is located in a well-equipped, historic building in the old harbor of Vlaardingen, Oosthavenkade 39. It offers picturesque views of the pleasure boats and sailing ships. You're always welcome to drop in. But we're not confined to our office. We're mobile and flexible. We go where the business is. If desired, we can also meet you by appointment at the business centers of NoMA House in Amsterdam's Zuidas district, or at the World Trade Center Rotterdam or World Trade Center The Hague. We have high-quality accommodations there and can offer you use of their facilities.

Consultation

If you found us through the municipality's Switching Portal and would like us to support you, please let us know your choice via the portal.

If you would like a quote from us, click here , then click on Real Estate and choose: V | | Switch | Leasehold | Amsterdam | Model 1 (ground-level property) or Model 2 (condo) or email us at service@maesnotarissen.nl and state your name, address, whether it concerns a ground-level property or an condominium, state that it concerns Switch Leasehold Amsterdam, and include your phone number. You can also simply call us anytime. We are available at +31 (0)10 44 53 777.

We hope to welcome you soon!