The North Holland District Court recently faced a difficult case. Someone had installed hard flooring in their apartment, even though the homeowners' association (VvE) had prohibited the installation of parquet and tiles. The VvE therefore demanded that the apartment owner remove the carpeting. Is this permissible?
The VvE's bylaws stipulate that laying parquet or tiles is prohibited. This is because it could cause inconvenience to (future) neighbors. If this is the case, the floor covering must be removed. This prohibition is common in VvEs. Various model bylaws also state that laying stone floors or parquet is prohibited, provided it does not cause any inconvenience to other apartment owners or users.
The North Holland District Court ruled in the homeowners' association's favor. It ruled that laminate flooring was equivalent to parquet flooring and that it falls within the scope of the house rules. The rules state that installing laminate flooring is strictly prohibited. Therefore, there need not be a nuisance before removal can be demanded.
The judge, however, ruled that there was indeed a nuisance. The downstairs neighbors, who were present at the hearing, explained this. The court also ruled that it made no difference to the apartment owner's case that other neighbors also had tiled or parquet floors. In any case, he had violated the house rules.
The question now is: is the apartment owner obligated to remove the laminate flooring? The answer is yes. They have three months to do so. An appeal is possible, but the judgment is "provisionally enforceable." This means that the flooring must be removed, regardless of whether an appeal is filed.
Would you like a building inspection ? Contact Homekeur. Thanks to our trained and expert engineers, you're always guaranteed a professional approach and a thorough inspection. After the inspection, you'll receive a comprehensive building report . Easily schedule a building inspection appointment on our website.
The cost of a building inspection (up to 250 m²) is only €489 including VAT. We'll conduct a comprehensive building inspection and you'll receive a building report. Do you have any questions? We're happy to help and can schedule an appointment with an expert inspector right away if you wish!
