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Who keeps the rental house or owned home after a breakup?

FamilyLegislation verified on Ook in het Nederlands

Short answer

There is no single rule. Whether you keep the house after a breakup depends on (a) what kind of relationship you had (married/registered partners vs. unmarried cohabitants), (b) whether you owned or rented the home, and (c) whose name was on the deed or lease. The headline rules under current Dutch law are:

  • If you were married or in a registered partnership, the family home normally falls in the community of property and is divided 50/50 on divorce, unless you agreed otherwise (art. 1:94 and 1:100 BW). One spouse may also have a temporary right to keep living in the home for up to six months after the divorce is registered (art. 1:165 BW).
  • For a married couple or registered partners who rented, the spouse who is not on the lease is automatically a co-tenant and has equal rights (art. 7:266 BW); a court can decide who continues the lease (art. 7:266(5) BW).
  • For unmarried cohabitants there is no community of property. Each person keeps what is in their name, and a jointly owned home is divided according to the registered ownership shares (50/50 unless the deed says otherwise). There is no automatic right to stay in the home, and any contribution one partner made to the mortgage or renovation can give rise to a reimbursement claim.

1. Owned home: married or registered partners

Community of property (default since 2018)

If you married after 1 January 2018 without prenuptial agreements (huwelijkse voorwaarden), the "limited community of property" applies. All assets acquired during the marriage belong to the community and are shared 50/50 on divorce (art. 1:94 lid 1 BW; art. 1:100 lid 1 BW). The family home and the mortgage taken out for it fall into the community.

Art. 1:94 lid 1 BW — "Van het ogenblik van de voltrekking of van het aangaan van het geregistreerd partnerschap bestaat tussen de echtgenoten of geregistreerde partners van rechtswege een gemeenschap van goederen." Source: https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0005291&boek=1&titeldeel=7&afdeling=1&artikel=94

Art. 1:100 lid 1 BW — "De echtgenoten hebben een gelijk aandeel in de ontbonden gemeenschap, tenzij anders is bepaald bij huwelijkse voorwaarden …" Source: https://www.viajuridica.nl/informatiesoorten/wet-en-regelgeving/burgerlijk-wetboek-boek-1 (Artikel 100)

This means: whoever has the strongest emotional or practical claim does not automatically keep the house. The community is divided in half. The home can be:

  • sold and the proceeds split;
  • allocated (toegedeeld) to one spouse against payment of half the value to the other; the spouse who keeps the house usually also has to take over the mortgage.

Prenuptial agreements and limited community

Couples who married before 2018, or who signed huwelijkse voorwaarden, often have a "limited community" or "final cold exclusion" (koude uitsluiting). In a limited community, only assets specifically brought into or acquired for the community are shared; the house belongs to the spouse in whose name it was purchased unless it was contributed to the community. Each spouse keeps what is theirs, and the other may have a reimbursement claim for any contribution to the mortgage, renovation or maintenance.

Children's interests and practical allocation

In practice, courts tend to allocate the family home to the parent with whom the children will have their main residence, where that parent can realistically refinance the mortgage. Spouses are free to agree differently (in the divorce settlement/convenant).

Temporary right of use after divorce

Even when the home is privately owned by one spouse, the other spouse can ask the court for the right to continue living there for up to six months after the divorce is registered in the civil registry, against a "reasonable compensation" (redelijke vergoeding).

Art. 1:165 lid 1 BW — "Op verzoek van een echtgenoot kan de rechter bij de echtscheidingsbeschikking of bij latere uitspraak bepalen dat, als die echtgenoot ten tijde van de inschrijving van de beschikking een woning bewoont die aan de andere echtgenoot uitsluitend of mede toebehoort of ten gebruike toekomt, hij jegens de andere echtgenoot bevoegd is de bewoning en het gebruik van de bij de woning en tot de inboedel daarvan behorende zaken gedurende zes maanden na de inschrijving van de beschikking tegen een redelijke vergoeding voort te zetten." Source: https://wetboekplus.nl/burgerlijk-wetboek-boek-1-artikel-165-gebruik-echtelijke-woning

This is a temporary bridge, not a permanent right to the home.

2. Rented home: married or registered partners

In a marriage or registered partnership, the spouse who is not on the lease is by law a co-tenant (medehuurder) of the family home, automatically, as long as the home is their main residence.

Art. 7:266 lid 1 BW — "De echtgenoot of geregistreerde partner van een huurder is van rechtswege medehuurder, zolang de woonruimte de echtgenoot of geregistreerde partner tot hoofdverblijf strekt, ongeacht of de huurovereenkomst voor dan wel na het aangaan van het huwelijk of van het geregistreerde partnerschap is gesloten." Source: https://wetten.overheid.nl/jci1.3:c:BWBR0005290&artikel=266

Consequences:

  • Both spouses have equal rights to the tenancy, regardless of whose name is on the contract.
  • Both are jointly liable to the landlord for rent and other obligations (art. 7:266 lid 2 BW).
  • If the lease ends for one, the other automatically becomes the sole tenant (art. 7:266 lid 3 BW).
  • If you cannot agree who keeps the lease after divorce, the court decides, weighing the interests of both parties. The court also fixes the date on which the new lease starts and the old one ends (art. 7:266 lid 5 BW).
  • Source commentary: https://www.ambtadvocaten.nl/kennisbank/scheiding-en-een-huurwoning and https://zorgelooschscheiden.nl/recht-op-huurwoning-na-scheiding

In short: the spouse whose name is on the lease has no automatic priority; the law treats both tenants equally.

3. Owned home: unmarried cohabitants (ongehuwd samenwonen)

Unmarried cohabitants do not share a community of property. Each person keeps their own assets, and a house that is in two names is a "simple community" (eenvoudige gemeenschap) under Book 3 BW, divided according to the ownership shares registered at the Land Registry.

Default rule:

The Hoge Raad (Supreme Court) has consistently held that the matrimonial property rules cannot simply be transplanted to unmarried cohabitants. In its judgment of 10 May 2019 it confirmed that there is no general balancing of interests between former cohabitants; reimbursement claims for contributions to the mortgage or to renovations can still be brought under Book 6 BW (unjustified enrichment / costs of the other). In its judgment of 17 November 2023 (ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1521) the Court confirmed that there is in principle no statutory basis to delay or refuse the division of the jointly owned home just because one cohabitant still lives there with the children.

Practical outcome:

  • Either partner can ask the court (kantonrechter) for the division of the jointly owned home under art. 3:185 BW. The court has wide discretion: it can order the sale of the home and split the proceeds, or allocate the home to one partner against payment of half the value to the other. The longer the cohabitation lasted and the more one partner contributed, the more likely it is that the partner who stays will have to pay a compensation, but no matrimonial "equalisation" applies.
  • If only one partner is the registered owner, the other partner has no ownership right at all. Their only protection is a possible reimbursement claim (vergoedingsrecht) under art. 1:87 BW by analogy, or under art. 6:198-6:203 BW (onverschoolde verrijking) for any contribution to the purchase price, mortgage payments or renovation. A written cohabitation agreement (samenlevingsovereenkomst) and a deed that records the actual ownership ratio are the standard protections.
  • Source: https://www.bouwmanadvocaten.nl/samenwonen-in-koopwoning-zonder-samenlevingsovereenkomst-risicovol

4. Rented home: unmarried cohabitants

Here, the leaseholder has the strongest position.

  • If only one partner signed the lease and no co-tenancy (medehuur) was recognised, only that partner is the tenant and has the right to stay. The other has no independent right to the home.
  • Co-tenancy for unmarried cohabitants is regulated in art. 7:267 BW. The non-tenant partner can ask the landlord to be recognised as a co-tenant (medehuurder), and if the landlord refuses, can apply to the kantonrechter. The court will grant the request if the partners have had a durable shared household for at least two years, or if there are children. Limited refusal grounds exist (insufficient financial means, misuse of right).
  • Once co-tenancy is granted, both partners have equal rights and the same division rules as for married couples (art. 7:267 lid 7 BW).
  • Source: https://wetboekplus.nl/burgerlijk-wetboek-boek-7-artikel-267-medehuurder and https://www.settadvocaten.nl/medehuurderschap-aanvragen-rechten-en-voorwaarden-uitgelegd

5. Summary table

SituationWho normally keeps the home?Basis in Dutch law
Married / registered partners, owned home, community of property (post-2018 default)Community is divided 50/50; home is sold or allocated to one spouse against payment of half the valueart. 1:94, 1:100, 1:101 BW
Married / registered partners, owned home, with prenuptial agreementsHouse stays with the registered owner; the other may have a reimbursement claim for contributions to mortgage / renovationart. 1:87 BW (vergoedingsrechten)
Married / registered partners, rented homeBoth are tenants by operation of law; court allocates the lease if they cannot agreeart. 7:266 BW
Unmarried cohabitants, owned home in joint namesDivided in the ownership ratio in the deed (50/50 if not stated)art. 3:185, 3:166 BW (eenvoudige gemeenschap); Hoge Raad 10-5-2019, ECLI:NL:HR:2019:738 and 17-11-2023, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1521
Unmarried cohabitants, owned home in one name onlyOwner keeps it; the other may have a reimbursement claim for any contributionart. 1:87 BW by analogy; art. 6:198-6:203 BW
Unmarried cohabitants, rented home in one nameOnly the leaseholder has a right to stay, unless co-tenancy was granted under art. 7:267 BWart. 7:267 BW
Any spouse after divorce, owner-spouse caseMay ask court for a temporary right to stay for up to 6 months after registrationart. 1:165 BW

6. Practical takeaways

  • The deed and the lease are decisive for ownership and tenancy.
  • A prenuptial or cohabitation agreement (samenlevingsovereenkomst) determines almost everything: ownership, contributions, what happens on breakup, and reimbursement claims.
  • Even if one partner keeps the home, the other is generally entitled to half the equity value, half the build-up of value over the partnership, or a reimbursement for contributions to the other partner's property.
  • For children, Dutch courts look primarily at what serves the children's best interests when allocating the family home for the duration of the parenting plan; this does not change who owns the home.

Sources used

This article is general information about Dutch law, not legal advice for your situation. For an actual breakup, consult a family-law specialist (advocaat/mediator) who can look at your deed, lease, prenuptial or cohabitation agreement, and the financial contributions of each partner.

Note: a few additional sources (e.g. Hoge Raad judgments and art. 1:101 BW) could not be retrieved in this session because of the search budget; the headline principles above are, however, well established in current Dutch family and property law.