A few months after I'd left the 23 m² studio I'd been renting in Eindhoven, I learned that the rent I'd been paying could be challenged. When I first rented the place, I did find the price very high, but as a foreigner I wasn't aware of Dutch rental law and didn't have much of a choice at the time. My contract had even been dressed up as a "short-stay" agreement, seemingly to keep it outside normal tenant protections.

All I had to do was send some documents, and Jan took care of everything. The Huurcommissie agreed that the short-stay label didn't hold up, but still dismissed my case on a technicality about the filing deadline. Jan didn't accept that and took the case to the kantonrechter, carrying the risk of the legal costs himself. The judge ruled entirely in my favour, confirming both that my case had in fact been filed on time and that it was a regular tenancy, and I received € 2,109.40 back in overpaid rent and deposit.

With that money, I plan to treat my friends to a night out at a restaurant and keep the rest for whatever the future brings. All my gratitude and admiration to Jan for his commitment to fixing this injustice, and many others!