Preliminary ruling proceedings have already been conducted on the subject before the Supreme Court. At present, it is unclear what questions the Amsterdam District Court now wishes to refer to the CJEU. Still, the referral itself is reason enough for us to write this publication, addressing the purpose of European preliminary ruling proceedings and what national courts and litigants may generally expect of such proceedings.
Rent adjustment in the private housing sector: European preliminary ruling proceedings anticipated
The Amsterdam District Court reportedly intends to refer questions to the European Court of Justice (the “CJEU”) for a preliminary ruling on the application of the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (the “Directive”) in relation to standard rent adjustment clauses in tenancy agreements in the liberalised sector. Generally speaking, these clauses allow landlords to annually increase the rent based on the CPI (the indexation clause), plus a surcharge of a maximum percentage (the surcharge clause). The maximum percentage is usually 3% or 5%.
