What is a lease (leaseovereenkomst) under Dutch law?

Dutch term: Leaseovereenkomst | Legal basis: Book 7 BW (various)

Dutch law does not have a single statutory regime for commercial leases of movable property. Financial leases and operational leases of equipment, vehicles and other assets are governed by the general rules of Dutch contract law (Book 6 BW) and, depending on the characterisation, by the specific rules on hire (huur, Book 7 Title 4 BW) or credit (Book 7 Title 2a BW).

The characterisation of a lease matters because it determines which mandatory rules apply: hire agreements come with tenant protection rules, while financial leases that are economically equivalent to credit transactions may fall under consumer credit regulation. For B2B equipment leases, the parties have broad contractual freedom, but the interaction with retention of title, pledge rights and insolvency ranking requires careful drafting.

Why it matters for international businesses

For manufacturers and distributors using lease structures for equipment placement, the contractual allocation of maintenance, insurance, ownership and end-of-term obligations should be aligned with the applicable regulatory regime.