A landlord or homeowner who rents out living space for extremely high rents, is popularly called a house-smoker. It also happens regularly that small house farmers break up a house illegally in several rooms and rooms in order to be able to place several tenants in the house. In this way the house is completely milked out by the landlord, hence the name ‘house fancier’.

Doubtful practices
The main objection against small house farmers is that they let renters pay an indecent high rent. He often maintains the rented house or the rented property poorly or not at all, which can lead to very dangerous, unhygienic and unhealthy situations. For example, it is possible that buildings and rented houses show considerable cracks in the walls, heating and insulation work very badly and there is mold and humidity. In the worst cases, tenants on mattresses have to sleep next to each other in empty rooms.

Housing for illegals
There have been cases where small house runners rented mattresses to illegal immigrants for a large amount of money, which were placed next to each other in tight and poorly maintained rooms. Registration in the municipality was often not allowed by the landlord. The illegal immigrants usually did not dare to take any steps because they were afraid of losing their living space or worse, the country being deported.

High rental prices
Small messengers make good use of the housing shortage. Students and seasonal workers are therefore regularly the victims of such practices. Think of high rents for houses and rooms that are hardly maintained. Nowadays different institutions are trying to point out tenants’ rights, in this way hoping to keep the cottage fanciers as much as possible out of the rental market.

Frequently asked questions about cottage fanciers:
We have listed a number of questions that are often asked about small house farmers and the corresponding answers.

What is a house-keeper?
A homemaker is someone who rents out buildings and houses in a dubious and often fraudulent way.

What is the difference between a landlord and a house fancier?
When a landlord makes use of dubious and sometimes illegal activities by, for example, asking for excessively high rents, not having to carry out maintenance or placing too many tenants in a house, this is called a house-smoker. A homemaker is therefore the bad version of a landlord.

What steps can I take against a house fancier?
In case of problems with a house fancier, a tenant can call in the Hire Committee, file a complaint with the relevant municipality or, in the worst case, go to court.