A moratorium is a provisional measure by which the district court can temporarily prohibit the eviction from your home, for a maximum of six months. The legal basis is Article 287b of the Dutch Bankruptcy Act (Faillissementswet, Fw). It is intended for a threatening situation, and a forced eviction from your home is expressly named as one of them. It is not an automatic right, nor does it mean you keep your home for good: it buys time to put a debt arrangement in place.
Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Moratorium bij dreigende huisuitzetting: uitstel via de rechtbank
Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: Tahliye tehlikesinde moratoryum: mahkeme aracılığıyla erteleme
What you should do now
- Contact your municipality’s debt assistance service today. Where eviction is imminent, the first meeting must take place within three working days (Article 4(2) of the Municipal Debt Assistance Act, Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening).
- Make sure the current rent is paid. Without that, the protection does not work.
- Find the bailiff’s eviction notice and the eviction judgment; they state the date and the case number.
- Call us as soon as an eviction date has been set: 070 450 0300. A moratorium must be pending before that date.
What exactly does a moratorium involve?
The district court declares Articles 304 or 305 of the Bankruptcy Act applicable and thereby temporarily prohibits enforcement. This is laid down in Article 287b(4) Fw. For tenants, Article 305(2) Fw is the key provision: if an eviction judgment has been given because of rent arrears dating from before the debt restructuring, enforcement of that judgment is suspended, provided the current rent is paid on time. The same provision states that the tenancy agreement is extended for the duration of the debt restructuring scheme.
The measure applies for a maximum of six months (Article 287b(5) Fw). Besides eviction from your home, disconnection of gas, electricity or water and the termination or dissolution of your health insurance also count as a threatening situation (Article 287b(2) Fw).
What conditions must I meet?
The moratorium does not stand alone: it is linked to a request for debt restructuring. Article 287b(1) Fw provides that the request is made in the petition referred to in Article 284(1) Fw, that is, the petition for application of the statutory debt restructuring scheme, and prior to the hearing of a request for a compulsory composition (Article 287a Fw). The Mayor and Aldermen may also make the request if they have filed a petition under Article 284(4) Fw.
In practice, this means three things:
- there must have been, or still be, an amicable debt settlement process, carried out by a municipal credit bank or another institution as referred to in Article 48(1) of the Consumer Credit Act (Wck);
- there must be a threatening situation, such as an announced eviction;
- the district court weighs the interests involved. Article 287b Fw itself contains no test for granting the request; courts therefore follow Article 287(4) Fw and weigh your interest against that of the landlord. See, for example, District Court of Rotterdam 1 June 2026, ECLI:NL:RBROT:2026:6316, in which a six-month moratorium was granted subject to a condition set out in the operative part of the decision.
In the same decision, the court held that alleged nuisance could not be taken into account, because nuisance had not been included as a ground for the termination. This shows how much depends on exactly what the eviction judgment is based on.
How does the procedure work?
Quickly, and with a hearing. Article 287b(3) Fw declares, among others, Article 287a(2), (3) and (4) Fw to apply accordingly. The district court therefore immediately sets the day, time and place at which it will hear you and the creditor concerned, the court registry issues a written summons, and the court gives its decision on the day of the hearing or no later than the eighth day thereafter. When the measure ends, the debt counsellor reports to the district court (Article 287b(6) Fw).
By way of illustration. A family is notified of an eviction date three weeks away. The municipality is preparing a debt arrangement, but it has not yet been finalised. With a request under Article 287b Fw, the district court can temporarily prohibit enforcement of the judgment, so that the amicable settlement process can be completed. If the family fails to pay the current rent during that period, the basis for the protection under Article 305(2) Fw falls away. This is a hypothetical example to illustrate the rule, not a case handled by our firm.
How does this differ from setting aside proceedings, an appeal and an enforcement dispute?
A moratorium does not challenge the judgment; it suspends its enforcement. Four routes side by side:
- Setting aside proceedings (verzet) (Article 143 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure, Rv) are directed against a default judgment and must be brought within four weeks of service on you in person or of an act showing that you were aware of it. They do not suspend enforcement if the judgment has been declared provisionally enforceable (Article 145 Rv).
- An appeal (Article 339(1) Rv) must be lodged within three months, or within four weeks in interim relief proceedings.
- Enforcement dispute (Article 438 Rv): the interim relief judge can suspend enforcement, for example in the event of abuse of power or a factual error.
- Moratorium (Article 287b Fw): temporary protection arising from the debt assistance process, for a maximum of six months.
Which route fits depends on how the judgment came about and on your financial situation. See also received an eviction judgment.
Where it goes wrong
- You wait until the eviction day itself. A hearing has to be scheduled and the debt assistance service has to be on board. Every day counts here.
- The current rent is not paid. Article 305(2) Fw expressly makes this a condition for suspension.
- There is no amicable settlement process through a recognised institution. The district court checks whether the debt mediation is carried out by a person or institution as referred to in Article 48(1) Wck.
- You treat the moratorium as the final destination. It is temporary protection, not a permanent guarantee that you keep your home. Something has to happen within those six months.
Further reading
- Received an eviction judgment: setting aside, appeal or enforcement dispute
- Rent arrears and threatened eviction: what can you do?
- Payment arrangements for rent arrears and early warning
- Your landlord terminates the tenancy or announces eviction
Frequently asked questions
What is a moratorium when eviction is imminent?
A provisional measure under Article 287b of the Bankruptcy Act by which the district court can temporarily prohibit enforcement of an eviction judgment, for a maximum of six months.
Can I apply for a moratorium myself?
The request is made in the petition for application of the debt restructuring scheme (Article 284(1) Fw), and can also be made by the Mayor and Aldermen. An amicable settlement process must be under way through an institution as referred to in Article 48(1) Wck.
How long does a moratorium last?
A maximum of six months (Article 287b(5) Fw). When it ends, the debt counsellor reports to the district court.
Do I have to keep paying rent during the moratorium?
Yes. Article 305(2) of the Bankruptcy Act only suspends enforcement of the eviction judgment if the current rent is paid on time.
Does a moratorium mean I keep my home?
No. It is temporary protection that creates room to complete a debt arrangement, not a permanent guarantee that you keep your home.
Contact us
Has an eviction date been set and is debt assistance under way? Call 070 450 0300 or send your documents via arslan.nl/contact. The first consultation is free of charge and confidential. We have six offices and can also help you in Turkish, Polish and English.
Written by Ömür Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for tenancy law and social security law. Substantively reviewed on 21 September 2026 against the statutory text, the Recommendation on tenancy cases of the Tenancy Law Expert Group (LOVCK, May 2023) and Supreme Court 28 September 2018, ECLI:NL:HR:2018:1810.
