After a death, a child sometimes remains in the parental home or an heir moves into the empty property. This may be practical but raises questions about access, costs and division. Being a co-heir gives no unlimited authority to reserve the home for yourself. Equally, occupation is not necessarily unlawful and there is no automatic entitlement to a fixed monthly payment. Start with ownership, existing residential rights and earlier agreements. Participants can then make verifiable arrangements for temporary use and a possible buyout.
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1. Check ownership and the basis of occupation
Examine the will, certificate of inheritance and ownership information. Not every heir becomes a co-owner of the home after death. Under statutory division, the survivor acquires the assets and children generally have monetary claims. If someone else already partly owned the home, the estate includes only the deceased's share. Therefore first establish who controls the home before heirs demand access, sale or compensation from each other.
The occupant may also be a tenant, co-owner or usufructuary alongside being an heir. A testamentary residential right requires separate reading. Agreements the deceased made may also remain relevant. Request the agreement and payment details rather than relying solely on registration at the address. Address registration does not itself prove ownership or tenancy. Nor does an existing legal position automatically disappear because other relatives prefer a sale. List documents the occupant relies on and request missing attachments. Record acknowledged facts and disputed interpretations of the agreements.
2. Distinguish temporary residential rights from ordinary shared use
Under conditions, Article 4:28 of the Dutch Civil Code gives a spouse six months' continued use of the home and contents. Comparable protection may apply to others who shared a household with the deceased until death. The home and prior use must satisfy statutory conditions. This temporary right differs from co-heirs' permission for later occupation. Also investigate whether a survivor can claim maintenance usufruct in time.
For a jointly held home, Article 3:169 applies: each co-owner may generally use the asset insofar as compatible with others' rights and no different arrangement applies. Having a key therefore does not mean one heir may decide everything alone. Clarify whether others also want use, need access for records or want to prepare a sale. Respect the occupant's privacy and record practical visiting arrangements.
3. Make a temporary use arrangement with an endpoint
Discuss who lives there, which rooms are used and how long the agreement lasts. Record how viewings, valuations, maintenance and access to stored belongings are organised. Identify keyholders and appointment arrangements. A temporary arrangement may, for example, be linked to a specific decision date about a buyout. Also state whether it affects entitlements for the earlier period or applies only from signing. Describe how parties reach each other if immediate access is needed for a leak or other fault. A regular contact and reachable backup make the arrangement workable.
Co-owners can agree on use and management; without agreement, a subdistrict court arrangement may be requested under conditions under Article 3:168. Its purpose is organising use, not automatically dividing the entire estate. Define the dispute specifically: is someone refusing a valuer access, are costs unclear or is an end date missing? A limited arrangement can provide calm during further administration without immediately solving every ownership question.
4. Assess compensation for use without assumptions
If an heir uses the home to the exclusion of other co-owners, compensation for lost use and enjoyment may arise. The legal relationship is governed partly by reasonableness and fairness. Existing agreements, actual access and participants' conduct may make a difference. There is no general statutory percentage payable for every inherited home directly from the death date. Substantiate both entitlement and the requested start date.
In February 2026, the Noord-Holland District Court rejected requested compensation because use had been coordinated with others and another heir also actually used the home. That decision concerned specific facts. It does not mean every occupant can stay free merely because a key is available somewhere. Keep messages about access, use requests and agreements. Also record whether a proposed amount is provisional, to whom it is payable and into which account. Track the periods parties discuss. Distinguish actual occupation, offered shared use and refused access; these events may be interpreted differently and merit their own evidence.
5. Allocate costs and renovations verifiably
Separate consumption costs, ownership charges, mortgage payments and maintenance. Agree who pays energy and water and which shared expenses are advanced. Article 3:172 links contributions to authorised acts and shares unless another arrangement applies. This requires more than a pile of invoices afterwards. An occupant paying everything does not automatically acquire a larger ownership share. Keep an overview with date, purpose, consent and proof of every payment. Send the same cost statement periodically to all participants. Separate disputed entries and request a targeted response, so disagreement over one bill does not obscure other payments.
For ordinary maintenance, preservation and acts allowing no delay, Article 3:170 may permit independent action where necessary. This does not automatically authorise a new kitchen or extension. The same Noord-Holland judgment shows unauthorised renovation costs cannot simply be charged to the estate. Report an urgent repair immediately and limit it to what is necessary. For larger plans, agree authority, budget, financing and any reimbursement beforehand.
6. Develop a buyout with financing and conveyance
If the occupant wants to acquire the home, discuss valuation and implementation together. Division value does not automatically follow from the WOZ value for inheritance tax. Record reference date, valuer, mortgage settlement and any adjustments. Saying a bank will probably finance it is not a completed buyout. Identify documents needed, when certainty must exist and what happens if acquisition ultimately fails. Keep the use arrangement valid while implementation continues.
For registered property, the notarial division deed and registration matter. An internal agreement that one heir will bear all future mortgage costs does not automatically release other debtors towards the lender. Therefore expressly discuss any release from joint and several liability and conveyance conditions. Fictional example: a daughter can buy out her family but the bank decides later. An agreed financing deadline and sale route prevent others waiting without a clear endpoint.
7. Choose targeted proceedings if matters become deadlocked
If a definitive solution fails to emerge, a co-owner can generally demand division. Under Article 3:185, the court may order the manner of division or determine it, for example by allocation or sale. Statutory restrictions and conditional postponement possibilities exist. An interest in remaining resident therefore does not automatically confer a permanent veto over division. Conversely, eviction does not follow merely from an angry co-heir's letter.
In urgent cases, have the necessary measure and authority to act assessed, particularly if an executor or liquidator is involved. Do not change locks unilaterally or remove belongings to force someone to sell. Bring ownership documents, agreements, access messages, cost summaries and a specific proposal to the adviser. Proceedings must match the outcome sought: arranging temporary use, assessing payment or definitively ending joint ownership. This prevents different problems disappearing into one unclear claim.
Frequently asked questions
Must a resident child leave immediately after death?
Not automatically. Investigate ownership, any tenancy agreement, testamentary rights and possible six months' continued use under Article 4:28. That protection applies only if conditions are met.
Can I always demand half the market rent?
No. The existence, amount and start date of compensation for use all require assessment. Actual exclusion, agreements and reasonableness and fairness matter; there is no fixed general formula.
Is a buyout complete once we agree on the home's value?
No. Payment, debts, financing, any bank release and notarial implementation must also be arranged. Record what happens if financing or conveyance fails.
Sources
These sources relate to this page. For a specific case, check current rules and your own documents.
- Rechtbank Noord-Holland — ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2026:1723 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Tweede Kamer — onderzoek Draagvlak voor de legitieme portie Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Hoge Raad — ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1722 Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Belastingdienst — Ik erf een koopwoning Accessed: 2026-10-23
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 3 — gemeenschap Accessed: 2026-10-23
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Editorial team Inheritance law in the Netherlands
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