Lease protection (or lack thereof) in tourist districts

Aruban lease law requires that when a landlord wants to terminate a lease agreement, even if it is for cause and even if the lease term has expired, the termination has to be approved by the Rental Commission (Huurcommissie) or ordered by a court for it to be valid. There is one exception to this rule: for lease agreements for commercial rental spaces that are situated in an airport or in a seaport or are situated in or spatially connected with a hotel (“in een hotel gevestigd zijn of daarmee ruimtelijk verbonden zijn”).

In recent case law in which Patrick Brown and Sulaine Tromp acted as attorneys for the landlord, the meaning of the term “spatially connected with a hotel” was further defined and amplified, first by the Court of First Instance of Aruba on April4, 2023 (ECLI:NL:OGEAA:2023:75) and then by The Joint Court of Appeals on April 9, 2024 (ECLI:NL:OGHACMB:2024:44). The cassation by the tenant at the Supreme Court of the Netherlands against the decision of the Joint Court of Appeals was denied on July 18, 2025 (ECLI:NL:HR:2025:1170), thereby confirming that the decision of the Joint Court of Appeals was correct.

The relevant part of the decision of the Joint Court of Appeals (no. 3.11): “the leased property is located on the Palm Beach Strip directly opposite the high rise hotels, being very expensive if not the most expensive land in Aruba. Furthermore, it is generally known locally that all the buildings built there and the businesses located therein, including the food, beverage and entertainment establishments operated in the leased property, have been developed entirely according to luxury standards – appropriate to the opposite hotels – and are mainly aimed at tourists with corresponding tourist prices.”

These decisions mean that when a landlord rents out a commercial space in a building that is close to the hotels and is built to high standards to cater mainly to tourists, this landlord will not need permission from the Rental Commission or a court order to terminate the lease agreement with the tenant, either at the end of the agreed term or for cause. The terms and conditions of the lease agreement (and general contract law) will govern whether and how the lease can be terminated validly.

These decisions provide more clarity, both for landlords and tenants in the tourist area directly adjacent to the hotels. They now know what the extent of the lease protection is and can take their decisions and actions accordingly.

The question remains open as to how far the term “spatially connected with a hotel” should reach. In other words, how far away from the hotels does a rental space have to be to qualify for the lease protection in the Civil Code? We will have to find out in future cases how the Rental Commission and the courts will “spatially” apply this new rule. Stay tuned!