UvA student wins energy surcharge lawsuit
Once again, a student has won a lawsuit over their municipality's energy surcharge. This time Amsterdam loses. The court ruled that the municipality may not simply exclude students.
Because of high energy prices, the government wants to financially support low-income families. To this end, the energy surcharge was created. But students did not have to qualify, the cabinet found.
Last summer, a student from Nijmegen won a lawsuit brought against his municipality to receive the energy surcharge despite this ruling. Now the same thing has happened in Amsterdam. The municipality must make a new decision on the application of 24-year-old student Melle van der Geest within six weeks.
Equality principle
The supplement in Amsterdam is €1,000 or 1,800 (depending on the individual’s income). Amsterdam followed the national guidelines given to municipalities by the ministry. But the judge finds that exempting students violates the principle of equality.
The situation of students is indeed different from that of other minimum wage earners, the court acknowledged, because other minimum wage earners are sometimes in a desperate situation. But the supplement is for everyone earning up to 120 percent of the minimum, so not only for people in a hopeless situation. Therefore that is not a relevant criterion, the judge decided.
“For the question of whether there is a comparable situation, the actual situation should be assessed,” the ruling states, “so the housing situation, the level of income, and whether the person concerned pays energy costs.”
Overcompensation
The municipality believes - following the government's lead - that many students do not need the energy allowance at all. In that group, there would soon be “overcompensation.” But the judge does not find that argument strong. After all, the municipality can impose additional conditions, such as requiring that the student live independently and pay his own energy costs.
Can the student still get the money? It's unclear. The municipality must make a new decision within six weeks. The court does not want to decide on its own, because it is not clear whether the student meets the other conditions for the one-time energy allowance.
“Very happy”
To daily newspaper Het Parool, the student says he is “very, very happy” that the municipality must consider his application. “Then I will no longer be excluded because I am a student, but the requirements will be looked at. For example, my income.''
The Council of State also recently advised against excluding students from the energy surcharge, while the national lawyer saw opportunities to defend the cabinet line.
Unions LSVb and FNV Young & United earlier called on students to come forward if they wanted to take legal action. They said they received about a thousand responses. “It is expected that lawsuits will be filed by students in other municipalities as well,” a press release states.
