Transfer of and recovery penalty to legal successor: also possible if legal successor had no knowledge of it

Restoration sanctions, such as an order for periodic penalty payments, are imposed on an offender to restore the permitted or legal situation. For example, if an offender is using a building to rent out storage units without having a permit to do so, an order under penalty may be imposed to stop this use and restore the legal/permitted situation. Now what if the person on whom the order under penalty is imposed can no longer be held accountable for that violation, for example because he is no longer the owner of the plot, or because he has died. The order under penalty can then pass to the legal successor of the violator. The legal successor is the person who buys the plot from the violator, but this can also be the heirs of the violator. Can the order under penalty simply pass to that legal successor if he/she is unaware of it? 

This issue had to be assessed by the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State in its ruling of November 20, 2024. In this case, the college had imposed an order under penalty payment on the operator of a café for exceeding noise standards. In fact, local residents were suffering greatly from noise pollution. In its decision, the college had also explicitly stated that the order would also apply to the legal successor. The café was sold and the new owner continued under a new name. The college found that the new owner had violated the order several times and proceeded to recover the forfeited penalty payments. The new owner disagreed, claiming to have no knowledge of the previously imposed order for periodic penalty payments. The Division ruled that the answer to the question of whether the new owner could be considered a legal successor did not depend on whether the new owner was aware of the penalty payment order when he purchased and began operating the café. In addition, the Division ruled that the new owner could also have found this information in the municipal restrictions register. 

This therefore means that you, as the legal successor, can be faced with remedial sanctions imposed on your predecessor, even if you had no knowledge of them. Note that this transfer to the legal successor must be explicitly mentioned in the decision of the administrative body. 

There may be possibilities for recourse against the previous owner, but this strongly depends on the circumstances of the case. We can also assist you with this. 

Are you confronted with a recovery sanction and are you looking for assistance in the objection and appeal procedure? Please contact Gerard van der Wende or with Fleur Huisman. 

You can find the link to the decision of the Council of State here