This page explains how a building project runs in the Netherlands, and why a house in Amsterdam often needs a different approach.
What you can request
A renovation can be quoted as one job, from demolition to the last coat of paint, so you do not have to find and coordinate a plumber, tiler, electrician and carpenter yourself.
- Full renovations of houses and apartments, including new layouts and installations
- Bathroom and kitchen renovations
- Rear extensions (uitbouw or aanbouw)
- Roof extensions (dakopbouw) and dormers (dakkapel)
- Foundation repair (funderingsherstel) on wooden piles
- New build and shell-only (casco) construction
- Finishing work: plastering, painting, window frames and insulation
How a building project works in the Netherlands
A Dutch project usually follows the same order: a site survey, a plan and permit check, an itemised quote, the build and a final handover. The Dutch words you will hear are opname (survey), offerte (quote), vergunning (permit) and oplevering (handover).
The project starts with a visit to measure up and look at the structure, foundations and installations, because in older buildings those decide most of the price. Anything that cannot be seen should be named as a risk in the quote. You then receive an offerte with the costs split per item, so you can see where the money goes and what is not included.
Before anything is drawn in detail, check whether your plan needs an omgevingsvergunning, the Dutch permit for building work. The only reliable check is the Vergunningcheck on the national Omgevingsloket for your exact address. If a permit is needed, Amsterdam decides within 8 weeks of receiving the application in the regular procedure, with one possible extension of up to 6 weeks; a 12-week term applies only if another authority must give its consent.
During the build your contact is the company you sign the agreement with. At the end you walk through the work together and put any remaining points in writing. The work comes with a guarantee; the period and terms are set out in the quote.
Why Amsterdam houses are different
Many Amsterdam buildings stand on wooden piles. Wooden piles were mainly used before 1970, and in almost every neighbourhood inside the A10 ring road the City has put measuring bolts (meetbouten) in the façades to track subsidence. Before you add weight to a house, with a roof extension for example, have the foundation looked at first.
How a building may look from the outside is also regulated. Amsterdam tests exterior changes against its design code, called welstand. Large parts of the city are protected cityscapes (beschermd stadsgezicht), including everything inside the Singelgracht canal and Berlage's Plan Zuid. There, and for listed buildings, the rules are stricter.
The districts West, Zuid and Oost also have their own rules for extensions, roof terraces and roof extensions. The same plan can be allowed in one street and not in the next, which is why your address should be checked before a design is made.
Finally, building in the city is a logistics job. A skip or scaffolding on the street needs a permit from the City, applied for at least 7 working days in advance, and in the Centrum district a free notification is not enough. Those applications belong in the schedule.
Dutch terms you will come across
Quotes, permits and letters from the City will be in Dutch. These are the words that matter most.
- Aannemer: the building contractor who takes on the work and is responsible for it.
- Omgevingsvergunning: the permit for building work, applied for through the Omgevingsloket.
- Welstand: the City's design code for how buildings look from outside.
- VvE (Vereniging van Eigenaars): the owners' association in an apartment building; it decides on shared parts such as the roof, façade, structure and main pipes.
- Erfpacht: ground lease; in Amsterdam the City owns the land under most homes. A renovation or change of use can mean you also need to adjust your lease contract.
- Casco: the bare shell, without interior finishing.
- Meerwerk: extra work on top of the quote, which should be agreed in writing before it is done.
Owning an apartment: the VvE comes first
If you own an apartment, you usually need your VvE's consent before you touch shared parts of the building. That includes drain pipes in the floor, load-bearing walls and, for a dormer or roof extension, the roof itself. Working on them without consent can make you liable for the damage.
Your splitsingsreglement (the deed of division rules) says what is shared and what is yours. Read it at the start, so the VvE meeting is on the agenda before a permit application goes in.