Nizozemski građevinski zakon: dozvole, ugovori i odgovornost za nedostatke

Dutch construction law has two layers: public law decides whether you may build, and private law decides who bears the risk when something goes wrong. Since 1 January 2024 the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) governs permits, and the contractor is liable for defects that were not discovered at delivery unless they cannot be attributed to him (Article 7:758(4) of the Dutch Civil Code, BW). The main exception: business clients can exclude that liability, but only expressly in the contract; consumers cannot.

In practice two points decide most disputes: whether variations were agreed and priced before the work was done, and whether defects were recorded at delivery. Both are matters of process, which is why the contract and the records matter as much as the law.

Do you need a permit to build?

Whether you need an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning) depends on the municipality’s environment plan (omgevingsplan) and on the national categories of permit-free building. The digital Omgevingsloket is the starting point for checking this and for filing the application.

The Environment and Planning Act, in force since 1 January 2024, merged many earlier statutes into one system. A building plan may require a permit for a technical building activity, for an activity that departs from the environment plan, or for work on a protected monument. Local rules differ per municipality, so check the environment plan for your site before you buy land or finalise the design.

Projects near protected nature areas (Natura 2000) may also need a nature permit because of nitrogen deposition. Since rulings of the Council of State (Raad van State), a general exemption for construction is no longer available, so an ecological assessment is often required. Neighbours and other interested parties can object to and appeal against a permit, which can delay a project by months.

What does the Building Quality Assurance Act change?

The Building Quality Assurance Act (Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen, Wkb) took effect on 1 January 2024 together with the Environment and Planning Act. For the first category of works (gevolgklasse 1), such as most new single-family homes, an independent quality assurer engaged by the client checks whether the building complies with the technical rules, instead of the municipality.

The Wkb also changed the Civil Code in favour of clients. Under Article 7:757a BW the contractor must hand over a file (dossier) when announcing that the work is ready for delivery, with drawings, calculations and information on materials and installations. Under Article 7:758(4) BW the contractor remains liable for defects not discovered at delivery, unless they are not attributable to him.

Which contract conditions apply?

A construction contract (aanneming van werk, Article 7:750 BW) is often based on standard conditions. The most common are the UAV 2012 for traditional contracts, where the client provides the design, and the UAV-GC 2005 for integrated contracts, where the contractor also designs.

The choice is not a formality. The conditions differ on liability for design errors, pricing of variations (meerwerk), delay penalties and dispute resolution; many refer disputes to arbitration by the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry (Raad van Arbitrage voor de Bouw) instead of a court. Check whether the conditions were validly agreed and actually provided, and what they say about price increases for materials.

When can a contractor charge for extra work?

Under Article 7:755 BW the contractor can charge a higher price for changes requested by the client only if he warned the client in time that the change would increase the price, unless the client should have understood this himself. Agree on every variation in writing, with its price and effect on the planning, before the work is done.

Must the contractor warn about errors?

Yes. Under Article 7:754 BW the contractor must warn the client about errors in the assignment, in the client’s drawings or calculations, and about defects in materials or the soil supplied by the client, insofar as he knew or should have known about them. A contractor who fails to warn can be liable for the resulting damage.

What happens at delivery?

Delivery (oplevering) is the moment the risk passes to the client. Under Article 7:758(1) BW the work counts as accepted if the client does not inspect and accept or refuse it within a reasonable time after the contractor reports it ready.

Record every visible defect in the delivery report and accept, if necessary, with reservations. Under Article 7:758(3) BW the contractor is released from liability for defects the client should reasonably have discovered at delivery; for buildings, Article 7:758(4) BW keeps him liable for defects not discovered at that time unless they are not attributable to him.

A consumer who has a home built may withhold up to 5% of the contract price from the last instalment and deposit it with a civil-law notary (Article 7:768 BW). This gives leverage to have defects repaired after delivery.

How long can you claim for defects?

Under Article 7:761(1) BW a claim for a defect becomes time-barred two years after the client has protested about it. In any case, for buildings the claim lapses twenty years after delivery (Article 7:761(2) BW).

Protest in writing as soon as you discover a defect, describe it precisely and give the contractor a reasonable period to repair it. If you set such a period, the two years start only at its end. Standard conditions can contain shorter periods for business clients, so check them.

What are the safety obligations on site?

Under the Working Conditions Act (Arbeidsomstandighedenwet) and the Working Conditions Decree (Arbobesluit), the client and the contractors must organise safety for the whole project, including a health and safety plan (V&G-plan) and coordination during design and execution. The Netherlands Labour Authority (Nederlandse Arbeidsinspectie) supervises compliance and can impose fines or stop the work.

Permit conditions often add rules on noise, dust and working hours to protect neighbours. Foreign contractors must also respect Dutch minimum terms of employment for posted workers.

How are construction disputes resolved?

That depends on the contract. If the UAV 2012 or UAV-GC 2005 apply and arbitration was agreed, the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry decides; otherwise the civil court has jurisdiction, with the subdistrict court for claims up to €25,000 (Article 93 of the Code of Civil Procedure).

Before proceedings, a technical expert report often decides the outcome. Secure evidence early: photographs, the delivery report, correspondence about variations and the Wkb file. Mediation or a binding advice can be faster than arbitration for smaller disputes.

Što biste trebali provjeriti kao klijent?

• Whether a permit is needed under the environment plan, and whether the Wkb quality assurer is engaged for gevolgklasse 1 work.
• Which standard conditions apply and whether they were provided to you before signing.
• Whether every variation is agreed in writing with price and planning before the work starts.
• Whether the delivery report lists all visible defects and any reservations.
• Whether you received the file under Article 7:757a BW, and, as a consumer, whether you withhold 5% in a notary deposit.
• Whether you protested defects in writing, so the two-year period is clear.

Što biste trebali provjeriti kao izvođač radova?

• Whether you warned the client in writing about errors in drawings, materials or soil (Article 7:754 BW).
• Whether you announced the price consequence of every variation in time (Article 7:755 BW).
• Whether your contract with a business client expressly limits liability for hidden defects, if that is intended.
• Whether the Wkb file is complete when you announce delivery.
• Whether the health and safety plan and coordination on site are documented.

What can we do for you with construction law?

Naši odvjetnici za građevinarstvo i odvjetnici za nekretnine advise clients and contractors.

• We review construction contracts and the applicable UAV or UAV-GC conditions before you sign.
• We check the permit route under the environment plan and file objections or appeals.
• We draft warnings, variation claims and protests about defects.
• We assist at delivery and assess the delivery report.
• We conduct proceedings before the court or the Arbitration Board for the Building Industry.

Rezime

• Since 1 January 2024 the Environment and Planning Act governs building permits; the environment plan is the starting point.
• Under the Wkb, contractors remain liable for defects not discovered at delivery unless not attributable to them (Article 7:758(4) BW).
• Extra work can be charged only if the contractor warned of the price increase in time (Article 7:755 BW).
• A defect claim lapses two years after protest, and in any case twenty years after delivery of a building (Article 7:761 BW).
• Consumers may withhold 5% of the price in a notary deposit (Article 7:768 BW).

Često postavljana pitanja