"That comes with a guarantee" is one of the most frequently heard and least understood phrases in construction. Many clients think their rights end as soon as the guarantee period is over; many contractors think they no longer have anything to do with the work after the handover. Both views are wrong. As a private client, the law gives you your own protection, partly mandatory, that is separate from what is called a "guarantee"; a guarantee can only add something to it. This article sets out what the law provides, what a contractual guarantee and a manufacturer's warranty add on top, which periods are usual in the industry and how a guarantee scheme works if your contractor goes bankrupt.
What the law provides: the contractor remains liable for defects
The basis is Title 12 of Book 7 of the Burgerlijk Wetboek (BW, the Dutch Civil Code), on construction contracts. The pivotal point is the oplevering (handover) (Article 7:758). When the contractor reports that the work is finished and you inspect and accept it, whether or not with reservations, the work has been handed over. From that moment the work is at your risk: if something then breaks for a reason that is not the contractor's fault, you still owe the price. If you do not inspect the work within a reasonable period, you are deemed to have accepted it tacitly. How to handle the handover properly is explained in Handover of your renovation: checklist and your rights.
The old main rule (Article 7:758(3)) was that after handover the contractor is no longer liable for defects that you should reasonably have discovered at the handover. For buildings this was reversed by the Wet kwaliteitsborging (Wkb, the Quality Assurance in Construction Act). Under Article 7:758(4), in construction contracts for buildings the contractor is liable for all defects that were not discovered at the handover, unless they prove that those defects are not attributable to them. So the question is no longer whether you could have seen the defect, but whether it was actually discovered and recorded. This rule may not be deviated from to the detriment of a private client; it applies to construction contracts concluded on or after 1 January 2024. More about the Wkb in Quality Assurance in Construction Act: what the Wkb means for your renovation.
Two other articles are at least as important in practice. Article 7:759 gives the contractor the right and the obligation to repair a defect themselves first within a reasonable period; you may also demand that repair, unless the costs are out of all proportion to your interest. Only if the contractor fails to repair, or does not do so in time or properly, can you have the work done by someone else and recover the costs. Article 7:760 places the consequences of defective materials used by the contractor on the contractor; defects in materials or drawings that you supplied yourself are at your expense, unless the contractor should have warned you about them.
Time limits: two years after your complaint, twenty years at most
The law has no fixed "guarantee period" for renovations, but it does have limitation periods (Article 7:761). A claim for a defect in the completed work becomes time-barred two years after you have complained about that defect. If you gave the contractor a period in which to repair the defect, those two years only start running after that period ends, or earlier if the contractor says they will not carry out the repair. Separately, every claim becomes time-barred in any event twenty years after the handover for buildings and ten years in other cases. If the contractor lets you know that they will investigate or repair the defect, the period is extended for as long as that investigation or repair is ongoing.
In practical terms this means: report a defect immediately and in writing as soon as you discover it, with photos and a reasonable repair period, because if you wait a long time it may be held against you that you complained too late. After your complaint you have two years to start proceedings if necessary or to interrupt the limitation period with a written demand. Hidden defects that the contractor knew about and concealed from you fall under Article 7:762: the contractor cannot exclude or limit their liability for those, or tie it to shorter periods.
Contractual guarantee: what does it add?
A guarantee in the quote, the contract or the general terms and conditions is an agreement on top of the law. It is only valuable if it gives you something the law does not already give: a reversal of the burden of proof, a promise to also repair defects that are not the contractor's fault, free repair including consequential damage, or a longer period than the two years after a complaint. A guarantee that only says "twelve months' guarantee on the work" adds little and must in any case not be read as meaning that your statutory rights lapse after those twelve months. With a private client, a contractor cannot contract out of the mandatory rules of Articles 7:758(4) and 7:762; other provisions, such as the limitation period or liability for consequential damage, can be limited in general terms and conditions, within the limits of consumer law. So always read the guarantee clause together with the exclusions.
Pay attention to the following points in the terms and conditions:
- What is excluded? Common exclusions are normal wear and tear, shrinkage cracks in plasterwork, discolouration, damage due to overdue maintenance, user errors, work by third parties and materials you supplied yourself.
- What do you have to do to keep the guarantee? There is often a maintenance obligation, for example periodically touching up exterior paintwork or keeping the gutters clean. If you fail to do so, the contractor can refuse the guarantee for damage related to it.
- Who has to prove what, how do you report a defect and is the guarantee transferable to a buyer of the home? A good guarantee places the burden of proof on the contractor, sets a workable reporting period and transfers on sale.
Manufacturer's warranty on products versus guarantee on the installation
A central heating boiler, a heat pump, a tap, a window frame or a roof window usually comes with a manufacturer's warranty. That is a commitment from the producer and exists alongside your rights against the party that sold and installed the product. A manufacturer's warranty of a few years therefore does not mean that nobody is liable once those years have passed. In consumer sales, a product must meet what you could reasonably expect of it, including in terms of lifespan (Article 7:17); a commercial guarantee expressly leaves those rights unaffected (Article 7:6a). ACM ConsuWijzer (the consumer information service of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets) sums it up as: the seller is responsible, even if the manufacturer's warranty has expired, as long as the product lasts less long than you could expect.
In a renovation, purchase and construction contract overlap: the installer supplies the boiler and also hangs it. For the product you can then invoke both the manufacturer's warranty and your rights against the supplier; for the installation work the rules on construction contracts above apply. A leaking coupling is an installation fault, a defective heat exchanger a product defect. So agree in advance who your point of contact is in the event of a breakdown, and keep guarantee certificates, invoices and installation details together; many manufacturer's warranties require installation by a certified installer and periodic maintenance.
Common guarantee periods per element
The law does not prescribe periods per element; what follows are industry practices that you will come across in terms and conditions and quotes. They differ per firm and say nothing about your statutory rights, which always continue to apply.
- Roofing: a roofer usually gives a multi-year guarantee on watertightness for bitumen or EPDM roofs, often linked to a longer manufacturer's warranty on the material. Check whether the guarantee also covers the workmanship and consequential damage, or only the material.
- Exterior paintwork: a painter usually guarantees adhesion and flaking for a few years, often on condition that you have the work inspected or touched up in the meantime. Wood rot in the substrate usually falls outside the guarantee.
- Installations: central heating boilers and heat pumps come with a manufacturer's warranty of a few years, often extendable with a maintenance contract; the guarantee on the installation work itself is usually shorter.
- Bathroom and waterproofing: contractors give varying periods on the waterproof layer under the tiling and on sealant joints; sealant work is often regarded as maintenance. Make a clear agreement on this in advance, because leaks only become visible after years.
- Structure and shell: for load-bearing structures, foundations and brickwork you can rely on the statutory period of twenty years after handover.
Quality marks and guarantee schemes: what if the contractor goes bankrupt?
Your statutory rights are only worth something if there is a contractor to exercise them against. If the firm goes bankrupt, you can submit your claim to the curator (the bankruptcy trustee), but in practice there is rarely anything left of it for a private client. That is why guarantee schemes exist, under which a foundation or insurer takes over completion or repair.
For renovations the best known is the BouwGarant Verbouwgarantie (renovation guarantee): a separate insurance that you take out before the work starts, for a renovation by a contractor affiliated with BouwGarant. It covers the extra completion costs if the contractor goes bankrupt during the work and, after handover, covers hidden defects and structural defects. Each application is assessed individually, there is a maximum for the size of the project and payments must follow the scheme's payment schedule. Woningborg and SWK are mainly known for the guarantee and warranty scheme for new-build homes, with completion in the event of insolvency and a guarantee on defects that as a rule runs for six years, and ten years for serious structural defects; for private renovations they usually offer no separate scheme. So always ask a contractor who advertises a quality mark what the quality mark specifically covers for your renovation and whether a separate certificate has to be applied for.
Without a guarantee scheme, you limit the risk with payment agreements: pay in instalments that lag behind progress, withhold part until after the handover and never pay a large amount up front. This also reduces the risk of disputes about extra work, which you can read more about in Extra work during a renovation: rules, prevention and what you may refuse.
If there is a defect: report it, have it repaired, only then go further
Record the defect with photos and the date, report it to the contractor in writing and set a reasonable repair period; that is the complaint with which the two-year period begins. Give the contractor the chance to repair it (Article 7:759). If the repair does not happen, send a formal demand with a final deadline and the announcement that otherwise you will have the work done by a third party at the contractor's expense. If you cannot resolve it, the Geschillencommissie Verbouwingen en Nieuwbouw (Disputes Committee for Renovations and New Construction) is the route if the contractor is covered by affiliated industry terms and conditions, and otherwise the kantonrechter (subdistrict court); the Juridisch Loket (Legal Services Counter) can help you get started.
The best guarantee is still a careful choice in advance: a contractor with verifiable references, clear terms and conditions, a realistic payment schedule and, for a larger renovation, a guarantee scheme. Which insurance policies further limit your risk during and after the renovation is explained in Renovating and insurance: buildings, CAR and liability.