If you are handy, you can do a lot around the house yourself: put up a wall, lay tiles, replace a tap. Gas is different. A small mistake on a pipe or a flue is invisible, odourless and sometimes fatal, and for some years now the legislator has attached clear consequences to it. This article is not about alarms or servicing intervals, but about one question: what may you do yourself with gas in your home, and what not? We go through the law, look at where the grid operator's property begins, what your insurer and a future buyer think of it, how to recognise a certified company and what happens if you decide to come off gas altogether. This is general information; if in doubt, consult your municipality, your grid operator or a certified installer.
Since 1 April 2023: work on gas appliances only by certified companies
The core is in Article 6.45 of the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl, the Dutch Building Decree). The installation, repair, maintenance and commissioning of a building-bound gas-burning appliance, including the associated flue and the supply of combustion air, may only be carried out by a company holding a certificate under the scheme for work on gas-burning installations, commonly known as the CO-vrij (CO-free) scheme. The scheme was added to the then Bouwbesluit (Building Decree) on 1 October 2020; after a transition period of about two and a half years, during which the planned start date was postponed twice, the ban has applied since 1 April 2023. With the arrival of the Omgevingswet (Environment and Planning Act) on 1 January 2024, the rule moved unchanged to the Bbl.
Two points make this rule different from most building rules. First, the ban is aimed not only at the person carrying out the work, but also at the person who has it carried out. A resident who hangs their own central heating boiler, or asks a handy acquaintance without a certificate to do so, is therefore breaking the law themselves. The municipality can enforce this with an order subject to a penalty and can require the appliance to be checked by a certified company and reconnected if necessary. Second, it is not a quality mark that a company joins voluntarily, but a legal requirement. An experienced installer without a certificate simply may not do the work, however good they are.
The ban covers all appliances that produce heat or hot water from gas and are connected to the building: central heating boilers, geysers (instantaneous gas water heaters), gas storage water heaters, back boilers, gas fires and gas heaters with a flue. Connecting a new boiler to an existing flue, replacing a flue pipe and releasing the appliance for use after a repair are also included. What does not fall under the scheme is set out below.
So what can you do yourself? An overview
The CO-vrij scheme is sharply defined. Outside the scheme fall, among other things, gas cooking appliances, standalone gas heaters without a flue, patio heaters and, strikingly, the gas pipes in the home itself. That last point does not mean you are free to install them: other rules apply. The table sets out the main jobs side by side.
| Work | Do it yourself? | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Installing, replacing or repairing a central heating boiler, geyser or gas water heater | No | Legally reserved for a CO-vrij certified company (Article 6.45 Bbl). |
| Modifying the flue or combustion air supply | No | Part of the gas-burning appliance within the meaning of the law; certified companies only. |
| Connecting a gas fire or gas heater with a flue | No | Building-bound gas-burning appliance; certified companies only. |
| Installing or rerouting a gas pipe in the home | Not prohibited, strongly discouraged | Falls outside the CO-vrij scheme, but the installation must comply with NEN 1078 and be pressure-tested for leaks. |
| Connecting a freestanding gas cooker with a gas hose | Permitted, with conditions | Only with an approved hose on a gas tap; ventilation and checking for leaks are essential. |
| Gas meter, main shut-off valve or service pipe | Never | Property of the grid operator; sealed. |
| Topping up central heating water, bleeding, replacing a radiator, setting the thermostat | Yes | The water circuit is not part of the gas appliance. |
Gas pipes in the home. The Bbl requires a gas installation to be safe and refers for this to NEN 1078 for new and modified installations and NEN 8078 for existing installations. Those standards prescribe, among other things, which materials and joints are permitted, how pipes are fixed and protected, where a pipe may not run, and that a new or modified pipe is checked with a pressure leak-tightness test before gas is let into it. In practice, a private individual lacks the knowledge, the measuring equipment and the standards texts for this. On top of that, the certified company that later connects the boiler may refuse to release the installation for use if the pipes are not demonstrably in order, and the grid operator can interrupt supply if there is doubt about safety. So leave pipework to a plumber or installer who works with gas, and ask for the test report.
Connecting a gas cooker. A freestanding cooking appliance is not a building-bound combustion appliance, so connecting it does not fall under the certification scheme. You may do this yourself, provided you use an approved gas hose bearing the Gastec QA quality mark, connect the hose to a gas tap that can be shut off with the correct coupling, do not kink the hose, run it past hot parts or extend it, and check for leaks after connecting with leak-detection spray or soapy water. A rubber hose has a production date printed on it; replace the hose no later than the period stated by the manufacturer. Rubber hoses often have a replacement period of a few years after the production date; a stainless steel hose has no fixed period, but do check it regularly for damage. A built-in hob that is connected permanently to the pipe is best installed by an installer. Always make sure there is ventilation and a working cooker hood; a cooking appliance also produces carbon monoxide if combustion is poor.
Who owns what: grid operator, gas meter and main shut-off valve
When it comes to gas, your home has two owners. Everything from the main in the street up to and including the gas meter is the property of the regional grid operator (netbeheerder), such as Liander, Stedin, Enexis, Coteq, Rendo or Westland Infra. That includes the service pipe through the foundation or crawl space, the main shut-off valve, the pressure regulator and the meter itself, including the seal. Only the grid operator or a contractor engaged by them may work on these. Breaking a seal, moving a meter or rerouting a service pipe is forbidden for a resident and, if discovered, is treated as fraud or endangerment. The legal basis is the Energiewet (Energy Act), which has replaced the Gaswet (Gas Act) since 1 January 2026: under it, the construction, management and maintenance of the connection and of the metering installation are statutory tasks of the distribution system operator, the grid operator.
Everything after the meter, the internal installation, belongs to you as owner: the pipes, the gas taps at the appliances and the appliances themselves. The rules from the previous section apply to these. If you want to have the meter moved, for example when renovating the hallway or fitting a new meter cupboard, you request this via the grid operators' joint portal, mijnaansluiting.nl, or directly from your grid operator. Expect a lead time of a few weeks to months; plan this early in your renovation. If you smell gas, at the meter or elsewhere: turn off the main shut-off valve, open windows, do not use switches and call the Nationaal Storingsnummer Gas en Stroom (national gas and electricity fault line), 0800-9009, which is available day and night.
Insurance, liability and selling
Suppose it does go wrong after doing your own work on gas: a leak, a fire, an explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning. Then three things come into play at once. Your buildings and contents insurer will investigate the cause. Many policies exclude damage caused by failing to comply with legal requirements or by gross negligence, and work that the law expressly reserves for certified companies often falls under that. Check your policy conditions; the exact wording differs per insurer. More on cover during a renovation can be found in Renovating and insurance.
In addition, you are liable for damage to others. A gas explosion rarely affects only your own home: neighbours, passers-by and tenants can file a claim on the basis of tort (Article 6:162 BW, Dutch Civil Code) and liability for defective buildings (Article 6:174 BW). Your personal liability insurance in principle covers damage to third parties, but there too, intent or wilful recklessness can lead to an exclusion. If you live in a flat, a gas leak directly affects the common parts and your fellow residents; the VvE (owners' association) can hold you liable for that.
When selling the home, you have a duty to disclose defects you know about, and the buyer may expect the gas installation to be safe and compliant (Article 7:17 BW). A building surveyor looks out for irregular pipes, missing test reports and appliances that cannot be shown to have been installed by a certified company. If those documents are missing, the buyer can demand a new inspection or repair, or invoke non-conformity after the transfer. So keep all invoices, the boiler's commissioning report and the pipework test report. If you rent, it is even simpler: work on gas is never a matter for the tenant; report faults to the landlord.
How to find and check a certified installer
Because certification is a legal requirement, you do not have to choose on instinct. Work through the following steps before you place an order.
- Look the company up in the register of gas-burning installations kept by the Toelatingsorganisatie Kwaliteitsborging Bouw (TloKB, the Dutch admission body for building quality assurance). It lists all certified companies, with the status of the certificate and the certification body that issued it.
- Look for the CO-vrij logo on the quote, the website and the company van. A certified company is required to use this logo (Article 6.47 Bbl); a company that does not display it is probably not certified.
- Ask the engineer for their identification card bearing the logo. Not only the company but also the individual engineer must be demonstrably competent.
- Ask for the commissioning report. After installing an appliance, a certified company measures the combustion and records the results. That report is your proof for your insurer and a buyer.
- Have the pipes assessed too. With a new boiler or a pipework change, ask for a leak-tightness test and the accompanying report.
A heating engineer with a CO-vrij certificate is the right tradesperson for the boiler, geyser and flue; for pipework, gas taps and connecting cooking appliances you can also go to a plumber who works with gas. Who does which job is set out in more detail in Plumber, installer or heating engineer: who do you call for what?. What else the law says about alarms and servicing is covered in CO alarms and boiler servicing.
Coming off gas altogether: having the gas connection removed
More and more owners are choosing gas-free living as part of a renovation. Then not only the boiler disappears, but the connection too. Stick to the right order. First, notify the grid operator via mijnaansluiting.nl of the date from which you will no longer use gas and that you want the connection removed. Then cancel your gas supply contract with your energy supplier; if you do it the other way round, you risk a back-charge because a connection with a meter is still registered in your name. The grid operator then removes the meter and disconnects the service pipe from the main in the street. Since 1 February 2024 this has been free of charge for small consumers if you let the grid operator choose the timing, in which case it aims to do it within a year; if you want to choose a date yourself, you pay for that. Removal is different from disconnection, where the meter is removed or sealed but the pipe stays in place: disconnection is a temporary measure for a maximum of twelve months, for example during a renovation, and there are costs involved. The current conditions are on mijnaansluiting.nl and available from your grid operator.
The internal installation is your own responsibility. Have the gas appliances disconnected by a certified company and have an installer purge the pipes of gas and cap or remove them; a loose pipe with gas in it is a risk for the next occupant. If you live in a block of flats with a shared gas pipe, you need permission from the VvE and the building must be looked at as a whole.
Electric alternatives: a decision guide
If you are not allowed to work on gas yourself and still want to make your home more sustainable or renovate, you will almost automatically end up looking at electric alternatives. The choice depends on your home's insulation, the capacity of your electrical installation and your schedule.
- Hybrid heat pump. A heat pump takes over most of the heating season, and the gas boiler steps in on cold days. You keep the gas connection and therefore also the annual role of the certified heating engineer. Suitable for homes that are reasonably but not excellently insulated.
- All-electric heat pump. No more gas. Requires good insulation, a low-temperature heat emission system such as underfloor heating or low-temperature radiators, space for an outdoor unit that meets the noise limit at the property boundary, and usually an upgrade of the electrical installation. Also read Underfloor heating or radiators.
- Induction cooking. Replaces the gas cooker. An induction hob requires its own circuit or circuits, often with a Perilex connection on two or three phases; have that work done by an electrician, and it may require an upgrade of the main connection. Which electrical work you may do yourself is covered in Can I do my own electrical wiring?.
- Hot water. An electric water heater or a heat pump water heater replaces the geyser or the combi boiler for hot tap water. Take into account the location, the weight and the connection to a dedicated circuit.
For heat pumps and insulation there is the Investeringssubsidie duurzame energie en energiebesparing (ISDE, investment subsidy for sustainable energy and energy saving); the conditions are published by the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO, Netherlands Enterprise Agency) and change each year. Always request several quotes and have an installer first calculate your home's heat demand before choosing an appliance. Which other schemes exist is explained in Sustainable renovation: which subsidies and schemes are available.
In summary: you may not work on the gas appliance and the flue yourself, certainly not on the meter and the connection, and for pipework you are not legally prohibited but in practice almost always better off with a professional. Connecting a gas cooker with an approved hose and maintaining the central heating water circuit you may do yourself. If you really want to get to work on your heating yourself, removing gas and switching to electric is the route where you have the most in your own hands. On VerbouwPro you post your job free of charge, and certified tradespeople from your region respond.