Planning a renovation without checking whether you need a permit can turn out expensive: in the worst case you have to reverse the work or you are hit with a penalty payment. Since 1 January 2024 the Omgevingswet (Environment and Planning Act) has applied, and with it the old omgevingsvergunning (environmental permit) for building, which replaced the bouwvergunning (building permit) in 2010, has been split in two. There is a technical part, which checks whether the structure complies with the building rules of the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl, the Dutch Building Decree), and a spatial part, which checks whether the structure fits the omgevingsplan (environmental plan, the local zoning rules) of your municipality. For many small renovations you need neither. For others you need one of them, and sometimes both. In this article you can read which renovations are usually permit-free, when you do need a permit or notification, how the application works and what the risk is if you skip it.
Always start with the permit check
The only way to get certainty for your address is the official vergunningcheck (permit check) in the Omgevingsloket (the government's online environment and planning portal). You enter your address and the planned work and see for each element whether a permit or a notification is required, for both the technical and the spatial part. The check is free of charge and you can save the outcome as proof of what you entered. Do the check early in the process, preferably before you request quotes, so that the contractor knows what they have to take into account.
Why a general list is never the final word: when the Omgevingswet came into force, the national rules for permit-free building largely ended up in the municipality's omgevingsplan. Municipalities may adjust those rules and do so, for example making them stricter in a protected village conservation area or more generous on an industrial estate. What is permit-free in one municipality may require a permit in the neighbouring one.
Often permit-free
The following renovations are permit-free in most cases, as long as you stay within the conditions and the home is not a listed monument:
- Internal renovations without changes to the load-bearing structure: a new kitchen or bathroom, moving non-load-bearing walls, floors, ceilings and pipework.
- Ordinary maintenance: painting, replacing roof tiles, pointing, replacing window frames in the same size and layout.
- Dormer at the rear, or on a side that does not border public space: with a flat roof, at least half a metre from the roof edges and usually no more than 1.75 metres high measured from the base of the dormer. A roofer or carpenter who regularly fits dormers knows these dimensions by heart.
- Extension or outbuilding in the rear garden area: within four metres of the original rear wall, an extension may usually be taller than beyond that, and the total amount of building on the plot is capped. On a small plot that is often half of the building area; on larger plots sliding scales apply. Have the contractor or the permit check do this calculation, because the definition of building area is precise.
- Solar panels on the roof, within the roof surface and at the same pitch as the roof.
- Boundary fencing up to one metre high at the front and up to two metres at the rear, with conditions on the distance to public space.
- Insulation on the inside of walls and roof. External wall insulation that changes the appearance of the facade often does require a permit.
Permit-free does not mean rule-free. A permit-free structure must still comply with the technical requirements of the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving, with neighbour law and with the welstand (local design and appearance) rules where they apply. What that means for your relationship with your neighbours is covered in Renovating and the neighbours: rights, obligations and good agreements.
Often a permit or notification required
- Dormer at the front, or on a side that borders the public road.
- Breaking through or removing a load-bearing wall. Spatially this is usually permit-free, but the technical side falls under the rules for the building activity and, for homes in consequence class 1, under the construction notification of the Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen (Wkb, the Quality Assurance in Construction Act). For renovations the introduction of that system has been phased and postponed several times; check the current situation in the Omgevingsloket and on rijksoverheid.nl. How the work itself proceeds is explained in Removing a load-bearing wall: rules, risks and step-by-step plan.
- A rooftop addition, extra storey or raised ridge.
- Extension at the front or side bordering public space, or an extension that is deeper or taller than the permit-free dimensions allow.
- Renovations to a listed monument or in a protected town or village conservation area, including small changes to the exterior. For a rijksmonument (national monument) a permit for the national-monument activity is also required.
- Changing window frames at the front: a different layout or a larger opening.
- Demolition producing more than ten cubic metres of demolition waste or involving asbestos removal: a sloopmelding (demolition notification), as a rule at least four weeks in advance; only for the limited quantities of asbestos that a private individual may remove themselves does a period of at least one week apply.
- Felling trees on your own plot: depending on the municipality, a tree-felling permit.
- Splitting a home, letting rooms or a change of use, for example from office to residential.
If you live in a flat, there is one more layer: besides the municipality, the Vereniging van Eigenaars (VvE, owners' association) must also agree to changes to common parts. For that, read Renovating a flat in a VvE: permission, rules and steps.
What an environmental permit costs
The municipality charges leges (administrative fees) for processing an application. The amount differs per municipality and is set out in the legesverordening (fee regulation), which you can find on the municipality's website or via overheid.nl. For building activities the fees are usually a percentage of the construction cost, with a minimum amount for small jobs and rising rates for larger renovations. Because the fees are linked to the construction cost, it is wise to state a realistic and substantiated construction cost. Also bear in mind that for the application you often need building drawings and, for structural changes, a structural calculation. You have those made by an architectural draughtsman, architect or structural engineer; ask them for a quote in advance.
How long the procedure takes
- Regular procedure: the municipality decides within eight weeks of receiving a complete application and can extend that period once by six weeks. After the decision there is an objection period of six weeks in which interested parties, such as neighbours, can lodge an objection.
- Extended procedure: for a larger deviation from the omgevingsplan or for certain monuments a period of six months applies, with a draft decision on which anyone can comment.
Allow for the objection period in your planning: many tradespeople only want to start once the permit is final and irrevocable, because building while an objection is pending is at your own risk. How to fit the permit into your overall planning is explained in How to prepare for a renovation.
Building without a permit: the risks
If you build without a permit when one was required, the municipality can take enforcement action. That usually starts with a stop-work order and a letter giving you the choice: apply for a permit after all or remove the structure. If you do not comply, a last onder dwangsom (order subject to a penalty payment) can follow and, as a last resort, compulsory demolition at your expense. Legalising after the fact is sometimes possible, but only if the structure could also have been permitted through a regular application, and the municipality may charge higher fees for it.
An illegal renovation can also affect you outside of the municipality: when you sell, you must disclose it and the buyer can demand a price reduction, an insurer can refuse to pay out in the event of damage, and a neighbour who is bothered by your roof extension can ask the municipality to take enforcement action, after which it is in principle obliged to act.
Applying for a permit: how it works
- Do the permit check in the Omgevingsloket and keep the outcome.
- If in doubt, request a preliminary consultation, also called a conceptaanvraag (draft application) or omgevingsoverleg (planning consultation). The municipality then informally reviews your plan before you submit the formal application. That sometimes costs fees, but it prevents a refusal and a second round of drawing work.
- Have drawings and, if necessary, a structural calculation made. The municipality asks for a site plan, floor plans, elevations and cross-sections of the existing and the new situation.
- Submit the application via the Omgevingsloket with DigiD (the Dutch government login). You can authorise a contractor, architect or adviser to do this on your behalf.
- Inform your neighbours in advance. That is not mandatory, but it is sensible: most objections arise from surprise, not from the structure itself. Show them the drawings before the municipality publishes the decision.
- Wait for the objection period to end before you start, or discuss with the contractor what risk you are taking if you start earlier.
A good contractor or carpenter knows the rules in your municipality and can often prepare the application for you. When agreeing the quote, record who submits the application, who supplies the drawings and what happens if the permit comes later than planned. On VerbouwPro you post your renovation free of charge and tradespeople from your region with a verified profile and reviews respond.