- Since January 2024 the building permit is split in two: a planning assessment and a technical one.
- Changing the load-bearing structure makes the technical building activity permit-required.
- Permit-free is not requirement-free — the building regulations apply regardless.
- The regular procedure takes eight weeks, extendable, with an objection period afterwards.
- Listed status or a protected townscape adds an assessment and removes most permit-free routes.
This is the question every renovation starts with, and the answer changed in 2024. Below is how the system now works, what falls on each side of the line, and how to apply without losing a round to an incomplete file. For the wider context see renovating in the Netherlands.
The two-part building activity
Until 2024 there was one building permit. Under the Environment and Planning Act the assessment is split, and understanding the split explains most of the confusion in older articles you will find online.
- The planning activity asks whether the building fits: does it comply with the local environment plan, the streetscape rules and the conditions attached to your plot. For work inside your own home this generally does not arise. For an extension, a dormer at the front or a roof addition, it very much does.
- The technical building activity asks whether the work meets the technical requirements in the national building decree: structural safety, fire safety, health, energy. Removing a load-bearing wall, forming a new stair opening or adding load to the structure falls here.
Either can be permit-required independently of the other. It is entirely possible for something to be free of the planning assessment but require the technical one, and that is exactly the situation for most internal structural work.
What is generally permit-free
| Work | Usually permit-free? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen or bathroom replacement | Yes | Technical requirements still apply |
| Removing a non-load-bearing wall | Yes | Establish first that it is not structural |
| Redecorating, flooring, plastering | Yes | Noise rules apply in apartments |
| Replacing windows like for like | Often | Not in a listed building or protected townscape |
| Insulating internally | Usually | Ventilation requirements still apply |
| Dormer on the rear roof plane | Under conditions | Strict dimensional conditions must all be met |
| Removing a load-bearing wall | No | Technical building activity |
| New stair opening through a floor | No | Structural: beams are interrupted |
| Extension or roof addition | No | Both planning and technical |
| Splitting a dwelling | No | Also requires a separate municipal consent |
Municipalities can set additional rules in the local environment plan, so treat this table as orientation and confirm your specific case.
Permit-free is not requirement-free
This is the misunderstanding that causes the most damage, because it only becomes visible years later.
The national building regulations apply to all building work, whether or not a permit is required. Structural safety, fire safety, ventilation, daylight and thermal requirements do not switch off because you did not need to apply for anything. If work is carried out that does not comply, the municipality can act, an insurer can dispute a claim, and a buyer's surveyor will pick it up.
Practically, that means two things. First, permit-free work still deserves a competent contractor and, where relevant, a calculation. Second, keep documentation even for permit-free work — photographs of services before they are closed up, product data for floor build-ups, ventilation specifications. It costs nothing at the time and it is impossible to reconstruct afterwards.
A permit-free dormer that fails one of the dimensional conditions is not a permit-free dormer. All the conditions have to be met simultaneously; missing one makes the whole thing permit-required.
How to apply, and how long it takes
| Step | Who | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Check the requirement | You or your contractor | The national online check is a starting point, not the final word |
| Obtain archive drawings | Municipal building archive | Days to weeks |
| Structural calculation and drawings | Structural engineer | Weeks |
| Submit the application | Contractor, agent or you | Complete file in one go, or you lose a round |
| Assessment | Municipality | Regular procedure: eight weeks, extendable by six |
| Decision and publication | Municipality | — |
| Objection period | Interested parties | Six weeks after the decision |
| Start on site | Contractor | After the decision, subject to conditions |
The most avoidable delay is an incomplete application. Every missing attachment costs a full assessment round.
Listed buildings and protected townscapes
Two categories change the picture, and both are common in the cities we work in.
Listed buildings — national or municipal monuments. Work affecting the monumental values requires a separate assessment, and those values can be internal as well as external: plaster ceilings, cornices, panelled doors, en-suite door ensembles. Most permit-free routes fall away.
Protected townscapes — substantial parts of the historic centres of Delft, Leiden, Dordrecht and The Hague, and Historisch Delfshaven in Rotterdam. Rules here concern what is visible from the public realm: window frames, colours, roof form, dormers.
Neither makes renovation impossible. Both make early consultation with the municipality worthwhile, because they will tell you what is acceptable before you pay for a design that is not.
Quality assurance under the newer system
The Netherlands has introduced a system under which technical compliance is checked by an independent quality assurer rather than solely by the municipality. It came into force in 2024 for new build in the lowest risk class. Its introduction for renovation work was postponed and the date has moved more than once.
For you as a client this changes paperwork rather than the work itself: who checks, what is recorded, and sometimes the lead time. Ask your municipality what applies at the time of your application, because that is the only reliable source.
What has not changed: your contractor remains liable for defects, and a proper handover file is your evidence. Ask for the structural calculation, the drawings, the installation certificates and photographs of the bearings and services before anything is closed up.
Common mistakes
- Assuming internal means permit-free. The test is structural change, not location.
- Submitting an incomplete file and losing an eight-week round to a missing attachment.
- Changing the design mid-application. A changed design is a changed application.
- Starting the owners' association process afterwards instead of in parallel.
- Relying on what a friend did elsewhere. Local environment plans differ.
- Ignoring what a previous owner built. Undocumented work surfaces during your application.
- Treating permit-free as unregulated, and keeping no documentation at all.
Summary
Since 2024 the Dutch building permit has two halves: a planning assessment and a technical one. For work inside your own home the technical half is the relevant test, and the trigger is whether you change the load-bearing structure. Kitchens, bathrooms, finishes and non-structural walls are usually permit-free; opening a structural wall, forming a stair opening or adding load is not. Permit-free never means requirement-free, so keep documentation regardless. And if your building is listed or sits in a protected townscape, consult the municipality before you commission a design.
Next: what actually takes long or load-bearing walls in Dutch houses.