ARE YOU GOING TO BUY A BUILDING PLOT? YOU MUST KNOW THIS!

Where to start if, like Sonja and Jeroen , you want to build your own house?

Step 1: arrange a piece of land on which that dream house will be built.

Find building land

Do you already have a location in mind? Local estate agents often know where building plots are or will be. You can also check with the municipality’s Building and Housing Inspectorate whether there are plans to sell self-build plots. Information about where you can build a house (and what it should look like) can be found in the zoning plan of the relevant municipality. If you do not yet know where you want to buy land, the websites with lots available throughout the Netherlands are useful. For example, you can search by price, area and environment (from city to countryside). For example, check outzelfbouwinnederland.nl and bouwkavelsonline.nl . Land owned by private individuals can also be found via dhafileshub.

Lot buying checklist

When looking for a lot, it is good to take into account:

SHAPE

A square or rectangular plot is often more suitable for building a house than a long, narrow plots.

DIMENSIONS

Will your dream house fit on it? Plus that shed or workspace? Will there still be some garden left? And what about parking?

DESTINATION

Lots always have a specific destination. In order to be allowed to build a residential house on it, it must therefore have a residential destination. If it has a different destination, for example agricultural, you can try to have the zoning plan changed, but that often takes a lot of time and whether it will succeed is very uncertain.

BUILDING REGULATIONS

What can you build? Does the municipality have guidelines for gutter and ridge height, surface area, volume, architectural style? If an image quality plan has been established, you must build a certain type of home. With a view to the future, it is good to check whether, for example, you can first build small and expand later, and whether you can also sell your house whenever you want.

CLEAR LAND STATEMENT

Many home builders only build on land that is ready for construction. In other words: land with a clean soil statement. If this statement is not available, you must have a soil investigation carried out yourself (which is only allowed with the consent of the selling party, costs are for your own account) and any contaminated soil must be remediated. If you buy a building plot in a new construction plan from the municipality, the municipality will almost always provide a clean soil statement.

UTILITIES

How far away are they and what do you have to install yourself?

SOIL HARDNESS

How should the foundation be built: pile driving or concrete pouring?

SURROUNDINGS

Will the view stay that way? And the infrastructure? Are there enough facilities (school, shops)? Take existing and future buildings and wishes into account.

ADVICE FROM EXPERTS Obtain

proper information from a (soil) expert and/or specialized estate agent. Also about resolutive conditions, so that you are covered with regard to, among other things, obtaining a building and housing permit, obtaining financing, and soil contamination.

Do you already have a lot?

If you are already a landowner and you want to use this plots to build a house yourself, check with the municipality whether your land has a residential destination and what the building options are. This ground must also be examined and any contamination removed before you can build on it. It is also important to level the ground with the ground level and to remove any obstacles (a felling permit is required in the case of trees). If there is already a house on your own plot, a demolition permit is required. The number of cubic meters of that house often determines the size of the new house to be built. So always check the building regulations for such a lot. And finally, get a building permit.