Netherlands

Registering Property in

Netherlands

Listed below is a detailed summary of the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute.

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Standard Property Transfer

  • Property Value: EUR 1,784,986.79
  • City: Amsterdam

About This Topic

To see indicator data for all economies, see the Registering Property page. To see how economies rank, see the Rankings page.

No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
* 1 Notary conducts a title search at the Land Registry

According to Dutch Civil Code it is mandatory to hire a civil law notary to perform the registration process of property in the Netherlands. The civil law notary will conduct a title search at the Land Registry to check for ownership and encumbrances before executing the deed.
Art 84 Book 3 Civil Code states that for a legally valid transaction the seller should have the right to dispose, which is one of the major elements of a property right. For such transactions a notarial deed is compulsory ('authentic deed'); therefore the notary checks whether the seller is indeed the owner. This is not mandatory by law, but implicitly. It is mandatory in the professional rules of the National Association of Notaries.

Notaries can consult the land register by an on-line system, called the Automatic Cadastral Registration (AKR), but only regarding some aspects. The deeds and other registered documents from 1998 onwards are online accessible. Since December 2009 all deeds are digitally available (first deeds 1832). Extracts from the cadastral map showing the relevant properties are also available online. To obtain all relevant information takes a few minutes.
A notary can ask the Land Registry Office to find out the history and numbers of a parcel. If a cadastral parcel has been changed (e.g. a parcel is divided in 2 new parcels), the parcel will be given a new, unique parcel number. The civil law notary then drafts the deed of transfer. Some notaries charge by the hours of work they spend on the case, others charge as a percentage on the value of the property. An average fee is estimated between EUR 1,000 and 3,500.

Preemption rights ('Voorkooprecht') only applies in exceptional cases, for properties located in the Municipalities Preferential Rights Act or for ground leases (as opposed to freehold).




Agency: Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency 		up to 4 days (simultaneous with procedure 2) Title search: (disbursements, charged by the Land Registry) (subject to 19% VAT): EUR 2.95 per registered title; EUR
* 2 Notary conducts a search on the representation of the parties

For companies the notary must conduct an on-line research with the Trade Register with respect to specific information of the company (such as address, managing directors). The articles of association cannot be checked on-line. The civil law notary can have these sent to him by mail or fax. It is to identify who is authorized to legally bind the company. This procedure is mandated by the Manual that was adopted in May 2009 by the Association of Notaries (internal rules). The May 2009 Manual explains how to apply the "August 2008 Law against Whitewashing and Financing of Terrorism" (referred to as the "WWFT" law). Article 11 of the law is related to identifying and verifying the identity of people. In Section B of the Annex (page 3), the text refers to "article 4, para 2 of the Executive Decree to the Law", which states that "to identify companies registered in the Netherlands, an extract from the trade registrar is a sufficient document."
The Annex and the Manual as a pdf on http://www.notaris.nl/page.asp?id=1006

The notary will also check the Insolvency Registry, which is a public register held by the courts, in which everybody (including companies) who has been declared bankrupt can be found. He checks both buyer and seller at the time of signing the deed and the registration with the Land Registry. This is not mandatory but necessary to know whether seller or buyer do not have the right to dispose and to bind, because of registration in the register. It is described in the professional rules of the National Association of Notaries.
This checking is done online at www.faillisementen.com. Only subscribers can access this site and the annual membership fees are 175 Euro.

Agency: Trade Register (www.kvk.nl) 		1 day (online; simultaneous with procedure 1 ) Certified copy of annual accounts 7.50 euro, names of legal representatives 2.50 euro.
3 Execution of the transfer deed

The instrument of conveyance must be drawn up by a notary and signed by the latter and both parties. Before signing, a notary is required to investigate the title to the property and the seller’s power to dispose of it in the public registers. The notary must provide for a transfer free of mortgages and attachments, this requires the cooperation of third parties and the retrieval of information other than that provided by the Land Registry.

The authorized persons will either have to appear before the notary or must have granted power of attorney.

After the deed has been registered with the Land Registry Office, a civil law notary must carry out the post registration check in order to detect any potential change between the execution and the registration of the deed. As the evidence of the registration is sent by internet, just after the electronic submission following execution of the transfer deed, this check can be done immediately.


 1 day Transfer Tax: 6% of property value (Transfer Tax) Land Registry: + EUR 145 for registration (free of VAT) or EUR 116 by semi automatic registration + EUR 2.95 for post-registration check (free of VAT)
4 Registration of deed

Every notary deed must be registered with the Land Registry ('ingeschreven'). This can be done through the internet (the notary does not need to go to the land registry or 'kadaster').
The registration fee of the Land Registry depends on the kind of deed or document registered, and the number of cadastral parcels and purchasers involved. For example, the registration fee for a deed of transfer of a property that forms 1 cadastral parcel to 1 new owner costs EUR 70. The registration fee is paid to the Land Registry Office.

Agency: Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency 		1 day (online) cost already counted in procedure 3
5 Registration with Tax authority, Department Registration

Registration with the Ministry of Finance, Tax authority, Department Registration is done online: www.belastingdienst.nl
This is the official register of the Department Registration. Each notarial deed has to be registered within 10 days with the Tax Authority who checks the deed for taxable aspects. The transfer tax is paid to the civil law notary, who will pay this tax to the Tax Authorities after registration. The transfer tax is 6% of the total purchase price or the market value, whichever is higher. Also, or instead of transfer tax, sometimes VAT is applicable. It is 19% regarding property. This depends, inter alia, on the status of the property and the fact if the seller is a VAT-entrepreneur. They do not keep a copy but give a statement that the deed involved is checked on a certain date. The deed itself is then returned with that statement to the civil law notary. A true copy of the deed is registered at the relevant Land Registry Office. Such registration takes place immediately after the execution by submitting the deed to the Land Registry by internet. The civil law notary will receive a receipt from the internet within a few minutes of providing evidence of registration. An adaptation of the Cadastre Act making this an official procedure was endorsed by the Parliament per 1 February 2005.

Agency: The Ministry of Finance, Tax authority, Department Registration (www.belastingdienst.nl) 		1 day (online) Already paid in proc 5
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Explore Economy Data