Environment and planning permit for building

There are 2 types of environment and planning permits for building:

• An environment and planning permit for a technical building activity. This concerns, for instance, a building’s safety, sustainability, and use.
• An environment and planning permit for an environment plan activity (spatial). This concerns, for instance, a building’s height, its features, function, and whether the activity is in line with the municipality’s environment plan. 

In some situations, your building activities are permit-free. For a permit-free technical building activity, you may need to submit a notification to the Environment and Planning Portal (Omgevingsloket, in Dutch). You do not need to submit a notification for permit-free environment plan activities. 

Notification and quality assurance for consequence class 1 buildings 

Will you be working on houses or simple commercial buidlings? These types of buildings are consequence class 1 buildings (gevolgklasse 1, in Dutch) under the Quality Assurance Building Sector Act (Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen, Wkb). You do not need a permit, but you do need to submit a notification. For buildings in this class, you need to hire a quality assurance officer. A quality assurance officer is independent and checks whether you comply with all the rules. Without a quality assurance officer, you cannot submit a building report and you are not allowed to start building. 

Check if you need an environment and planning permit and apply 

Go to the Environment and Planning Portal (Omgevingsloket, in Dutch) to check if you need an environment and planning permit (omgevingsvergunning). In the Environment and Plannin Portal you can see which rules apply in your municipality, province, or regional water authority. You can then also immediately apply online for an environment and planning permit or submit a notification. 

Please note that rules from the General Municipal Bylaw (Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening, APV) may also be applicable. 

Permit-free building activities 

For some building activities (in Dutch) you do not need a permit. These activities are listed in the Decree on construction works in the living environment (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving, Bbl). You do not need a permit, for example, to: 

• add a dormer window to the back of your house 
• install a solar panel on the roof 
• put up a flagpole 
• place a boundary partition, such as a fence 

For these activities you must comply with the national rules. So the rules apply everywhere and for everyone. For example, you are not allowed to change the appearance of a building too much, or you must keep to the allowed height of a fence or flagpole. 

Municipalities can also add activities to these permit-free building activities. Rules from the General Municipal By-law (APV) may also apply. Or rules from other municipal regulations. Whether you need a permit for your building activity or not, depends on your municipality. You can find the local rules in the Environment and Planning Portal (in Dutch).