Zeist's permit fees for housing construction €10,000 higher than The Hague's: VEH

It can make thousands of euros difference for the buyers of a newly built home in which municipality their house is built. The costs that municipalities charge for applying for construction permits vary greatly per location, according to calculations from the interest association for homeowners VEH. Between the cheapest and most expensive municipalities, the cost difference on construction permits for a home costing 300,000 euros even amounts to 10,000 euros.

Construction permit fees are the costs that municipalities charge when builders apply for permits. The money construction companies spend on this is usually included in the sales price of newly-built homes.

On average, a buyer pays 5,300 euros in construction permit fees when purchasing a newly built home costing 300,000 euros. But the amounts vary widely in different places. For example, in the municipality of The Hague, these costs are just over 1,800 euros, while in the municipalities of Zeist or Wormerland, they amount to 12,000 euros.

VEH director Cindy Kremer called these large differences unfair. “It conflicts with the great need for affordable housing. The Minister should, therefore, set a maximum amount for the construction fees that municipalities charge,” she argued.

VEH fears that a change in the law regarding quality checks for new construction will result in even higher costs for buyers. Next year, municipalities will no longer be responsible for this in the case of relatively simple buildings, like single-family homes. Instead, private inspectors will check whether a building meets the technical requirements. Construction companies must hire these inspectors and will also include those costs in the sales price.

Housing Minister Hugo de Jonge said in an answer to parliamentary questions that this extra cost would be offset by a decrease in municipal fees. Because quality control is no longer a task of the municipality, they would have approximately 30 percent less work when issuing building permits. According to De Jonge, this should translate into an equally large decrease in fees.

However, according to VEH, experts doubt whether this will indeed happen in all categories of newly built homes. “Especially in the affordable housing segment up to 350,000 euros, we must prevent homes from becoming even more expensive,” said Kremer.