A simple checklist for viewing a home in the Netherlands, written for first-timers. Answer four quick questions and you'll see what to look up before the viewing, what to look at during it, and what to ask before you sign.
No experience or tools needed: just your eyes, your nose and your phone. You don't need to log in, and you can save your results to a free account at the end.
What you get:
For each check, tap Looks fine, Problem or Not sure. Your answers stay in this browser.
One question for each check you marked Problem or Not sure. Send them to the seller or landlord by email, so you have the answers in writing.
Save to a free ExpatNL account, so you can open your results on any device and compare homes. You'll sign in or create an account first (no password: we email you a code). Your answers stay in this browser while you do.
Checklist based on official Dutch guidance for 2026. Not affiliated with the Dutch government. Contact a qualified building inspector to decide the actual condition of the home.
These checks help you spot warning signs and ask the right questions. They don't replace a building inspection, a foundation survey or an asbestos survey by a professional. Links checked on 31 October 2026.
In the Netherlands, a seller must tell you about defects they know of, but you have a duty to investigate (onderzoeksplicht). A problem you could have found by looking or asking is usually yours after you buy. Ask your questions by email, so the answers are on record.
Homes from before 1994 can contain asbestos, before 1960 lead water pipes, and older homes on soft ground stand on wooden piles. Apartment buildings from 1950 to 1980 can have concrete rot. The checklist adds these checks only when they apply.
Its torch shows you the crawl space, its camera records the boiler's age and every crack, and its tilt sensor works as a level for sloping floors. Open this page at the viewing and tick things off as you go.
Look and smell for damp and mould, open every door and window, run the taps and shower, and check the age of the boiler and the fuse box. For a house you're buying, also look for cracks in the brickwork, sloping floors, the roof and the crawl space under the floor. Before you go, look up the energy label, and for buying, the WOZ value. The checklist adds checks for the age of the home, such as asbestos, lead water pipes and the foundation.
It isn't required, but it's strongly advised. In the Netherlands the buyer has a duty to investigate (onderzoeksplicht): a problem you could have found yourself is usually yours after buying. An independent building inspection (bouwkundige keuring) costs about €300 to €550. Make your offer subject to it, or have it done before you make an offer.
Asbestos was used until it was banned in 1993, so any home built or renovated before 1994 can have it. Typical places are grey corrugated sheets on sheds, the boiler's flue pipe, panels under the eaves and window sills, old floor tiles and sheets in the crawl space. Don't touch or break it. A home test kit with a lab test costs about €30 to €50; a full asbestos survey (asbestinventarisatie) costs about €300 to €600.
Many homes built before about 1960 on the soft ground of the west and north stand on wooden piles. When the groundwater level drops, the wood rots and the house starts to sink unevenly. Signs are sloping floors, sticking doors and diagonal cracks above windows. A repair can cost €50,000 to €100,000 or more per house. Ask the seller whether the foundation has been investigated, and ask the town's foundation desk (funderingsloket) if it has one.
Check that the landlord owns the home (the Kadaster tells you for €3.70), that you can register at the address to get a BSN, and that the rent isn't above the legal maximum. The deposit can be at most two months' basic rent, and most new contracts are for an indefinite period. On the day you get the keys, make a move-in report with photos.
No. The checklist works without an account, and your answers are kept in your browser. To save your results and open them on another device, or to compare several homes, you need a free ExpatNL account. You sign in with a code we email you; there's no password.
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