Choosing a contractor in the Netherlands: what to check, compare and put in writing

Start with the KvK

Every building company in the Netherlands should be registered in the business register of the KvK, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce. With the KvK search you can look a firm up by name or KvK number and see its address, legal form and description of activities. Does the address match the quote? Do the activities fit the work you want done? Has the company been around for a while, or was it set up recently?

A recent registration is no reason to walk away, but it is a reason to look harder at references. If there is no KvK number on the quote or website, ask for it. Ours is simply listed on our website.

Insurance and liability

Things can go wrong in a renovation: a leak into the neighbours' flat, damage to a floor, a burst pipe. So ask whether the firm has business liability insurance (bedrijfsaansprakelijkheidsverzekering) and what it covers. For larger projects you can also ask about CAR insurance, which covers damage to the works themselves during construction. A professional will explain this without hesitation.

If you live in an apartment, the VvE (owners' association) sometimes asks for proof of insurance before work starts. Your own buildings and contents insurance may also have conditions. Call your insurer in advance if the job is large or involves pipes and electrics. Parus works to current building standards and is fully insured.

Also ask whether the firm uses subcontractors, and whether they are covered by the same insurance. When there is damage, you do not want to work out who was on site that day and which company they belong to.

The site visit: who comes to look

A serious contractor does not give a fixed price without seeing the home. At the site visit they measure, look at the substrate, the pipes, the meter cupboard and access, and ask about your wishes and timing. Notice who comes. Is it someone who knows the work, or a salesperson who passes everything on? The more the person at the visit is also involved in the work, the less information gets lost.

At Parus the owner, Stas, comes to look himself. He also writes the quote and is your fixed contact during the work. Read the free site visit: what happens for the details.

Reading references and reviews

Reviews say most when they are specific. A review that describes the work, the timing and how the cooperation went is worth more than five stars without text. Also look at how the firm responds to criticism, and whether the projects on its website look like real work.

Feel free to ask whether you can see a recent project or speak to a past client. Parus has a score of 5.0 from 21 Google reviews. One client wrote: "I had an experience with Parus construction twice and both time I was very satisfied with results."

Quote, terms and disputes

The quote is the foundation of the agreement. The quote comparison checklist from ACM ConsuWijzer, the consumer authority, lists the points: a clear description of work and materials, a fixed price or estimate, provisional sums (stelposten), deposit, payment stages, delivery times, start and end of the work, guarantee and general terms. Also ask whether the firm belongs to a trade association with a disputes committee.

Only sign when everything is right. After that you are bound. A common mistake is paying a large deposit up front. Paying in stages that follow progress, for example at the start, after the rough work and at handover, keeps the balance fair. How to compare quotes line by line is explained in reading and comparing renovation quotes.

• Company name, address and KvK number.
• Description of the work and materials.
• Fixed price or estimate, with any provisional sums.
• Payment stages and the size of any deposit.
• Planning, start date and expected handover.
• Guarantee, general terms and disputes procedure.

Handover and the completion file

Since 2024 the Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen (Wkb, the building quality assurance act) applies. Part of it is in the Civil Code: at handover the contractor must give the consumer a file with, among other things, drawings, a description of the materials and installations used and information on use and maintenance. According to IPLO, this applies to building contracts signed from 1 January 2024.

When choosing a contractor, ask how they hand over. Do they walk through the work with you? What happens to small points still open? At Parus we walk through the project with you after a final check, and we stay available for questions after handover.

One contractor or separate trades

For a renovation with several trades you have two routes. You hire a plasterer, a tiler, a plumber and an electrician yourself, or you choose one firm that carries out everything in a single schedule. Separate trades can work well for a single job. In a bathroom or a whole floor, the trades depend on each other. The pipes must be finished before the walls are closed, and the plaster must be dry before anyone paints.

If you organise that order yourself, you are in effect the site manager. When something goes wrong between two trades, they tend to point at each other. With one contractor, responsibility sits in one place. So when choosing, ask which trades the firm has in house and which it subcontracts. Parus handles plastering, tiling, flooring, electrics and plumbing with a fixed team, so the schedule stays in one hand. See the order of works in a renovation for what that order looks like.

Warning signs

Most contractors are honest. Still, some patterns often lead to trouble. A price at the door without a proper visit. Pressure to sign today. Cash only. No fixed address or KvK number. A one-line quote. No answer to the question of who actually does the work.

There are good signs too. A firm that honestly says what it does not do, or suggests changing a plan because it would not work well otherwise, is thinking about the result. Want to meet us? Look at our full renovation service or get in touch for a free site visit. You will hear from us within 24 hours.

Frequently asked questions