Do you need a permit in Haarlem? Extensions, dormers and renovations

Haarlem has five state protected townscapes, from the city centre to Haarlem Noord. So in a large part of the pre war city a stricter regime applies than the national exemptions suggest. This page explains when an extension, dormer, roof window or internal renovation can be permit free, what Haarlem adds, and how to check your own address.

First: technical and planning rules

Under the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet) every building plan has a technical part, checked against the Buildings Decree (Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving, or Bbl), and a planning part, checked against the municipality's environment plan (omgevingsplan). Permit free does not mean rule free: the Bbl and the neighbour rules in the Civil Code always apply. This page explains how it works in Haarlem. It is not permit advice: only the online permit check or the municipality (gemeente) can confirm what applies to your address.

Extensions: the national rules

On the technical side, a side or rear extension is permit free if it stands on the ground, is no higher than 5 metres, has no habitable room on the second storey and no roof terrace or balcony (Bbl article 2.25).

On the planning side the dowry rules (bruidsschat) apply: national rules copied into every environment plan in 2024. The extension must be in the rear yard area, starting 1 metre behind the front facade, and more than 1 metre from public space (article 22.27). Within the article 22.36 limits below it can ignore the old zoning plan. Municipalities may change these rules.

Dormers and roof windows

A dormer (dakkapel) is always permit free technically (Bbl article 2.27(2)(a)); a full roof extension is not. On the planning side, a dormer on the rear slope, or a side slope not facing public space, is free under Bbl article 2.29(b), which overrides the environment plan. The conditions are listed below.

At the front, a dormer is only free where no design requirements (welstand) apply (dowry article 22.27(c)). A roof window is free on the rear slope or a flat roof if it sticks out no more than 0.6 metres and stays 0.5 metres from the edges (Bbl article 2.29(c)). On a listed building, and in a state protected area on a slope facing public space, you need a permit (Bbl article 2.30).

• Flat roof.
• No higher than 1.75 m.
• Bottom more than 0.5 m and less than 1 m above the eaves.
• Top more than 0.5 m below the ridge.
• Sides more than 0.5 m from the edge of the roof slope.

Renovating inside the house

Internal work is permit free as long as the load bearing structure and fire compartments stay the same (Bbl article 2.27) and the building volume does not grow (dowry article 22.27(i)). A new bathroom or kitchen usually falls under this. If you remove a load bearing wall, IPLO, the government's information point for the Act, says you need a permit for the technical building activity. In a national monument (rijksmonument) even internal work often needs a monument permit. Normal maintenance stays free.

What Haarlem's environment plan adds

On its Dutch page Bouwvergunning Haarlem says annexes, dormers, roof windows, fences and window frames among others are permit free under conditions, and refers to IPLO for those conditions. Anything beyond that is checked against the environment plan and the design requirements. Splitting a home, or converting a non residential building into housing, always needs its own permit.

The city is working on a new environment plan (Dutch). The first amendment covers the centre: better protection of the surroundings of monuments and stricter rules for dormers on prominent buildings. The draft was open for comment in 2025. Adoption is planned for the first quarter of 2027. Until then the current rules apply, but for a plan in the centre, allow for them changing.

Many Haarlem homes from the 1920s and 1930s have a deep garden and a pitched rear roof. Those are exactly the houses where an extension and a dormer can often be permit free nationally, as long as they are not in a protected area.

Design review, protected areas and listed buildings in Haarlem

Haarlem has five state protected townscapes: the historic centre with the Hout, the village of Spaarndam, Haarlem Zuid, Haarlem Zuidwest and Haarlem Noord, including the Kleverpark area. In those areas Bbl article 2.30 and dowry article 22.28 apply. A dormer on a slope facing the street and an extension visible from the public road need a permit there. Building in a protected area is checked against the environment plan and the design requirements (welstand: whether a building looks right in its setting).

To change a listed building you usually need a monument permit (Dutch). Normal maintenance is free. If you are unsure whether something counts as maintenance, email [email protected]. The monuments desk gives free advice by appointment in the Bakenesserkerk at Vrouwestraat 12 on Tuesday afternoons. An application needs drawings, colour photos of the current state and sometimes a building history report.

The city's map of protected areas and monuments shows whether your address is in a protected area. For solar panels on a protected building, Haarlem asks for placement out of view from the street, or otherwise a careful layout plan.

Owners' associations and renting

A permit only means the government agrees. In a flat, the facade, roof and usually the load bearing walls belong to the owners' association (Vereniging van Eigenaren, or VvE). A dormer, extension or new opening then needs a VvE decision under the deed of division (splitsingsakte). The municipality does not check this.

If you rent, you need the landlord's consent for an extension, dormer, kitchen or bathroom. The landlord must reply within 8 weeks and may only refuse if the home becomes harder to let or loses value (Civil Code article 7:215).

How to check it yourself

Work through these steps for your own address, in this order. The city's map is the quickest place to start. The national portal is in Dutch and you need DigiD to apply. Haarlem has no English page on building permits.

Questions can go to the city on 14 023; the city's English homepage lists its services, with most detail in Dutch. If you want to know what is possible structurally, contact us for a visit by Stas. For a full renovation we include the permit question in the planning.

• Check on the map whether your address is in a protected townscape or listed.
• Run the permit check on the Omgevingsloket.
• Look up the rules for your plot in Rules on the map, including the draft for the centre.
• Read the Dutch pages on the building permit and the monument permit.
• Unsure about maintenance on a listed building: email [email protected].

Frequently asked questions