Do you need a permit in Kaag en Braassem? Extensions, dormers and renovations

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 Kaag en Braassem. 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 the Kaag en Braassem environment plan adds

On its Dutch page Omgevingsvergunning the municipality says you sometimes do not need a permit, for example for dormers and annexes at the rear of a home. Those are the national exemptions. The environment plan consists, as everywhere, of a temporary part with the old zoning plans and the dowry rules, and a new part the municipality will fill in over the coming years.

If your plan falls outside the exemptions, the municipality advises consulting it first: an information request or a preliminary request (conceptverzoek). The municipality usually replies within 8 to 12 weeks. You cannot object to the outcome, because it is an assessment and not a decision.

For the building work itself, the municipality asks that structural details, such as drawings and calculations, reach it at least three weeks before the start. You may only begin once they are approved and the start of building has been reported. For an extension we help where needed to have those documents ready in time. Next to a ditch, canal or dyke the water authority may have rules too.

Design review, protected village areas and listed buildings in Kaag en Braassem

Kaag en Braassem has long taken a light touch on design review (welstand: whether a building looks right in its setting). Under its 2010 design policy, most of the municipality is exempt from design review, except listed buildings and protected village areas. The environment plan also contains retrospective design control: even a permit free structure may not be in serious conflict with reasonable design requirements. What applies to your address is shown in Rules on the map.

The municipality has 60 national monuments (Dutch), including all its drainage mills. Regular maintenance without changes to material, colour or detailing needs no permit, such as repainting in the same colour or patching a thatched roof. Inside, only recent, non historic additions such as a hardboard ceiling or wood panelling can be removed permit free. For anything else you apply for the national monument activity as well as the building activity.

Besides national monuments, the municipality keeps characteristic buildings, objects and areas in a municipal heritage register. They are protected against full or partial demolition. In parts of the municipality the old zoning plan also has a protected village area designation. Whether that applies to your street is shown on the map.

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

The municipality has its own step by step plan (Dutch) for an application. The national portal is in Dutch and you need DigiD to apply. The municipality has no English building pages; the national government explains the system in English on Government.nl.

Questions can go to the municipality on 071 332 72 72 or through its contact form. We are based in Roelofarendsveen. Contact us for a visit by Stas, or read about our full renovation work.

• Run the permit check on the Omgevingsloket.
• Look up the rules for your plot in Rules on the map.
• Check the national monuments register and the municipal heritage register for your building.
• For a general question, use the municipality's contact form.
• If you think a permit is needed, submit a preliminary request first.

Frequently asked questions