Do you need a permit in The Hague? 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 The Hague. 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 Hague's environment plan adds

On its English page Apply for an environment and planning permit the city lists plans that always need a permit: renovating a building in a protected area, a roof extension (dakopbouw) and a shed in the front garden. A dormer, roof terrace, shed or fence, and inside the removal of a load bearing wall, are listed as plans that often need one. Whether that applies to you depends on the location and the environment plan for your plot.

The Hague's environment plan still consists largely of the old zoning plans and the national dowry rules. If you need a permit, the city usually decides within 8 weeks, which can be extended once by 6 weeks.

If your plan does not fit the environment plan, for example because you want to build higher than allowed, the city expects you to talk to your neighbours first. The Dutch page Bouwen in en met de buurt gives tips: tell them early, discuss timing, noise and parking, and swap contact details. That helps for any extension in a small city garden.

Design review, protected areas and listed buildings in The Hague

The Hague checks design (welstand: whether a building looks right in its setting) against its Nota omgevingskwaliteit. If a plan does not clearly fit, the city asks the Adviescommissie omgevingskwaliteit en cultureel erfgoed for advice. The focus is size, material and colour.

The city has 11 state protected and 10 municipally protected townscapes. The list and map are on monumentenzorgdenhaag.nl (Dutch). In the state protected areas Bbl article 2.30 and dowry article 22.28 apply, so even a dormer on a side slope or an extension visible from the street quickly needs a permit. The city also lists solar panels on buildings in a protected area as something that can need a permit.

The Hague has over 1,100 national monuments and more than 1,300 municipal monuments. If you want to change the inside or outside of a listed building, read the Dutch page Monument veranderen. Questions can go to the city's Monumentenzorg en Welstand team.

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

Start from your own address and work through these steps in order. You will know where you stand before you hire a draughtsman. The national portal is in Dutch and you log in with DigiD to apply.

For questions about your address or plan, call the city on 14070. The Hague International Centre helps newcomers with practical questions about living in the city. If you want to know what is possible structurally, contact us for a visit by Stas. For larger work, such as a full renovation, we include the permit question in the planning.

• Read the city's English page Apply for an environment and planning permit.
• Run the permit check on the Omgevingsloket for each part of your plan.
• Look up the rules for your plot in Rules on the map.
• Check on monumentenzorgdenhaag.nl whether your building is listed or in a protected townscape.
• Check the national monuments register for national monuments.

Frequently asked questions