Which checks show that a contractor in the Netherlands is reliable?
A checklist for before you sign, with the legal article or official source behind each point.
Choose a contractor you have found in the KVK register under the name, number and address on its quote, whose finished work you have seen or whose past clients you have called, and who gives you a written quote with scope, materials, exclusions, stelposten, the VAT split, a planning and a payment schedule tied to progress. Keep the advance to 10 percent, agree every change in writing before it is carried out, and get the insurance details on paper. Since 1 January 2024 the contractor also stays liable for defects found after delivery.
The KVK register, and what it cannot tell you
A basic search on kvk.nl is free. The register shows whether the company exists, its address and registered activities, who owns it and may sign for it, and whether it is bankrupt, in a moratorium (surseance) or its owner is in debt rescheduling. It says nothing about the quality of the work, so KVK itself advises adding reviews, trade-association membership and, for a large contract, a credit report.
Compare three details yourself. The name, KVK number and address on the quote should match the register, because KVK warns that fraudsters borrow other firms’ details. The registered activities should fit the job. And the KVK number should appear on the quote, the website and emails, as Dutch rules require on all business correspondence. Private and shielded addresses are not public, so a small firm may show no visiting address; ask for one.
Reviews, references and finished work
On Google, Werkspot or any other platform, the ACM, the consumer authority, advises reading several reviews on several sites, trusting an average more when it rests on many reviews, checking whether the newest or the most positive come first, and looking at whether the company answers its negative ones. Companies must also explain where their reviews come from and how they check them.
Phone two or three recent clients with similar jobs: did the planning hold, and were snag-list points fixed? Better still, visit a site in progress. How floors are protected and where the waste goes show how a crew will treat your house. New to the country? See our article on renovating as an expat.
What a written quote (offerte) has to contain
- Scope per room or element, and materials by brand and type.
- Exclusions, written out. This line decides whether two totals describe the same job.
- Stelposten, provisional sums for items not yet chosen. One set too low makes a quote look cheaper than the job.
- Fixed price or richtprijs, stated as such. A richtprijs may be exceeded by more than 10 percent only after a timely warning (article 7:752 BW).
- The VAT split. In homes older than two years the labour of insulating, painting, plastering, wallpapering and cleaning qualifies for 9 percent; other work carries 21. See our VAT article.
- Planning with start and end dates, and payment terms tied to stages.
- Validity, guarantee and general terms, handed over with the quote.
A quote is free unless agreed otherwise beforehand (ConsuWijzer). Our article on renovation cost per square metre shows how to compare two quotes line by line.
Pay in stages, and keep the advance small
The law sets a payment rule only for new-build homes, where payments must roughly follow progress (article 7:767 BW). For a renovation, your contract is the only schedule. BouwGarant, a building-guarantee foundation, advises never paying more than 10 percent as an advance, and only when work starts. From €10,000 excluding VAT its scheme is 10 percent at the start, instalments as the work progresses and the last 10 percent at delivery. The reason is insolvency: if the receiver ends the contract, an advance becomes a claim on the estate, and whether or when you see it again is uncertain.
A worked example: how a contract sum is paid
Take a renovation contract of €50,000 including VAT. The sum is only there for the arithmetic; what a job costs follows from its own quote. Applied to it, BouwGarant’s scheme looks like this:
| Stage | Share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Advance, when work starts | 10 percent | €5,000 |
| Instalments, as visible stages are finished | 80 percent | €40,000 |
| Final payment, at delivery | 10 percent | €5,000 |
Two things stay outside the contract: permit fees, which you pay to the municipality with your application, and your own reserve for the unforeseen. With a 30 percent advance, €15,000 would sit with the contractor before any of the work exists, and in an insolvency that is the money at risk.
Meerwerk: priced and agreed in writing first
When you ask for additions or changes, article 7:755 BW lets the contractor charge more only if it warned you in time that the price would rise, unless you should have understood that yourself. So no meerwerk starts without a written price and your written yes; an email is enough. Under a fixed price, ConsuWijzer treats extra work needed to deliver what was agreed as the contractor’s risk.
Insurance: what CAR and liability cover pay for
Liability insurance (AVB) pays for damage and injury the company causes to others, plus legal costs. It standardly excludes things in the contractor’s care (opzicht), such as the radiator it takes down and drops, and the cost of redoing its own work, so it is no guarantee on workmanship.
CAR insurance covers the work itself during construction against material damage, whoever caused it, including theft of materials. In a renovation, ask whether the optional section for the client’s existing property (bestaande eigendommen opdrachtgever) is included: that pays when work on a new opening damages the old house around it. Get insurer, policies and insured sums in writing.
What the law gives you since 1 January 2024
The Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen (Wkb) took effect on 1 January 2024. Its independent quality-assurance regime covers new build in the lowest risk class and has been postponed for renovation without a start date. IPLO, the government’s information point, lists which of its Civil Code changes reach a renovation.
| Rule | Article | Renovation? |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor liable for defects not discovered at delivery, unless not attributable to it; cannot be waived for a private client | 7:758(4) BW | Yes |
| Warnings about errors in your plan, drawings or the materials you supply, given in writing and unambiguously | 7:754(2) BW | Yes |
| Dossier at delivery (consumentendossier): drawings, calculations, materials, installations, use and maintenance data | 7:757a BW | Yes, contracts from 1 January 2024; can be varied by agreement |
| Written information on insurance or other financial security before you are bound | 7:765a BW | No, new-build homes only |
| Right to pay 5 percent of the contract price into a notary’s deposit instead of to the contractor | 7:768 BW | No, new-build homes only |
Whether you could have spotted a defect at delivery no longer decides who pays for it. Because the dossier can be dropped by agreement, check that neither the contract nor the general terms does so.
For a renovation, agree the equivalent of the last two rows in the contract: insurance details in writing, and the last instalment paid once the snag list is cleared. If defects remain, the general right to suspend payment (article 6:262 BW) lets you hold back an amount in proportion to them.
General terms and conditions
General terms (algemene voorwaarden) must reach you before or when the contract is concluded; handed over later, you can annul them in full (ACM). Clauses limiting the company’s liability are on the grey list and must be justified. Ask too whether it is affiliated with a disputes committee (geschillencommissie), an alternative to court.
Red flags
- Cash, or a lower price “without invoice”. Pay against an invoice, as the consumer programme Kassa advises.
- An advance well above 10 percent.
- No written quote, or a few lines with one total.
- No KVK number, or details that differ from the register.
- Pressure to sign today. The ACM’s advice at the door is not to let yourself be pushed into deciding on the spot.
Permits remain your responsibility
The government’s step plan puts the checks with the person having the work done: does the plan fit the omgevingsplan and building rules, and is an omgevingsvergunning needed? If so, you apply through the Omgevingsloket. A good contractor flags at the quote stage which permits a job likely needs; applying stays with you as the homeowner. See our article on the Omgevingswet in renovation practice.
LucKey Construction (KVK 82937443) has worked from Zaandam since 2021, across Zaandam, Amsterdam, Haarlem and the surrounding municipalities. It quotes in writing with the exclusions listed, prices meerwerk before it is carried out, shows the 9 and 21 percent VAT parts separately, and gives a one-year guarantee on its work. See house renovation. Likely permits are flagged at the quotation stage; applying for them stays with the homeowner.
Disclaimer: the contract sum in the worked example is an illustration for the arithmetic, not a price for any job. It is not a quotation, a price list or an offer, and no figure here can be relied on for any particular project. What the work actually costs depends on the property, its age and condition, the scope of work, the materials chosen and the region, and it is fixed only in a written quotation after a property visit and a full calculation. That quotation is the only figure that binds anyone. The legal points are a general summary and not legal advice. Labour rates and material prices change, and the figures here reflect the position in October 2026. Rules on permits, building contracts and VAT change: check anything here that affects a permit, a contract or a tax rate with the body responsible for it, which means your municipality and the Omgevingsloket for permits, wetten.overheid.nl and ConsuWijzer for contract law, and the Belastingdienst for VAT. Responsibility for permits and applications rests with the homeowner, not with the contractor.
