Almost every renovation conversation in the Netherlands arrives at the same question sooner or later. Can any of this be written off against tax? For private homeowners the answer is narrower than most people expect, though it is not nothing.…

Before 2024, the prospect of a Dutch renovation often meant bracing for the permit system: municipal permits, zoning rules and environmental regulations spread across dozens of separate laws, enough to put some people off a rear extension or loft conversion…

Most Dutch homeowners who want a wooden floor choose between three options: solid wood, engineered wood and laminate. They look similar once laid, but they behave differently in a Dutch home. Damp winters, crawl-space moisture under ground floors, VvE rules…

Renovating a listed home in the Netherlands is not the same as renovating a standard house. A rijksmonument or gemeentelijk monument comes with extra rules, slower decisions, more documentation and stricter choices about materials and detailing. That same status can also open access to…

Dutch VAT looks simple from a distance. The standard rate is 21%. The reduced rate is 9%. Renovation work sits in between. Some work on older homes qualifies for the reduced rate. Other work, even inside the same room and…

There's a moment every Amsterdam canal house owner recognises. You climb the steep, narrow stairs to the top floor, duck under a beam positioned for someone considerably shorter, and reach the attic. The space is there – raw, dusty, full…

The Dutch net-metering scheme is on its way out. For hundreds of thousands of solar panel owners, that changes the maths. Does investing in a home battery finally make sense, or is it still too early? For years, Dutch homeowners…

Your kitchen's been ripped out, the bathroom is a shell, and there's dust on everything you own. At some point during a major renovation, most Dutch homeowners reach the same conclusion: we can't live here. So what do you do…

Building on last year's Practical Guide to Renovating Your Dutch Home (published May 2025), where we covered the basics of planning and budgeting, this 2026 edition focuses on the strategic advantages of a total renovation in today's ultra-tight market. With…

We’ve all been there. You walk into a beautifully renovated, modern living room. The herringbone floors are gleaming, the walls are freshly plastered, and the massive crittall-style windows let in glorious sheets of sunlight. It looks spectacular. But then someone…