Non-conformity in a house purchase means the property delivered does not correspond to the contract: it lacks the qualities the buyer was entitled to expect. It almost always concerns defects that come to light after completion.
Legal basis
Article 7:17 of the Dutch Civil Code contains the conformity requirement. A buyer may in any event expect the property to have the qualities necessary for normal use, whose presence they had no reason to doubt. Article 7:23 imposes a duty to complain: the buyer must complain within a reasonable time of discovery, and in a consumer sale notification within two months always counts as timely. The claim becomes time-barred two years after the complaint. The buyer also has a duty to investigate, which sits opposite the seller’s duty to disclose; as a rule the duty to disclose prevails. The standard Dutch model contract provides that the seller warrants suitability for normal use as a dwelling, which is a separate contractual warranty alongside the statutory rule.
How it works in practice
The question is almost never whether there is a defect, but whether it prevents normal use. A leaking roof, a subsided foundation or failed drainage do; deferred decoration or a dated kitchen do not. A prior structural survey is the best protection against later argument, and its findings also shape what the buyer was entitled to expect.
Where it goes wrong
Buyers wait to complain until repairs have been carried out and the costs are known; by then the complaint period has often expired. A second error is repairing without giving the seller an opportunity to remedy. Third, the age clause is overlooked, which can substantially limit what the buyer could expect.
Related terms
Non-conformity connects to the purchase agreement, the age clause and error.
Discovered a defect after transfer? Our real estate lawyers put the seller on notice in time.
