Neighbour building without a permit: what can you do?

If your neighbour builds without a required permit, your most effective remedy is usually a written request for enforcement (handhavingsverzoek) to the municipal executive (college van burgemeester en wethouders). The main exception: much building work needs no permit at all under the Environment and Planning Act (Omgevingswet), so first check whether a permit was required.

Alongside that administrative route runs a civil route. Under Articles 5:37 and 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW), a structure that is lawful in planning terms can still cause unlawful nuisance, and Article 5:50 BW sets rules on windows and balconies near the boundary. Below we explain how to check the permit position, how to make an enforcement request that works, which six-week deadlines apply and when the civil court is the better choice.

When does building work need a permit?

Since 1 January 2024 the Omgevingswet and its decrees decide which works need a permit. There is no single height or size limit that applies everywhere: it depends on the type of work, its position on the plot and the municipal environment plan (omgevingsplan).

The Act distinguishes two aspects. The technical building activity (technische bouwactiviteit) concerns national requirements on safety, health and energy. The environment plan activity (omgevingsplanactiviteit) concerns the local rules on use, height and position, and the environment plan can set stricter rules than the national permit-free categories.

Certain extensions, sheds and outbuildings in the back garden are permit-free if they meet the national conditions. Do not rely on rules of thumb: use the permit check on the Omgevingsloket, read the environment plan for the address and ask the municipality whether a permit was applied for or granted. Under the Open Government Act (Woo) you can also ask to inspect the permit and its drawings.

What can the municipality do against building without a permit?

Building without a required permit breaches Article 5.1 of the Omgevingswet, and the municipality can impose an order subject to a penalty (last onder dwangsom, Article 5:32 of the General Administrative Law Act, Awb) or an administrative enforcement order (last onder bestuursdwang, Article 5:21 Awb). In some cases an administrative fine or a criminal sanction is possible as well.

With a penalty order, your neighbour must stop the work or remove the structure within a set period, or forfeit a penalty sum. With an enforcement order, the municipality removes the structure itself and recovers the costs from your neighbour.

Under settled case law of the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, a municipality faced with a breach is in principle obliged to enforce. It may refrain only if there is a concrete prospect of legalisation, or if enforcement would be disproportionate. In practice the municipality often first invites your neighbour to apply for a permit after the fact, which you can then challenge.

How do you request enforcement from the municipality?

You send a written request to the municipal executive. Describe the address, the construction, why a permit was required and not granted, and how you are affected; attach dated photographs and a log of the work.

You must be an interested party (belanghebbende) under Article 1:2 Awb: someone whose interest is directly affected. A direct neighbour who can see the construction from home usually meets that test; someone living several streets away often does not.

The municipality must decide within a reasonable period, which under Article 4:13 Awb has in any event expired after eight weeks unless a statutory rule provides otherwise. If it refuses, or legalises the construction, you can lodge an objection within six weeks (Article 6:7 Awb) and then appeal to the administrative court.

In your objection, address the two grounds for not enforcing: why legalisation is not possible, and why your interests outweigh those of your neighbour. A permit granted after the fact must also be challenged within six weeks of publication, whether or not you were told, so check the municipality’s publications.

When do you go to the civil court?

You go to the civil court when your complaint is about the effect of the construction on you, rather than about the permit. The civil court does not decide whether a permit was needed; it decides whether your neighbour acts unlawfully towards you.

Article 5:37 BW prohibits causing nuisance that is unlawful under Article 6:162 BW, such as noise, vibrations or withholding light or air. Whether nuisance is unlawful depends on its nature, severity and duration and the circumstances of the case.

The Civil Code also has specific neighbour rules. Under Article 5:50 BW, windows, wall openings and balconies within two metres of the boundary that overlook your plot need your consent. Under Article 5:42 BW, trees may not be planted within two metres of the boundary and shrubs and hedges not within half a metre, unless a local regulation allows less. These rules apply whether or not a permit was granted.

In civil proceedings you can claim removal or adjustment of the structure, a ban on further work or damages, with a penalty payment attached. If work is still in progress, summary proceedings (kort geding) before the preliminary relief judge can give a decision within weeks. Send your neighbour a formal letter first; it sometimes solves the matter and shows the court you tried.

Should you choose mediation, the municipality or the court?

That depends on your goal and the urgency. Talking or mediation does not stop the six-week deadline for objecting to a permit, so file your objection on time even while you talk.

Many municipalities offer neighbourhood mediation (buurtbemiddeling) free of cost to residents. In mediation you can agree on solutions a court cannot impose, such as frosted glass, a screen or moving a structure, and record them in a settlement agreement (vaststellingsovereenkomst, Article 7:900 BW) that binds both of you.

As a rule of thumb: if the problem is the missing permit, start with the municipality, which bears the cost of enforcement. If the problem is the effect on you, such as a window within two metres, use the civil route, where you bear the costs and the burden of proof (Article 150 of the Code of Civil Procedure). Both routes can run at the same time.

What should you check as the neighbour who objects?

Your position depends on evidence and on deadlines. Check these points:

• Whether a permit was required, using the Omgevingsloket and the environment plan for the address.
• Whether a permit was applied for or granted, in the municipality’s publications.
• Whether you have dated photographs and a log showing size and distance to the boundary.
• Whether you are a directly affected interested party under Article 1:2 Awb.
• When the six-week objection period ends for any decision or permit.

What should you check as the owner who is building?

If you are the one building, an enforcement request can stop your project. Check these points before work starts:

• Whether both the technical building activity and the environment plan activity are permit-free for your plans.
• Whether a new building falls under the Quality Assurance for Construction Act (Wkb), which since 1 January 2024 requires a building notification (bouwmelding) for consequence class 1 works.
• Whether windows or balconies come within two metres of the boundary (Article 5:50 BW).
• Whether your contractor or architect is contractually responsible for permits and notifications.
• Whether you have informed your neighbours before the work starts.

What can we do for you in a dispute about building without a permit?

Our real estate lawyers assist neighbours and owners in administrative and civil proceedings; see also our index of Dutch real estate law guides. Concretely:

• We check whether the construction needed a permit under the Omgevingswet and the environment plan.
• We draft the enforcement request to the municipal executive.
• We lodge the objection within six weeks and conduct the appeal before the administrative court.
• We send the formal letter to your neighbour and start summary proceedings where work is in progress.
• We record an agreement with your neighbour in a settlement agreement.

Summary

• Check first whether a permit was needed; many smaller works are permit-free under the Omgevingswet.
• If a permit was required and not granted, send a written enforcement request; the municipality is in principle obliged to enforce.
• Object within six weeks to a refusal or to a permit granted after the fact (Article 6:7 Awb).
• The civil route, under Articles 5:37, 5:50 and 6:162 BW, addresses nuisance and boundary rules regardless of the permit.

Frequently asked questions