Building permit

Are you planning to extend your home with an extension, but don’t know when you should or shouldn’t apply for a permit? There can be quite a bit of confusion about permits. Through this article, hopefully everything will become clear and you will know when to apply for a permit from your local council.

The cost of a permit

The cost of an extension permit varies by municipality. It is wise to check with your own municipality to find out what the exact costs are. However, it is possible to give an indication of the costs for applying for a permit for your extension. The permit is often 2% of the total cost of the extension. Below you will find a table with examples.

Prices of an extension

Do you want to know first what it costs to have an extension built? Then take a look at our price guide: building costs. In this price guide you will find more price information, read about the possibilities and see which choices affect your price. This will quickly give you a total idea of the costs you can expect when building your extension.

Construction: permit needed or not?

Having an extension built involves a lot of work, not only in the building itself. In fact, in a number of cases it is necessary to apply for a permit for your extension. When do you need to apply for a permit? Since 2014, the rules around permit-free building an extension have been relaxed, allowing you to build a larger extension without needing a permit. Below are the maximum dimensions of your extension that in principle do not require a permit. Note: always check with your municipality and/or contractor just to be sure, as it may differ from one municipality to another.

1. Maximum depth of the extension is 4 metres.
2. Maximum height of the extension is 5 metres.
3. The extension will be at the back of the house.

If you want to have an extension built that is larger than the above dimensions or want an extension at the front of your house, you must apply for an extension permit from the municipality.

How to apply for an extension permit?

When you are going to have an extension built that requires a permit, it must of course be applied for. But how does this work? Nowadays, it is very easy to do so via the government’s environment counter. Here you can do a permit check to check whether a permit is needed for your extension. Then you make the application, whereby the following must be submitted:

• application details;
• applicant details;
• authorised person details;
• location details;
• specification of the work;
• attachments.

Have you submitted all the details? Then the application can be made. For a simple application, the processing time is a maximum of 8 weeks. After this tjid you will hear whether or not the permit is granted. Is the permit rejected? You can still appeal against this decision.

Tips for applying for a permit

1. Get organised

By keeping all information and necessary documents together and complete, you can apply for the permit for your extension faster and this will save you a lot of stress. Keep all documents in a folder on your computer so you have everything in one place.

2. Get information from the contractor

Do you still have questions about the permit or the exact dimensions of your extension? Consult your contractor for any questions you still have about this. Contractors have dealt with permit applications before, so they know how this works. They can also help you submit all the details and documents.