The VvE explained. What to check before buying an apartment in The Hague

When you buy an apartment in The Hague, you automatically become a member of its VvE, the owners' association that manages the shared parts of the building and its reserve fund. So before you make an offer, make sure to read four things: the deed of division, recent meeting minutes, the maintenance plan and the reserve balance. These documents are vital to know what you'll be owning and what the financial situation of this association looks like.

In The Hague, owners' associations are very common for any 'split' apartment building. Of the city's 274,171 homes, 79% were apartments on 1 January 2025, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Most buyers here deal with one: 1,747 of the 2,080 existing homes sold in The Hague in the second quarter of 2026 were apartments, according to De Hypotheker. Therefore the VvE's paperwork deserves the same attention as the apartment itself.

What a VvE is and why membership is automatic

Dutch law makes every apartment owner a member of the owners' association, and membership ends only when you stop being an owner (article 5:125 of the Civil Code). There is no way to 'opt out'. The VvE manages everything that is not a private part, such as the roof, the facade, the foundation and the stairwell, and pays for it from the owners' contributions.

Every VvE must be registered in the Trade Register of the Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (KvK) and the municipality of The Hague notes that this has been compulsory since 2008. Decisions are taken in the general meeting of owners. Your share of the costs usually follows your share in the building, which is set out in the deed of division document.

The deed of division: what you actually own

The deed of division (splitsingsakte) and its drawing (splitsingstekening) describe which parts of the building are private and which are shared. Both are registered in the public registers of the Kadaster, the Dutch land registry. On the drawing, a thick line marks a private part and a thin line a shared one. Anything the deed does not describe as private is, in principle, shared.

You can order a copy from the Kadaster yourself. In 2026 it costs €19.85 as a PDF by email or €22.25 by post; the drawing comes with it, and the PDF arrives within two working days. Check that the apartment you are viewing matches the drawing: the rooms, the storage unit, the balcony and, for a ground-floor apartment, the garden.

The deed also gives each apartment a share (breukdeel), usually based on floor area, which determines your part of the shared costs. If the apartment on the drawing is smaller than the one you are viewing, ask why before you bid. The difference may be a later addition that the other owners never approved, which we come back to below.

Which model regulations apply, and why the year matters

Every deed refers to a set of regulations, usually based on a model drawn up by the Royal Dutch Association of Civil-law Notaries (KNB). The deed states the year of that model, for example 1973, 1983, 1992, 2006 or 2017, and according to VvE Belang, an interest group for VvEs and apartment owners, the 1992 model applies to most VvEs.

The year matters, though less for the basics than you might expect. The 1992, 2006 and 2017 models all count window frames in the facade as shared and pipes that serve only one apartment as private. The 1983 model lists the pipes for gas, water and electricity among the shared parts without that exception. Under the 2006 model, owners lack the explicit right to information from the board that the other models give them.

The documents to ask for before you bid

As a prospective buyer you are not yet a member of the VvE, so you receive its records through the seller, who has a duty to inform you. The municipality of The Hague adds a practical warning: a VvE that is not in order can limit your financing options. Ask the seller for these documents as early as possible:

• The deed of division, the drawing and the regulations, including the year of the model.
• The minutes of recent general meetings, which show planned works, disputes and decisions about extensions.
• The annual accounts and this year's budget.
• The maintenance plan (meerjarenonderhoudsplan, MJOP), with its date.
• The current balance of the reserve fund.
• The building insurance policy, which also states the rebuild value.
• The monthly contribution, and any planned special levy or loan.

The municipality runs a VvE desk (VvE-balie), which you can reach through its contact form or on 14070, and an online VvE check (VvE-oké-test) that it explicitly offers to people who want to buy an apartment. Both are a useful way to find the questions you should put to the seller before you make an offer.

Reading the maintenance plan and the reserve fund

Since 2018, the law requires every residential VvE to reserve money each year (article 5:126 of the Civil Code). The minimum is either the amount needed to carry out a maintenance plan that is no more than five years old and covers at least ten years, or at least 0.5% of the building's rebuild value.

The money goes into a separate account in the VvE's name, unless the regulations, a bank guarantee or a decision taken with at least four fifths of all votes provide otherwise. According to VvE Belang, owners can agree in this way not to reserve in the fund; they then pay for major maintenance directly when it is needed. Check the minutes for such a decision.

Compare the works planned for the coming years with the reserve and the yearly contributions. If the roof, facade or window frames are due soon and the reserve is small, expect higher contributions or a special levy. The law also allows a VvE to borrow unless its regulations forbid it, so check the accounts for loans: as an owner, you would help repay them.

A plan is only as good as its timing. If you have a building inspection done, ask the inspector whether the dates in the plan match the condition of the roof, facade and frames they can see. Our guide explains what the inspector can and cannot assess in an older or renovated apartment, and which other checks fill the gaps.

What you become liable for when you buy

When you buy, you and the seller become jointly and severally liable for the contributions owed for the apartment that became or will become due in the current and the previous financial year (article 5:122 of the Civil Code), unless the regulations provide otherwise. Your notary attaches a statement from the VvE board to the transfer deed, and you are not liable towards the VvE for more than the amount it shows.

The statement must also show the size of the reserve fund and the debts of the VvE. Read it as soon as the notary has it, not at the signing. After the transfer, the law requires you to inform the VvE of your purchase in writing without delay, so that the board knows who the new owner is and where to send the contributions.

Case example: when an extension is not in the deed of division

A ground-floor apartment may come with a garden, and sometimes with an extension that an earlier owner built into it. If that extension is not on the drawing, two questions matter: did the VvE ever approve it, and does it stand on a private part or a shared one? The answers decide whether you buy a problem along with the extra space.

The model regulations are strict about extensions. Under the 1992 model, any extension on, against or under the building without the permission of the general meeting is prohibited, and the 2017 model contains a similar rule. Start by looking in the minutes for a decision that approved the extension, taken in a properly convened meeting of owners.

Approval in the minutes is not the same as a change to the deed. A change requires a notarial deed registered at the Kadaster, with the cooperation of all owners or after a decision by at least four fifths of the votes (article 5:139). According to VvE Belang, the four-fifths route only applies when ownership does not shift between owners, and either way it is neither simple nor cheap.

A change also needs the consent of mortgage lenders and, if the building is on ground lease, of the landowner. In The Hague, where the municipality had around 77,000 ground lease contracts in February 2024, it confirms that it must consent to such changes. If owners refuse without good reason, a cantonal court can replace their cooperation, but only at the request of owners with at least half of the votes (article 5:140).

How far this can go shows in a 2025 ruling by the Amsterdam Court of Appeal about a business complex. An extension on shared ground required a deed change, because shared property would go to one owner, and the court upheld a decision replacing the cooperation of two owners who refused. The owners asking for it had offered €165,000. A deed change is possible, but it takes time, money and a notary, and sometimes a court.

Whether a meeting's approval also binds later owners is a question for a notary, so ask one before you sign. In practice, you can make the purchase conditional on the VvE recording its approval, or on a deed change before the transfer. Also ask your valuer how they treat the extra space, because the valuation determines how much you can borrow.

A dormant VvE

A dormant VvE (slapende VvE) does not meet its legal obligations: there are no meetings, no reserve is built up, and sometimes the building has no shared insurance. In that last case, VvE Belang points out, each owner has to insure the building part themselves. It is also exactly the situation in which the municipality warns that your financing options can be limited.

A dormant VvE is not automatically a reason to walk away, but it should affect what you offer. Restarting it takes a meeting, a bank account, insurance and a maintenance plan, and the municipality advises VvEs on getting organised, including on the maintenance plan. Price in that work, and the possibility of catching up on maintenance that was postponed for years.

Ground lease in an apartment building

Part of The Hague is built on municipal ground lease (erfpacht). In an apartment building, the members of the VvE share one ground lease right, and the conditions depend on when it was issued: the municipality uses sets from 1923, 1977, 1986 and 2024. The conditions remain in force when you buy, so ask for them together with the deed of division.

Whether you still pay a yearly ground rent, and how much, is part of the cost of the apartment. Our overview of what an apartment costs to own lists the 2026 canon percentages next to the municipal taxes, the water board charges and the VvE contribution, so you can compare apartments on their total monthly cost.

How we help when you buy an apartment

When you buy an apartment with us, we analyse all the VvE documents before you bid and screen them for legal, structural and financial risks. We also check whether parts you would use, such as a roof terrace or an extension, are missing from the deed of division or still lack formal permission from the other owners.

We go through the reserve fund, the annual accounts and, where there is one, the maintenance plan to see how your costs may change in the coming years. Our specialist accompanies you to every viewing, and if making an offer on a particular apartment is not wise, we tell you so and explain why. See how we work for buyers.

Selling an apartment works the other way round: buyers will ask you for the same documents. When we sell an apartment, we check the deed of division and the VvE documents as part of the digital sales file, and the home only goes online once everything is ready. Read more about what we prepare when you sell.

Frequently asked questions

What does VvE mean?

VvE stands for Vereniging van Eigenaars, the owners' association of an apartment building. Every apartment owner is a member by law and cannot opt out. The VvE manages the shared parts of the building, such as the roof, the facade and the foundation, collects the monthly contributions and keeps a reserve fund for future maintenance.

How much is the VvE contribution for an apartment in The Hague?

It depends on the building, its age, its maintenance plan and services such as a lift or cleaning, so only the VvE's budget gives the right figure. For context, a 2021 survey of VvEs, cited in an evaluation for the Dutch government, found an average contribution of about €190 a month. Ask what the contribution covers, not only what it costs.

Can I see the VvE minutes before I buy an apartment?

Yes, through the seller. As a prospective buyer you are not yet a member of the VvE, but the seller has a duty to inform you and should provide the minutes, the accounts and the maintenance plan. If documents are missing, ask for them in writing before you bid, or make your offer conditional on receiving them.

What if the VvE has no maintenance plan?

Then the legal minimum is a yearly reserve of 0.5% of the building's rebuild value, which you can find in the building insurance policy. Check the minutes as well, because owners can decide with four fifths of all votes not to pay into the reserve account. Without a plan, nobody knows whether the amount is enough, so price in the risk of a special levy.

Who pays VvE arrears when I buy?

You and the seller are jointly and severally liable for the contributions owed for the apartment that became or will become due in the current and the previous financial year, unless the regulations provide otherwise. Your notary attaches a statement from the VvE board to the transfer deed, and you are not liable towards the VvE for more than the amount it shows.

Sources

• Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 5, articles 5:122, 5:125, 5:126, 5:139 and 5:140, version in force from 1 January 2024: wetten.overheid.nl
• CBS, Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025 (table 86165NED), municipality of The Hague: opendata.cbs.nl
• De Hypotheker, Huizenprijzen Den Haag (sales by type of home, second quarter of 2026): hypotheker.nl
• Kadaster, Splitsingsakte opvragen: kadaster.nl; Tarieven 2026: kadaster.nl
• KNB, Een appartement kopen: notaris.nl; Modelreglement 1992: PDF; Modelreglement 2017: PDF
• VvE Belang, Modelreglement: vvebelang.nl; Splitsingsakte: vvebelang.nl; Inzagerecht: vvebelang.nl; Appartement kopen: vvebelang.nl; Splitsingsakte wijzigen: vvebelang.nl; Gemeenschappelijk of privébezit: vvebelang.nl; Veelgestelde vragen: vvebelang.nl
• KvK, Inschrijven vereniging van eigenaars: kvk.nl
• Municipality of The Hague, leaflet Jij en je VvE (March 2025): PDF; Advies voor VvE's: denhaag.nl
• Municipality of The Hague, ground lease and apartment rights: denhaag.nl and denhaag.nl (EN); press release on ground lease contracts (February 2024): denhaag.nl
• Amsterdam Court of Appeal, 29 July 2025, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2025:1962: rechtspraak.nl
• WODC, evaluation of the Wet verbetering functioneren VvE's (May 2024): eerstekamer.nl