The bouwkundige keuring explained: what a Dutch structural survey does and does not tell you
When you buy a house in the Netherlands, someone will tell you to arrange a bouwkundige keuring. It is a pre-purchase structural survey, carried out by an independent inspector, and on older housing stock it is the most useful few hundred euros you will spend.
What nobody explains is how to read the thing. The report comes back with categories, condition scores and a repair estimate, and buyers routinely draw the wrong conclusion from it. This guide covers what it actually covers, and what it deliberately does not.
What the survey covers
An inspector walks the property and assesses what can be seen without opening anything up. That usually includes the roof, gutters and facades, window frames and joinery, visible signs of damp, the crawl space where accessible, floors and ceilings, and the general condition of installations.
The report scores each element and assigns urgency: work that should be done immediately, work that can wait a few years, and long-term maintenance. At the back there is normally a cost estimate.
What it does not cover
| Not covered | Why | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Anything behind walls or under floors | Nothing is opened up | Assume pre-1990 pipework needs replacing |
| Foundation condition below ground | Requires separate investigation | Commission a foundation survey if there are signs |
| Asbestos | Needs sampling and lab analysis | Separate asbestos inventory |
| Whether your plans are possible | Not the purpose of the survey | Get a renovation plan |
| Permit status of the address | Not a building inspection matter | Check the Omgevingsloket |
The mistake almost everyone makes
The repair estimate at the back of the report is an estimate for maintenance. It answers the question: what does this house need to stay in reasonable condition. It does not answer the question you actually have, which is what your plans will cost.
Those two budgets barely overlap. A survey may say the bathroom is in acceptable condition and therefore list nothing, while you intend to gut it. Equally it may list window frames as urgent, which is a real cost you had not counted on. Read the survey for risk, and get a separate calculation for intent.
How to use it in the purchase
- Arrange the survey before you commit, or make your offer conditional on a satisfactory result.
- Read the urgency categories rather than the total; immediate work is what affects your decision.
- Ask the surveyor directly what worries them most. That answer is often more useful than the report.
- Separate maintenance from your own plans and budget for both.
- If something structural comes up, get it assessed properly before you decide.
And then the other calculation
Once you know what the house needs, the remaining question is what you want. Our rates for a complete renovation are € 550 to € 800 per m² basic, € 800 to € 1.200 mid-range and € 1.200 to € 1.800 high-end. You can work through your own situation with the cost calculator, or send us the survey and we will read it with you.
Frequently asked questions
Got a survey and not sure what it means?
Send it to us. We will explain what is urgent, what can wait and what your own plans would cost, and put it together as a renovation plan with real numbers.