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Age clause, asbestos clause and other risk clauses in your purchase agreement

Published 27 October 2026purchase agreementlegalbuying

Short answer: in a standard NVM purchase agreement (koopakte), the seller guarantees that at the transfer the home is suitable for normal use as a home. Defects you knew about or could have seen are yours. For hidden defects that get in the way of normal use, the seller pays the repair costs. An age clause (ouderdomsclausule), asbestos clause (asbestclausule), non-occupancy clause (niet-zelfbewoningsclausule) or foundation clause (funderingsclausule) shifts part of that risk to you. How far depends on the exact wording: in 2025 a court looked at the words and the circumstances, and found that an age clause only applied to defects related to the age of the home. Such a clause doesn't take away the seller's duty to disclose (mededelingsplicht). Your own duty to investigate (onderzoeksplicht) also remains.

The starting point: normal use

The law says a home must have the properties you could expect on the basis of the purchase, such as the properties needed for normal use (article 7:17 of the Dutch Civil Code). What you already knew or could reasonably have known when you signed, you cannot claim later (paragraph 5).

The NVM model works this out in article 6.3:

  • at the transfer, the home has the properties needed for normal use;
  • defects that get in the way of normal use and that you knew or could have known about when you signed are at your expense;
  • for defects you didn't know about and couldn't have known about, the seller only pays the repair costs, with a "new for old" deduction;
  • the seller only pays other damage if he is at fault.

The explanatory notes to the model give an example of "new for old": a ten-year-old central heating boiler with an expected lifespan of twenty years has to be replaced for € 2,500. The seller then pays half, € 1,250. The notes also say that with an existing home, depending on its age and price, you must take overdue maintenance into account, even if it wasn't directly visible when you signed.

Risk clauses are usually not in the pre-printed text, but under the additional arrangements (nadere afspraken) at the back of the purchase agreement.

Age clause

An age clause says you know the home is old and that you can therefore expect less of the building quality than with a new home. Sometimes the wording goes further and says that "in deviation from article 6.3" all defects are at your expense.

How such a clause plays out was shown by the Rotterdam district court in February 2025. The purchase agreement said the home was more than 63 years old and that, in deviation from article 6.3 and article 7:17 of the Dutch Civil Code, the absence of properties needed for normal use was at the buyer's expense and risk. After the transfer, the buyers found defects in a party wall between two homes and in the wiring. The court found that the buyers did not have to understand the clause as a complete exclusion of liability. It had not been negotiated, the wording came from the seller, the buyers had no buying agent, article 6.3 had not been crossed out and the exclusion was "hidden" in the second sentence of a provision titled "Ouderdomsclausule" (age clause). So the clause only applied to defects caused by age, and these defects had another cause: the two homes had recently been separated from each other again. Under article 6.3, the sellers had to pay over € 34,000 in repair costs (ECLI:NL:RBROT:2025:3457).

That is one ruling about one text. A clause that is clear and has been discussed can go further. So read the whole provision, and ask what it is meant to cover before you sign.

Asbestos clause

In the NVM model, article 6.4.3 contains a choice: "aan verkoper is niet bekend" (the seller is not aware) or "aan koper is bekend" (the buyer is aware) that asbestos has been used in the home. According to the explanatory notes, this also applies to asbestos in a shed, a small canopy or the paving of a garden path. Such a statement is a statement of (un)awareness ((on)bekendheidsverklaring): it records what the parties know, but according to article 6.13 it is not a guarantee and not an exclusion of liability.

A separate asbestos clause under the additional arrangements often goes further. An (anonymised) purchase agreement from our sample report contains a clause in which the seller says asbestos was common at the time of construction, names locations (boiler room, roof boarding, floor covering, flues) and guarantees nothing. Then asbestos is your risk: if you renovate, you pay for the removal yourself, and according to the explanatory notes that requires special measures. You can agree in advance who pays for the removal, or have your own survey done.

Non-occupancy clause

If the seller hasn't lived in the home himself (for long), for example with an inheritance or letting, there is often a non-occupancy clause. In the case at the Rotterdam district court it read: the seller has not used the home himself and therefore could not inform the buyer about defects he would have known about through his own use, and "such properties or defects" are at the buyer's expense.

Note what it says: it is about defects the seller could not know about. What he does know, he still has to tell you. In that case the clause didn't help the seller either, because it did not expressly deviate from article 6.3 and one of the sellers had in fact lived there.

Foundation clause

The NVM model has no standard article about the foundation. The explanatory notes do mention foundation problems as one of the topics that, depending on the age and region of the home, can be important, alongside flooding, lead pipes and cotton-insulated wiring. If there is a foundation clause under the additional arrangements, read exactly what you are accepting: only that you know there is a risk, or also that repairs are entirely for you. Ask about earlier foundation surveys and check what the seller filled in on the questionnaire.

The list of items

The purchase agreement comes with a list of items (lijst van zaken): what stays behind and what the seller takes with him. According to the explanatory notes, the obligation to deliver items suitable for normal use also applies to movable items sold with the home. If the list says something doesn't work, such as the faulty dishwasher in our sample purchase agreement, you know it and it is your risk.

Also look at the amount for movable items in the purchase agreement. You don't pay transfer tax on that part. If the amount is out of proportion to the actual value, according to the explanatory notes you run the risk of an additional tax assessment and a fine.

What a clause doesn't take away

  • The seller's duty to disclose. If the seller knows about a defect that gets in the way of normal use, he must tell you. If he doesn't, according to the Rechtspraak (the Dutch judiciary) he is in principle liable for your damage. If he lied or concealed defects, according to notaris.nl you can hold him liable. If incorrect or withheld information led you into a purchase you otherwise wouldn't have made, the purchase may also be voidable on the grounds of error (dwaling, article 6:228 of the Dutch Civil Code).
  • Your own duty to investigate. If you see signs of a leak, you must ask questions and investigate, says the Rechtspraak. If you don't, you may not be able to recover your damage later. A clause doesn't make that duty any smaller.

And the building survey?

For an existing home, the Rechtspraak recommends a building survey (bouwkundige keuring): if you had one done, the seller cannot accuse you of not meeting your duty to investigate. Notaris.nl recommends making sure the surveyor also inspects the crawl space, because not every survey includes it.

Keep in mind: what you know before signing is known, and under article 6.3 therefore at your expense. Use a survey to negotiate the price or to put arrangements about repairs in the purchase agreement. If you only have the survey done after signing, make sure there is a condition (ontbindende voorwaarde) with a clear deadline. How that works is explained in Conditions in the purchase agreement.

Frequently asked questions

Can I have an age clause removed?

You can negotiate about it. The explanatory notes to the NVM model expressly say the parties may deviate from the standard, also per part. Do it before you sign: after that you are bound by it, except within your cooling-off period.

With an age clause, is the seller no longer liable for anything?

That depends on the wording and the circumstances. In 2025 the Rotterdam district court found that an age clause only applied to defects related to the age of the home. And what the seller knew and kept quiet about remains his problem.

What does "aan verkoper is niet bekend dat er asbest is verwerkt" mean?

It means the seller is not aware that asbestos has been used, and nothing more. It is not a guarantee that there is no asbestos, and not an exclusion of liability either (article 6.13 of the NVM model). If you want certainty, have it surveyed.

With a non-occupancy clause, does the seller still have to tell me anything?

Yes. The clause is about what he couldn't know because he didn't live there. What he does know, he must report.

Sources

Which risks does your purchase agreement put on you?

Risk clauses are often at the back, under the additional arrangements. For € 9.95 we read your purchase agreement within 24 hours against a fixed checklist, list every clause that shifts risk to you and send you all deadlines as a calendar file.

Check my purchase agreement

Check it yourself first?

Get the purchase agreement checklist as a PDF: what to look for before you sign, to tick off.

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