Short answer: if you buy a home as a private individual, you have three days to reconsider after signing (bedenktijd, article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code). The period starts at 00:00 on the day after you receive the signed purchase agreement (or a copy). If it ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it runs on until the end of the next working day. And it must always include at least two working days. Within that time you can withdraw from the purchase without a reason and without cost. Make sure your notice has arrived at the seller or their agent before the period ends.
What the law says
Article 7:2 of the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) covers two things. The purchase of a home by a private individual must be made in writing. And the buyer receives the agreement or a copy, after which they have the right "to dissolve the purchase" "for three days after this handover".
The cooling-off period belongs to you as the buyer. The seller has no statutory cooling-off period, although you can agree on one. Your cooling-off period can't be made shorter than three days. Agreeing on a longer one is allowed.
When does the cooling-off period start?
On the day after the day you received the purchase agreement signed by both of you. If you sign on Monday and get a copy the same day, your cooling-off period starts on Tuesday at 00:00.
What matters is the moment you have the signed agreement. If the seller signs later, or you get the copy by post, the period starts later. The agent will often ask you to sign a dated receipt. That date then determines the start. So check carefully which date you put on it.
How do weekends and public holidays count?
Two rules from the General Time Limits Act (Algemene termijnenwet) come in here, and the model purchase agreement copies them word for word:
- If the cooling-off period ends on a Saturday, Sunday or recognised public holiday, it runs on until the end of the next day that isn't one (article 1).
- The cooling-off period must include at least two days that are not a Saturday, Sunday or recognised public holiday. If necessary, it's extended (article 2).
Under that act, the recognised public holidays are: New Year's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, King's Day, 5 May and both Christmas Days.
This is how it works in practice, with the dates of this week and the coming weeks:
| Signed agreement received | Cooling-off period runs | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 27 October 2026 | Wed, Thu, Fri | Friday 30 October, 23:59 |
| Wednesday 28 October 2026 | Thu, Fri, Sat: ends on a Saturday | Monday 2 November, 23:59 |
| Thursday 29 October 2026 | Fri, Sat, Sun: only one working day | Monday 2 November, 23:59 |
| Friday 30 October 2026 | Sat, Sun, Mon: only one working day | Tuesday 3 November, 23:59 |
| Tuesday 22 December 2026 | Wed, Thu, Fri (Christmas Day) | Monday 28 December, 23:59 |
The Thursday example is also given this way by the Dutch government (Rijksoverheid). If you're unsure about your own end date, ask the notary (notaris) and assume the earliest date you can think of.
Who does the cooling-off period apply to?
- To a buyer who is a natural person and isn't acting in the course of a profession or business. If you buy through a private limited company (bv), or as an investor in the course of your business, you have no statutory cooling-off period.
- To the purchase of immovable property intended for living in: a house or an apartment right. According to the Dutch government it also applies to a holiday home. The law also applies it to membership or participation rights that give the right to use a home, as with a housing cooperative.
- Not to hire purchase (huurkoop) and not to a public auction at the notary. According to the Dutch government, also not to the purchase of undeveloped land, a houseboat or a mobile home (woonwagen).
Once per home per six months
If you use your cooling-off period and the same buyer and seller enter into a new purchase of the same home within six months, you no longer have a cooling-off period for that second purchase. This is in article 7:2 paragraph 2. So withdrawing, renegotiating and then signing again with the same seller doesn't give you a new cooling-off period.
How to use the cooling-off period
The law sets no requirements for the form. But if the seller says they received nothing, you have to be able to prove you were on time. So do it in writing and in a way you can prove:
- Send a short, signed statement that you're dissolving the purchase agreement on the basis of the cooling-off period (article 7:2 BW). You don't have to give a reason.
- Make sure it arrives before the end of the cooling-off period at the seller or their agent. Email and call the agent, and also send a registered letter.
- Is the seller or their agent unreachable at the last moment? In the model purchase agreement, the parties choose the notary's office as their address for service (woonplaats kiezen). According to the explanatory notes, a withdrawal you then report to the notary counts as received by the seller.
If you withdraw within the cooling-off period, you pay the seller nothing. If you'd already paid a deposit, you get it back.
The last cheap way out
After the cooling-off period, you can only withdraw from the purchase through a condition (ontbindende voorwaarde) in the agreement, such as financing or the survey, and only before the date that goes with it. If your reason isn't covered by one, stopping usually costs you 10% of the purchase price as a penalty. How that works with your deposit or bank guarantee is explained in Deposit or bank guarantee.
So use the three days to read the purchase agreement itself: does it contain the conditions you mentioned in your offer, with achievable dates? Will the purchase agreement be registered with the Kadaster (land registry)? Which risks does the seller pass on to you, such as asbestos or age? And for an apartment: what does it say about the VvE (owners' association)?
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost anything to withdraw during the cooling-off period?
No. You don't have to give a reason, and the seller can't ask for a penalty or compensation.
Can the seller shorten the cooling-off period?
No. The statutory cooling-off period of three days can't be shortened to the buyer's disadvantage. Agreeing on a longer period is allowed.
Does the seller have a cooling-off period too?
Not under the law. You can agree on one in the purchase agreement.
Does the day I sign count?
No. The cooling-off period starts at 00:00 on the day after the day you received the signed purchase agreement or a copy of it.
Can the purchase agreement already be registered with the Kadaster during the cooling-off period?
Only if a notary established in the Netherlands drew up the purchase agreement and co-signed it (article 7:3 paragraph 2 BW). If the agent drew up the agreement, registration only follows after the cooling-off period.
I haven't received the signed purchase agreement yet. Has my cooling-off period started?
No. The cooling-off period only starts on the day after you received the agreement signed by both of you, or a copy. Ask the agent for that copy, so it's clear when your cooling-off period ends.
Sources
All sources are in Dutch.
- Dutch Civil Code Book 7, article 2 (written purchase, cooling-off period, six months) and article 3 (registration during the cooling-off period)
- General Time Limits Act, articles 1 to 4 (extension for weekends and public holidays, list of recognised public holidays)
- Rijksoverheid: How long is the cooling-off period after buying a home? (accessed 27 October 2026)
- Explanatory notes on the purchase agreement for consumers, model purchase agreement for an existing single-family home (2023 model) (article 16 Cooling-off period and notes; copy on an estate agent's website, accessed 27 October 2026)
- Notaris.nl: When the purchase of the house doesn't go ahead (accessed 27 October 2026)