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Leasehold, easements and chain clauses: what comes with your home?

Published 27 October 2026buyinglegalcosts

Short answer: with leasehold (erfpacht) you don't buy the land, but the right to use it, and you often pay a ground rent (canon) to the owner, usually the municipality. An easement (erfdienstbaarheid) is a burden on your land for the benefit of the neighbours, or the other way round, such as a right of way (recht van overpad). Qualitative obligations (kwalitatieve verplichtingen) and chain clauses (kettingbedingen) are arrangements made by previous owners that pass on to you. The standard purchase agreement (koopakte) says that you expressly accept all those burdens, to the extent they appear from the previous deeds, and that you have read those deeds. So request them before you sign: the previous deed of transfer (akte van levering) and the Kadaster's ownership information (eigendomsinformatie, € 3.70).

Leasehold: you buy a right of use

Leasehold is a property right that entitles you to hold and use someone else's land (article 5:85 of the Dutch Civil Code). The deed that establishes the leasehold can oblige you to pay a fee: the ground rent (canon). The duration is also set in that deed (article 5:86). You have the same enjoyment as an owner, unless the deed says otherwise, but you may not change the intended use without the owner's permission (article 5:89).

The conditions are in the deed of issue (akte van uitgifte). With municipal leasehold, it often refers to general provisions (algemene bepalingen) in a separate deed. According to notaris.nl, when buying you should look at:

  • who owns the land, and whether the leasehold is for a fixed period;
  • the current ground rent, when it will be revised and whether it is tax-deductible;
  • restrictions on use and intended use, and whether you need permission to transfer the right;
  • whether your bank wants to see a leasehold opinion (erfpachtopinie), for leasehold rights established before 2013.

In the NVM model, leasehold is in article 1, option B: which leasehold conditions apply, whether the right is perpetual, continuous or temporary, when it will first be revised, and whether the ground rent has been bought off (afgekocht) or how much it currently is. In article 6.12 the seller declares that ground rent due has been paid. If this part is empty or unclear, have it filled in.

Leasehold in Amsterdam: continuous or perpetual

In Amsterdam, two forms are most common:

  • Continuous leasehold (voortdurende erfpacht): the right is divided into periods (tijdvakken) of 50 or 75 years. At the end of a period, the municipality sets the ground rent again based on the land value. That value becomes known 1 to 4 years before the end. You can buy off the ground rent until the end of the period.
  • Perpetual leasehold (eeuwigdurende erfpacht, since 2016, General Provisions 2016): the ground rent is set once and after that only increased annually with inflation. You can buy it off forever.

If the home is still in the continuous system, you can switch to perpetual leasehold, provided there are no payment arrears and there is no commercial space in the right. The municipality gives a switching discount of 35% and uses a ground rent percentage between 2.39 and 4.23%. You only start paying the perpetual ground rent after the end of the current period. If you don't switch, the General Provisions 2000 apply at a new period.

When buying, ask, according to the municipality: continuous or perpetual, which General Provisions, bought off or not, the ground rent amount, the end date of the current period, the details from the Kadaster and any payment arrears. Only the notary can request those arrears.

If the seller has already had an application date (aanvraagdatum) for the switch registered, it passes to you automatically after the transfer. You must then request an offer yourself within 6 months of the transfer, or the application date lapses. You don't get a reminder for this. If the switching deed has already been signed at the notary, you take over the seller's arrangements.

Easements: rights of and for the neighbours

An easement is a burden on a piece of land (the servient land, dienende erf) for the benefit of another piece of land (the dominant land, heersende erf) (article 5:70 of the Dutch Civil Code). The burden is usually to tolerate something or not to do something, and can also include maintenance (article 5:71). Examples:

  • right of way: the neighbours may cross your path to reach their home, or you may cross theirs;
  • a ban on building or building higher, so the neighbours keep their view or light;
  • the right to run pipes or a drain across someone else's land.

An easement arises by establishment in a deed or by prescription (verjaring) (article 5:72). What exactly is allowed is in the deed of establishment. If that deed says nothing, local custom applies (article 5:73). An easement that arose by prescription isn't in a deed. So also ask the seller who actually walks or drives across the property.

Qualitative obligations and chain clauses

A qualitative obligation is an arrangement to tolerate something or not to do something that automatically passes to every next owner. This requires a notarial deed registered in the public registers (article 6:252 of the Dutch Civil Code). An obligation to do something, such as paying, cannot pass on in this way.

That is what the chain clause is for: every owner must impose the arrangement on the next buyer when selling, usually on pain of a penalty. An example from a ruling of the North Holland district court of May 2026: the deed of transfer of a holiday home on a bungalow park said that the obligations and prohibitions in that deed also apply to successors, must be imposed as a chain clause at every transfer of ownership, and that otherwise the new owner owes a penalty of € 22,700. Through that clause, the owner had to pay a park contribution to the park operator (ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2026:5735).

So a chain clause also obliges you to pass it on when you sell later. Read in the clause who can claim the penalty and when. Check in the draft deed of transfer whether the chain clauses from the previous deed are included. See Purchase agreement or deed of transfer.

Where do you find them?

  • The previous deed of transfer, the deed with which the seller bought the home. According to the Kadaster, easements are listed in it under the heading "Erfdienstbaarheden" (easements). It is often already attached to the purchase agreement. If not, a copy from the Kadaster costs € 19.85 by email.
  • The Kadaster's ownership information (€ 3.70 in the web shop): who the owner is, which restrictions apply, whether there is a leasehold (under "rechten", rights) and the purchase price from the last deed.
  • Older deeds: if there is nothing in the last deed, an easement may have been recorded in an earlier deed, or in the neighbours' deed. The Kadaster carries out an easement search (erfdienstbaarhedenonderzoek) for € 190 (back to 1950) or € 350 (back to 1838).
  • The leasehold deed: € 19.85, plus € 60 if the Kadaster has to search for the deed of issue.

How the purchase agreement deals with them

In the NVM model, article 6.2 says that you "expressly accept all servient easements, special burdens and restrictions, separate property rights, chain clauses and qualitative obligations" (lijdende erfdienstbaarheden, bijzondere lasten en beperkingen, afzonderlijke zakelijke rechten, kettingbedingen en kwalitatieve verplichtingen), to the extent they appear from the last and previous deeds. You then declare that the seller has given you the text of those deeds and that you have read them. Under article 6.1, dominant easements, rights your property has over someone else's, come with the purchase.

The law says the seller must transfer the home free of special burdens and restrictions, except those you have expressly accepted (article 7:15(1) of the Dutch Civil Code). Article 6.2 is how you do that. One exception: the seller always remains responsible for burdens that could have been registered but were not in the registers when you signed (paragraph 2). If the seller knows of burdens that don't appear from the deeds, according to the explanatory notes to the model he must report them. If he doesn't, you can in principle claim damages.

What do you ask, and whom?

  • The estate agent: the previous deed of transfer and any older deeds it refers to, before you sign.
  • The seller: are there arrangements with neighbours, does anyone cross the property, does he pay a contribution for anything?
  • The notary (notaris): what does an easement or chain clause mean in practice, and are there payment arrears on the leasehold?
  • Your mortgage adviser: does the bank want a leasehold opinion?

If you are buying an apartment, the deed of division (splitsingsakte) and the VvE (owners' association) regulations also apply. How to read them is explained on ApartmentCheck in Reading the deed of division.

Frequently asked questions

With leasehold, do I own my home?

You are the leaseholder (erfpachter): you may hold and use the land and what is on it as if you were the owner, within the leasehold conditions. The land remains the property of the freeholder (erfverpachter).

Can I have an easement removed?

Not in your purchase agreement: the neighbours have a right to it. For that you need their cooperation. You can negotiate on the price if an easement restricts your use of the home.

What happens if I don't pass on a chain clause when I sell?

That depends on the wording of the clause; there is often a penalty. When you sell, have the notary check that all chain clauses are passed on.

As a buyer in Amsterdam, do I have to apply for the switch myself?

Yes. Even if the seller already had an application date, you must request an offer yourself within 6 months of the transfer. Otherwise the application date lapses.

Sources

What are you accepting in your purchase agreement?

With one sentence in your purchase agreement you accept all easements and chain clauses from earlier deeds. For € 9.95 we read your purchase agreement and its attachments within 24 hours against a fixed checklist, including the leasehold and the encumbrances you take over, and you get 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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