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Purchase agreement or deed of transfer: what is the difference?

Published 27 October 2026purchase agreementlegalcosts

Short answer: the purchase agreement (koopakte or koopovereenkomst) records what you and the seller agreed. The estate agent usually draws it up and you both sign it shortly after the negotiations. That doesn't make you the owner yet: it only obliges the seller to transfer the home to you. You become the owner with the deed of transfer (leveringsakte or akte van levering). The notary (notaris) draws it up, you both sign it on the transfer date, and you are the owner as soon as the notary has had it registered in the public registers of the Kadaster. In the weeks in between, you can protect yourself by having the purchase agreement itself registered. That gives you six months of protection against a double sale, attachment and the seller's bankruptcy.

Two deeds, two functions

Purchase agreement Deed of transfer
Also called koopovereenkomst, koopcontract akte van levering, transportakte
Who draws it up usually the estate agent, sometimes the notary always the notary
When you sign after the negotiations, followed by three days' cooling-off period on the transfer date at the notary
What it does obliges the seller to transfer and you to pay transfers ownership
When it takes effect as soon as you have both signed on registration in the public registers

When a private individual buys a home, the purchase agreement must be in writing (article 7:2 of the Dutch Civil Code). You get a copy, and from the next day you have three days' cooling-off period. How to count those days is explained in Cooling-off period after signing the purchase agreement. According to notaris.nl, the term "provisional purchase contract" (voorlopig koopcontract) is misleading: what you sign is binding straight away. It is only provisional in the sense that the home isn't yours yet. The purchase agreement contains the purchase price, the transfer date, the conditions (ontbindende voorwaarden), the deposit or bank guarantee and the risk clauses.

The deed of transfer is a notarial deed. The law says that immovable property is transferred by "a notarial deed drawn up between the parties for that purpose, followed by its registration in the public registers intended for that purpose" (article 3:89 of the Dutch Civil Code). So only a notary can draw it up. You, the seller and the notary sign it. Often a member of the notary's staff signs on behalf of the seller, with a power of attorney.

From signing to ownership

According to the Kadaster, the transfer works like this:

  1. The notary draws up the deed of transfer and first checks whether the seller is the owner and whether there are mortgages or attachments on the home (the first search).
  2. On the day of signing, he checks again that nothing has changed (the second search).
  3. After the signing, the notary submits the deed to the Kadaster, usually automatically.
  4. The Kadaster registers the deed and the notary receives proof of registration.
  5. The notary then checks a third time that no other documents have been registered that stand in the way of the transfer. Only then does he pay the purchase price to the seller.

Within six days the deed is in the Basic Registration Kadaster (Basisregistratie Kadaster). According to the explanatory notes to the model purchase agreement, you are the owner from the moment of registration. You later receive a copy of the deed from the notary as proof of ownership.

The gap between purchase agreement and transfer

There are often weeks or months between the purchase agreement and the transfer, and all that time the seller is still the owner. He can sell the home a second time, a creditor can have it attached (beslag), or he can go bankrupt. According to notaris.nl, a small payment arrear at a web shop can already be enough for such an attachment.

Registering the purchase agreement: six months of protection

That's why you can have the purchase itself registered in the public registers (article 7:3 of the Dutch Civil Code). The Kadaster calls this Vormerkung. Once your purchase is registered, the following cannot be invoked against you (article 7:3(3)):

  • a later sale or mortgage by the seller;
  • a tenancy agreement the seller enters into afterwards;
  • an attachment registered after your registration;
  • a bankruptcy, suspension of payments or debt restructuring of the seller declared after the day of registration.

The protection lasts six months. If the home isn't transferred to you within six months of the registration, it lapses retroactively (paragraph 4). If your transfer date is further away, ask the notary when it is best to register.

The notary must add a signed statement to the purchase agreement that the legal requirements have been met (paragraph 6). During the cooling-off period, registration is only possible if a notary established in the Netherlands drew up and co-signed the purchase agreement (paragraph 2). So if the estate agent drew up the purchase agreement, it is only registered after the cooling-off period. If you buy a home as a private individual, this right cannot be excluded to your disadvantage (paragraph 1).

The purchase agreement itself says whether the notary is instructed to register it. In the NVM model for a single-family home, that is article 13, "Registratie koopovereenkomst" (registration of the purchase agreement), with the choice "wel/niet" (yes/no) and who pays the costs. In other models the number may differ. According to the explanatory notes, if "wel" (yes) has been crossed out, you still keep the right to have the purchase agreement registered at your own expense, also earlier than the agreement states.

What it costs: in 2026 the Kadaster charges € 44.50 for registering a purchase agreement before the transfer if the notary submits it electronically through the KIK system, € 79 electronically without KIK and € 113 on paper. The notary's fee comes on top of that. Ask for it in advance.

The draft deed of transfer: what do you check?

Before the transfer date, the notary sends you the draft deed of transfer, together with the statement of settlement (nota van afrekening). Read both and compare them with your purchase agreement.

  • What you are buying: the address, the cadastral designation and the description must match the purchase agreement. If a floor, a storage room or a parking space is wrong, report it straight away.
  • The purchase price and movable items: if the purchase agreement includes an amount for movable items sold with the home, the notary must state in the deed of transfer which items they are and for what amount. You don't pay transfer tax on that part.
  • Encumbrances and restrictions: the deed lists the easements (erfdienstbaarheden), qualitative obligations (kwalitatieve verplichtingen) and chain clauses (kettingbedingen) you take over, and with leasehold (erfpacht) the conditions and the ground rent (canon). If there is something you didn't know about, ask where it comes from. More in Leasehold, easements and chain clauses.
  • Arrangements from the purchase agreement: the law allows additional arrangements that are not about the transfer to be left out of the deed of transfer (article 3:89(2)). If you miss an arrangement you consider important, ask the notary how it has been dealt with.
  • The statement of settlement: the purchase price, the apportionment of charges, the transfer tax, the notary's fees and the Kadaster fees. At the bottom is what you still have to transfer.
  • With an apartment: the notary attaches to the deed of transfer a statement from the VvE (owners' association) board with what the seller still owes, the size of the reserve fund and the VvE's debts (article 5:122 of the Dutch Civil Code). You are not liable for more than the amount in that statement. More on ApartmentCheck in Reading the deed of division.

You may inspect the home inside and out just before completion (article 6.5 of the NVM model). Do it: that's where you see whether the home is still in the condition in which you bought it.

Frequently asked questions

Am I the owner as soon as I have signed the purchase agreement?

No. The purchase agreement obliges the seller to transfer the home to you. You only become the owner once the deed of transfer has been signed and registered in the public registers.

Does the notary have to draw up the purchase agreement?

No. Usually the estate agent does it. Notaris.nl recommends asking the notary, partly because he can then register the purchase agreement straight away. Registration during the cooling-off period is only possible if the notary drew up and co-signed the purchase agreement.

Is registration needed if the transfer date is close?

The law doesn't require it, but an attachment or bankruptcy can block the transfer precisely in that short period. If the transfer date is more than six months away, discuss the timing of the registration with the notary.

What if the purchase falls through?

In the NVM model, you both give the notary a power of attorney in advance to have the registration cancelled in that case, for example after an appeal to the financing condition.

Sources

Is your purchase agreement registered, or not?

Every purchase agreement says whether the notary will register it with the Kadaster, and that option is often crossed out. For € 9.95 we read your purchase agreement within 24 hours against a fixed checklist, including the registration and the transfer date, 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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