Real Estate & Government

Real Estate & Government

Whether you are an entrepreneur, government body or independent administrative body, you are subject to numerous rights and obligations with respect to developing, constructing, buying, selling, owning, operating and using buildings. These rights and obligations are guaranteed or enforced by a mass of legislation and regulations. If you would like to know exactly what you are allowed or required to do as a private or public party, and if you want your interests to be objectively safeguarded, then you can count on the real estate and government expertise at De Clercq.

Construction and monuments

With our extensive experience, De Clercq can support you in legal matters relating to the following:

  • Construction: including negotiations, liability, design errors, additional work, lien, suspension, and so on.
  • Property development: contracts, transactions and investments.
  • Tendering processes: advising and litigating in various tendering procedures, in both the construction and civil engineering sectors.
  • Monuments: advising and litigating with respect to your rights and obligations as the owner or manager of a heritage listed building. Please also visit our special website on this topic at https://www.monumentenrecht.com/.
  • Property rights such as leasehold, building rights and easements.
  • Apartment rights and Owners’ Association management: rights and obligations relating to owners, managers and administrators.
  • Healthcare-related property: ranging from the ‘cure’ and ‘care’ construction regime to the separation of residential and care accommodation.

Purchase and rental

De Clercq frequently assists clients with regard to the following matters:

  • Purchasing and selling: advice on and handling of conflicts, including compliance, dissolution, disputes relating to hidden defects, statutory rights and duties between neighbours, and so on. This is with respect to projects and residential and commercial properties.
  • Renting and leasing: advice, drafting of contracts, handling of conflicts concerning payment disputes, eviction, the Vacant Property Act, establishment of rental prices and service costs, maintenance disputes. This concerns business premises, residential properties and other real estate.

Administrative law, permits, supervision and enforcement

De Clercq frequently advises and litigates on matters relating to government decisions (both in real estate and other areas) made by the State, provinces, municipalities, water authorities and independent administrative authorities such as the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (Nederlandse Voedsel- en Warenautoriteit). This includes licensing, supervision and enforcement with respect to:

  • legislation and regulations for specific policy sectors;
  • government action, planning damage and government liability;
  • subsidies;
  • spatial planning, housing, infrastructure, environment, nature and water, the Environment and Planning Act, permits for constructions and other developments, exemptions, zoning plans and ordinances;
  • enforcement matters (judicial penalties or other forms of administrative enforcement), and forced closure of premises (Opium Act).

Cases

Construction and contracting
Assisted numerous clients in disputes relating to construction and contracting, both on the side of contracted parties (contractors, subcontractors, architects, structural engineers) and clients (both companies and individuals). Regularly occurring cases concern disputes relating to completion, delays, additional work, circumstances leading to cost increases, payment problems and lien, and construction problems subsequent to completion. De Clercq also has expertise in disputes relating to damage to surrounding properties (claims from neighbours and other parties).

Advice on intended property development, construction and use possibilities
We have helped many clients in achieving their intended property development, construction and use possibilities, including providing advice on various spatial aspects, consultation with various authorities involved (at both administrative and political levels), effectively dealing with other stakeholders, and representing clients in legal proceedings involving objections, appeals and appeals to a higher court, both in the courts and in the Council of State (Raad van State).

Rental advice and rental disputes
De Clercq also provides rental advice and assists in rental disputes on a daily basis. Tasks include advice on and drafting of lease agreements and other agreements relating to the use of real estate, whether commercial or residential, and whether on behalf of property owners, investors and housing associations, or tenants. We also advise and litigate during lease agreements, on matters such as rental prices, property use, and modification of lease agreements. Among its other activities, De Clerq also includes regular eviction procedures and other procedures associated with non-payment and termination of lease agreements, continuation (e.g. substitution in the sale of an enterprise), and completion/delivery disputes.

Monuments
De Clercq provides a variety of advice on monuments, both for owners, users and government authorities. Because there are often limitations that come with monuments, this can be daunting for owners. The firm regularly advises and litigates on designation of a property as a listed building, and the lifting or alteration of a listed building’s status. De Clercq also regularly assists parties on intended alterations to listed buildings.

Advice on supervision and enforcement by government authorities
De Clercq provides advice on supervision and enforcement by various government authorities, both national and local. We handle many commonly occurring matters such as administrative enforcement, judicial penalties, administrative fines and imminent government intervention.

Contact

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References

"We have been a client of De Clercq as a contractor for many years and have been well assisted. With their extensive experience and objective and creative approach to matters, potential issues have been frequently averted, and solutions have been achieved that we could not have reached on our own."

"As landlords of various real estate, we frequently require a sparring partner for the structuring of lease arrangements and when dealing with issues involving tenants. De Clercq is well-versed in regulations and case law, possesses extensive knowledge, is practical and goal-oriented, and importantly, achieves results, both in reaching agreements and in terminating leases."

"Our organization operates several monuments and frequently encounters limitations that were not always resolvable through discussions with the government. De Clercq has assisted us on multiple occasions, providing insightful advice that has, at times, secured cooperation from the government. Additionally, De Clercq has successfully obtained results for us in legal proceedings. We highly recommend De Clercq for owners of monuments."

"My company has had several negative experiences with government actions in the past, with significant consequences. Fortunately, De Clercq started assisting us, and that has resulted in resolving several lingering issues satisfactorily, allowing our company to move forward. Without De Clercq, we would not have been able to achieve this."

"De Clercq has been instrumental in helping us achieve a spatial development we envisioned in the past. They not only supported us in objection procedures and appeals in court but also contributed to the strategy and communication, actively participating in discussions with various involved organizations, including the municipality, the environmental agency, the province, and the water board. Ultimately, everything was successful, and we continue to reap many benefits. In addition, De Clercq is a valuable resource for us, regularly assisting with a variety of issues that we, as entrepreneurs, encounter."

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The latest developments

Real Estate & Government

Monuments and Sustainability Requirements: Various Relevant Developments

7 May 2026

If you own a national, provincial or municipal monument, you will face an important change as of 29 May 2026: the exemption from the energy label requirement for monuments will expire. In this blog, we explain what will change, why this is happening and what this means for you.

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Real Estate & Government

Preliminary Questions on Rent Surcharge Clauses in Lease Agreements

30 April 2026

The rent increase surcharge clause in residential lease agreements has been the subject of considerable legal debate for some time. Earlier, my colleague published a blog discussing a recent Dutch Supreme Court ruling (A Rent Increase Clause Providing for an Annual 3% Surcharge Is Generally Not Unfair), followed by another blog on a judgment of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal (Amsterdam Court of Appeal Holds a 3% Rent Surcharge Clause to Be Unfair; Landlord Must Demonstrate That the Surcharge Is Necessary). While the Dutch Supreme Court held that a 3% surcharge clause is generally not unfair, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal reached the opposite conclusion in a specific case, finding that a 3% surcharge clause constituted an unfair contractual term. In short, the Supreme Court's earlier judgment has not yet resulted in a uniform interpretation of surcharge clauses. Against this backdrop, the Amsterdam District Court intends to refer preliminary questions on this issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

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Real Estate & Government

Penalty clause in NVM contracts is less often fully awarded

28 April 2026

The standard Nederlandse Vereniging van Makelaars (NVM) residential purchase agreement provides that if one of the parties fails to comply with its obligations under the agreement, the other party may terminate (rescind) the contract. The defaulting party must first be given formal notice of default. Upon termination of the agreement, the defaulting party will generally forfeit a penalty of 10% of the purchase price.

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