Every year, around February, I expect a bill is coming to our house. It’s not a surprise any more, but every year I think: which amount would it be this year. And then, in May, the next one is coming. Of course, it is easy to complain about this, but I choose to be thankful. Thankful, to live in a clean country, that the sewage system works and that you can drink water from the tap. So, what to expect when you are a house owner in the Netherlands?

Municipality

Every municipality will send every house owner a bill for taxes and levies. The rates differ per municipality. Normally, all taxes and levies are combined at the beginning of the year. And you can pay them at once, or in terms.

OZB

The first one is the “OZB” or “ontroerende zaak belasting”. It is a tax for being the owner of your house.  And, this one is based on the value of your house too.

Each year, the municipality will compare your house with sold houses in the year before. If you want to know which houses are compared with yours, you can ask for a report. The value is called the “WOZ-waarde”. It is publicly available. On this website you can check almost every house in the Netherlands.

Example: In 2021 Eindhoven will charge you 0.1093% of the value of your house, based on the situation on 1-1-2020. So, if your house has a value of €500k, you need to pay €546.50 on the OZB tax.

Waste charges

In the last years, waste is seen more and more as a valuable resource. Although you recycle your plastic, cans and clothes, you still need to pay for discarding your stuff.  In most municipalities, you pay for the number of people that live in the house. However, in some cities, you also pay for every container you put on the street. That makes the rate variable.

Sewage charges

This is a fixed amount. It doesn’t matter how many people live in the house, you still pay the same.

Government

Electricity and gas

This is a hot issue at the moment. The market prices are really high, and a fixed contract isn’t the standard anymore.

The government decided to help all people to limit the prices.

 

Energy prices Netherlands 2023

In the Netherlands, we pay taxes for the energy we use. You have seen it on the fuel pump when there is VAT mentioned on the bill. But that’s not all. The government wants to make the supply of energy more environmentally friendly, so they add more taxes to do so. Energy bills differ from company to company and are not always clear for the Dutch either.

Water

You can’t choose your supplier of water in the Netherlands. But you can choose the people who are on the water board of your region by-election.

Water is everywhere in the Netherlands, as the Netherlands knows many rivers and land below sea level. The water boards manage the water and try to do it fair and safely. To do so, you need to pay. But normally it is already included in your water bill. For the Eindhoven region, you will receive the bill from Brabant Water.

Other expenses

Maintenance

Before starting Settle Down Support, I interviewed a lot of international people. And one thing I asked was: do you know how to maintain a house in the Netherlands? 90% of the expats didn’t know. So you are not the only one.

The maintenance of your house is really dependent on the state, quality and building method.

You can imagine that a row house takes less maintenance in the south of the Netherlands than a villa near the North Sea coast. And some maintenance you require to do yearly, others less often.

Think about:

– Yearly checkup for the hot water boiler

– Every 5-7 years outdoor painting

– Replacing roof.

Do you require a calendar for your yearly maintenance? Or do you want to know more about maintaining your house? Check this blog.

Service costs

This one is only applicable if you are the owner of a flat or house in the Netherlands, and have to deal with a “VVE” or “Vereniging van Eigenaren”. Mostly, this is the case when you are sharing space with others. For example a hallway, an elevator, or the pavement.

In this case, you will need to pay a certain amount every month for the shared electricity, maintenance, or cleaners. You normally know this on the forehand, as the broker will communicate the service costs.

Benefits for house owners in the Netherlands

When you are a house owner, there are also benefits. The amount of mortgage you will pay is still less than when you rent the same house. Also, you will receive a tax return on the interest that you will pay for your mortgage. Your mortgage advisor can answer your questions in that.

For me, personally, being a house owner has more benefits. We can decide what we will change in the house, adjust the interior to our wishes, add solar panels and extend the house. And by doing this, we add value to our house.

Are you a house owner, and does your house need renovation or maintenance? Don’t you know where to start? Just start with downloading the renovation guide with maintenance calendar by clicking here. So you can start off.

Take off to a successful house renovation by downloading the Renovation Guide for free.

- Start off successfully by turning your Dutch house into a dream home.

- Stop overthinking the renovation steps and make the best possible renovation start.

- Save your valuable time by using this renovation guide so that you can enjoy your renovated house soon. 

Thank you for downloading the renovation guide. Check your e-mail.