The Kadaster (Dutch Land Registry)

The key points in brief

The Kadaster (Dutch Land Registry) plays an important role in the housing market. You will encounter it when buying a new home or selling your current one. You can also consult the Kadaster for information about the housing market. Read on to find out what the Kadaster is and what it can do for you.

1. What is the Kadaster?

The Kadaster records who is the owner of particular homes and plots of land. When you buy a new home you will deal with the Kadaster, where a notary will register you as the new owner of the property. The boundaries of gardens and real estate are also registered, as well as any soil contamination. The information in the Kadaster is publicly accessible, though retrieving certain information sometimes involves a fee.

2. Home ownership and national infrastructure

The Kadaster is best known for its register of home ownership. The organisation keeps track of who owns a particular home or plot of land. In the purchase deed of your home you will find the Kadaster deed, or at least an extract from it. Want to know more about a particular property? You can request a property report or title deed from the Kadaster. This allows you to find out who owns a specific piece of land or a home. You can do this for any home in the Netherlands, not just your own. Finally, the Kadaster also records national infrastructure. Ships, aircraft and roads are registered, and even networks of cables and pipelines.

3. Mortgage register in the Kadaster

You can also request additional information from the Kadaster, for example about the value of a property. What is a home worth, and what was the purchase price when the current owner bought it? What do recent price trends look like? All mortgages are registered in the Kadaster too. Once the mortgage deed and the transfer deed have been signed, the mortgage is entered in the Kadaster. This makes the transfer of the property and your mortgage official.

You can request information about your own home, or submit a request to the Kadaster for information about another property. This gives you a good picture of a home's value and what to bear in mind when you are considering buying a new property and making an offer. Keep an eye on your budget too: calculate how much you can borrow before you make an offer.

If you have fully repaid your mortgage, you can have your mortgage discharged (royeren) at the Kadaster. This means the property is removed from the Kadaster's mortgage register.

4. Additional information in the Kadaster

The Kadaster can also tell you about the rights and obligations relating to a property. Is there a right of way (right of overpad)? This is the right to cross part of someone else's land in order to reach your own. These are matters the Kadaster has on record, so you can request the information.

Finally, the Kadaster allows you to look up the year of construction of a property and where the plot boundary lies. This gives you a clear picture of a particular home, or allows you to request more information about your own property.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Kadaster?

The Kadaster is the register where all information about real estate in the Netherlands is recorded.

What is registered in the Kadaster?

• Home ownership
• Boundaries of real estate and gardens
• Soil contamination
• Ships and aircraft
• Cable and pipeline networks
• Mortgage register
• Year of construction
• Easements (erfdienstbaarheden)

When do I use the Kadaster?

When you are considering making an offer on a property you can request the details of the home and the land from the Kadaster. The notary also consults the Kadaster to check ownership rights.

Can I request information from the Kadaster?

Yes, it is possible to request information from the Kadaster, though this sometimes involves a fee.

Can I only request information about my own home from the Kadaster?

No, you can request information about any home in the Netherlands regardless of whether you own it.