Ground lease conditions

Ground lease (erfpacht) is the right to use land owned by the Municipality of The Hague. The municipality charges a fee for the use of the land and you are bound to legal terms. These terms are recorded in the written contract drawn up by the notary when you buy the right to use the ground. Within these terms you have the rights and duties of the owner. You pay an annual fee for this: the ground rent (canon).

Leasehold is an agreement between 2 parties: the owner of the property (leaseholder) and the owner of the ground (in this case the municipality). The recorded terms remain in force until both parties agree to a change or a new contract.

General and special terms

The terms consist of 2 main parts:

General terms

Here you will find general provisions about the right to use the ground. You will find the general provisions in your contract. Terms which are in effect in The Hague:

• General Provisions 1923: These are temporary ground leases with an end date. After the end date a new lease must be offered without an end date (perpetual ground lease).
• General Provisions 1977: This type of lease is divided into periods of 50 years. When this period ends, these leases will be turned into ground lease without an end date (perpetual ground lease).
• General Provisions 1986: These are leases without an end date (perpetual ground lease). These terms were adjusted in 1993 and the latest version is from 2008.
• General Provisions Scheveningen: These are leases with an end date for certain ground on the Gevers Deynootplein and area. It is not yet possible to change the lease here to a lease without an end date (perpetual ground lease).
• General Provisions for sale of bare ownership: These conditions apply in areas where leasehold ground can be purchased by the leaseholder under certain terms. Read more on the page Begin link: From ground lease to own land, end link. .

Look at provisions

• Begin external link: Algemene bepalingen en regels 1986 voor de heruitgifte in erfpacht (RIS12991)(External link), end external link.
• Begin external link: Algemene Voorwaarden contractgebied Scheveningen (RIS296476)(External link), end external link.
• Begin external link: Algemene Bepalingen voor de verkoop en levering van bloot eigendom (RIS303497)(External link), end external link.
• Begin external link: Algemene bepalingen verkoop en levering bloot eigendom erfpacht 2008 versie 2010, herziening 2019 (Officiëlebekendmakingen.nl)(External link), end external link.

The General Provisions 1923 and General Provisions 1977 are not available online. Would you like to have them? Send an email to Begin link: erfpachtbedrijf@denhaag.nl, end link. .

Special terms

These include the provisions which apply only to your right to use the ground. You will find the special terms in your contract.

Conditions and sale of leasehold

A leaseholder in The Hague can sell his ground lease. It depends on the special conditions whether you need permission from the municipality. After it is sold, all the provisions linked to the ground lease still remain in effect. These are described in the contract you use to buy your rights.

Owner occupancy (anti-speculation) requirement

When new ground leases are issued for homes, the conditions may include a ‘Requirement of owner occupancy’ clause. You are then obliged to live in your new home yourself for a number of years. This condition is designed to deter property speculation with new homes.

In special cases you can request exemption from this requirement. Read more under Begin link: Exemption from owner occupancy requirement, end link. .

Rates

Since the General Provisions of 1986, the municipality each year establishes a ground rent percentage as of 1 January of that year, based on inflation. In addition to the ground rent, the municipality also charges for certain services.

The ground rent percentage is 3.3%.

The rates are:

Ground rent percentage

The Hague Municipal Executive determined the new ground rent percentage for 2025 on 19 December 2024. The new ground rent percentage is 3.3% and applies to all applications as of 1 January 2025.

Read more in the Collegebesluit Erfpacht: Begin external link: Vaststelling canonpercentage 2025 en overige erfpachtkosten(External link), end external link. (RIS320906).

The ground rent percentages in the new General Provisions 2024, which are an average of the percentages over the last 10 years, have been determined for the years as of 2023 as follows: