Erfpacht in Amsterdam: what it costs and what to check before buying

Most properties in Amsterdam sit on land owned by the municipality. You buy the building, not the ground underneath it. This system is called erfpacht, and it directly affects your monthly costs, your mortgage, and the resale value of your property.

Eigen grond vs erfpacht

In the Netherlands, property ownership comes in two forms. Eigen grond (freehold) means you own both the building and the land. Erfpacht (leasehold) means you own the building but lease the land from the municipality under a long-term contract. The gemeente remains the landowner and charges you a periodic fee for using the ground.

Amsterdam is the largest erfpacht municipality in the country. The city started issuing erfpacht contracts in 1896 and still does today. Roughly 80% of residential properties in Amsterdam are on erfpacht land. Outside Amsterdam, erfpacht is less common, though The Hague, Rotterdam, and Utrecht also use it for certain areas.

When you see a property listing on Funda, the eigendomssituatie (ownership status) tells you whether it is eigen grond or erfpacht. If it says erfpacht, the listing should also state the type, the current canon, and the expiry date of the current terms.

Eeuwigdurend vs tijdelijk

Amsterdam's erfpacht system has two main types. Tijdelijke erfpacht (temporary leasehold) runs for a fixed period, usually 50 or 75 years. When the period ends, the gemeente sets new terms based on the current grondwaarde (land value). This is called a herzieningsmoment (revision moment). The new canon can be substantially higher than the old one, because land values in Amsterdam have increased dramatically since most tijdelijke contracts were first issued.

Eeuwigdurende erfpacht (perpetual leasehold) was introduced by the gemeente Amsterdam in 2016 for new contracts and as a conversion option for existing ones. Under eeuwigdurende erfpacht, the terms are fixed permanently. There is no herzieningsmoment. You know exactly what you will pay for as long as you own the property, and that certainty transfers to the next buyer.

The distinction matters because tijdelijke erfpacht carries revision risk. If your herzieningsmoment is in 2031, your canon could jump from a few hundred euros to several thousand per year overnight, depending on how much the grondwaarde has increased.

How the canon is calculated

The erfpachtcanon is the annual fee you pay the gemeente for using the land. It is calculated as a percentage of the grondwaarde (land value). The gemeente determines the grondwaarde based on the location, size, and permitted use of the plot.

For eeuwigdurende erfpacht in Amsterdam, the formula is: grondwaarde multiplied by a fixed canonpercentage. The canonpercentage for residential properties has been 2.39% since 2024.

A worked example: a two-bedroom apartment in Amsterdam-Oost with a grondwaarde of €120,000. The annual canon is €120,000 x 2.39% = €2,868 per year, or €239 per month. That is on top of your mortgage payment, VvE bijdrage, and other housing costs.

You can also pay the canon in one lump sum, called an afkoopsom. Buying off the canon means you pay the full amount upfront (equal to the grondwaarde for eeuwigdurende erfpacht) and owe no further periodic payments. The afkoopsom in the example above would be €120,000. Some buyers finance this through their mortgage.

The 2023 overstapregeling

In 2023, the gemeente Amsterdam introduced the overstapregeling, a transition arrangement for homeowners on older tijdelijke erfpacht contracts to convert to eeuwigdurende erfpacht. The goal is to eliminate the revision risk of tijdelijke contracts.

Under the overstapregeling, the gemeente calculates your grondwaarde using standardised residual land value models. You then choose to either pay the new eeuwigdurende canon annually or buy it off with a one-time afkoopsom. The offer is valid for a limited period after you receive it. If you do not respond, your tijdelijke contract continues under its existing terms.

Whether the overstapregeling is a good deal depends on your current contract. If your tijdelijke canon is very low and your herzieningsmoment is decades away, locking in a higher eeuwigdurende canon now may not make financial sense. If your revision date is approaching, converting removes the uncertainty. Each situation requires its own calculation, and the gemeente provides an online tool to estimate what your new terms would be.

Algemene bepalingen

Every erfpacht contract is governed by a set of algemene bepalingen (general conditions). These are the rules that define what you can and cannot do with the land. They cover building modifications, commercial use, subletting, and maintenance obligations.

Amsterdam has issued several versions of algemene bepalingen over the decades. A property on the AB 1994 (algemene bepalingen from 1994) has different rules than one on the AB 2000 or AB 2016. When buying, check which set of algemene bepalingen applies. Your notaris will include this in the leveringsakte (deed of transfer), and it should also appear in the erfpacht contract that the makelaar provides during the due diligence period.

What to check before buying an erfpacht property

Before you make an offer on an erfpacht property in Amsterdam, verify five things:

1. Check the type: eeuwigdurend or tijdelijk. If tijdelijk, find out when the herzieningsmoment is and what revision terms are expected. 2. Check the canon and whether it has been afgekocht (bought off). If afgekocht, you pay nothing periodically. If not, the annual canon is an ongoing cost you must factor into your budget. 3. Read the algemene bepalingen. They may restrict renovations or changes you are planning. 4. Ask the makelaar or notaris for the gemeente's assessed grondwaarde. Compare it with the purchase price to understand how much value sits in the land vs the building. 5. If the property is still on tijdelijke erfpacht, check whether it is eligible for the overstapregeling. The selling party may have already received an offer from the gemeente but not acted on it.

Your hypotheekadviseur (mortgage advisor) will factor the erfpacht canon into your borrowing capacity calculation. A high canon reduces the mortgage amount you can get, because lenders treat it as a fixed monthly obligation.

Key terms

Erfpacht (leasehold), eigen grond (freehold), erfpachtcanon (annual leasehold fee), grondwaarde (land value), afkoopsom (lump-sum buyoff), eeuwigdurende erfpacht (perpetual leasehold), tijdelijke erfpacht (temporary leasehold), herzieningsmoment (revision date), algemene bepalingen (general conditions), overstapregeling (transition arrangement), canonpercentage (canon interest rate), leveringsakte (deed of transfer).

Practice the vocabulary

TikTaal's hypotheek en koopwoning scenario covers property purchase vocabulary in context: discussing financing with a hypotheekadviseur, reading through contract terms, and understanding what erfpacht, eigen grond, and grondwaarde mean in practice. Every Dutch word is clickable for audio and a translation.