Minister pledges to end secrecy on property foundation reports

Dutch Housing Minister Eleanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan has pledged to make information about property foundations available to home owners by next year, bringing an end to the current secrecy surrounding the issue. Currently, this crucial information is only accessible to estate agents and banks. From April 1, a quick foundations check has been incorporated into the mortgage requirements of major banks, but this is only performed after buyers have submitted an offer.

The grading system for foundations ranges from A to E, with a D or E rating indicating the need for further investigation. Homeowners with a property receiving a D or E grade might face mortgage denial due to the expense of repairs. Boekholt-O'Sullivan told consumer rights program Radar on Monday that homeowners deserve to know everything officials know about their property.

She announced that all verified information regarding the foundations of properties will be displayed on a new section of the government-run MijnOverheid website.

The new section will go live next year, but it will take until 2030 for all data to be included. According to a survey of 750 viewers from Radar's panel, the majority of buyers – 86% – do not make a foundations check a prerequisite for making an offer on a house. However, if banks uncover faulty foundations, they may refuse the buyer a mortgage, leaving them with the burden of paying for defaulting on an offer.

In July, government advisory group RLI revealed that over 400,000 buildings in the Netherlands have foundation problems or are likely to develop them within the next decade. Buildings are sinking due to factors such as falling groundwater levels, bacterial erosion, drought, structural faults, and the effects of construction work.

Approximately 120,000 structures urgently need repairs, with the total cost of addressing the damage potentially reaching €54 billion. Six out of ten homeowners with foundation repair needs cannot afford the costs, as reported by financial services authority AFM in April.