NHG building inspection report: when you need one and how to fill in the model

NHG sets out its rules in the Voorwaarden en normen (terms and standards). These rules are meant for the lender. Section C.5.2.1 names three situations in which a building inspection report is needed. You see them in the valuation report, and one situation is enough.

The first is overdue maintenance that needs to be repaired soon. Take the average of the immediate costs that the valuer estimates. If that is more than 10% of the market value with vacant possession, the report is needed.

A worked example. The market value is €300,000. The valuer estimates the immediate costs at €28,000 to €36,000. The average is €32,000. That is more than 10% (€30,000), so the report is needed.

The second situation: according to the valuation report, further building investigation is needed. The third: the structural condition of the home is poor.

With a hybrid valuation, a building inspection report is not required for NHG. The lender may still ask for one if it thinks an inspection is needed.

The Voorwaarden en normen contain no rule about the year of construction. If a bank asks for an inspection because of the age of the home, that is the bank's own requirement, not NHG's.

The valuer is not allowed to make the required building inspection report. NHG cites a possible conflict of interest as the reason.

This is not legal advice. If in doubt, check the official source on nhg.nl.

Section C.5.2.2 names three kinds of author: a municipality, Vereniging Eigen Huis (the Dutch homeowners' association) or a building firm registered with the KvK (Chamber of Commerce).

NHG gives examples of a building firm: an architect's firm, a building consultancy, a contractor or a building damage assessment firm. In the model, you tick how your firm is registered. There are four choices: damage assessment firm, architect's firm, building consultancy and contractor.

The author must be independent. You are not involved in the purchase, sale, brokerage, valuation or financing of the home, and you have no ties with the buyer, the seller or the lender.

If a municipality or Vereniging Eigen Huis makes the report, NHG sets no format rules. A building firm, however, must use NHG's Model bouwkundig rapport.

The report must be no more than 12 months old. The text does not say from which date to count. Keursnel puts both the date of the inspection and the date of the report in the annex.

The Voorwaarden en normen and the model set no requirements for a diploma, certificate or register. In short, NHG asks this of a building firm:

• Registration with the Kamer van Koophandel (Chamber of Commerce)
• Independence from purchase, sale, brokerage, valuation and financing
• Use of NHG's Model bouwkundig rapport
• A report that is at most 12 months old

The Voorwaarden en normen 2026-1 have applied since 1 January 2026. They apply to loans with a binding offer on or after that date.

The Model bouwkundig rapport is annex 3 to the Voorwaarden en normen 2026. You can find it via the Document werkprocessen (work processes document), which accompanies the Voorwaarden en normen. The content is the same as the 2025 model. Note: the footer still gives 1 January 2025 as the start date.

On 1 January 2027, the Voorwaarden en normen 2027-1 come into force. The model's content stays the same. So do the rules about when a report is needed, who makes it and the 12-month limit.

New in 2027 is a rule about foundation risk in the valuation report. That rule belongs to the valuation, not to the building inspection report.

Older models are still online, including those from 2020, 2023 and 2024. The 2024 model referred to the Bouwbesluit (the former Dutch building decree). The current model refers to the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl), the Dutch building regulations. So always get the model from nhg.nl.

The model is a four-page fillable form, preceded by explanatory notes. At the top are the administrative details in four blocks: applicant, inspection body, home and accountability.

Then comes the summary sheet (verzamelstaat). It has lines for general, cellar, ground floor, upper floors, loft and the whole home. Each line has columns for immediate, longer term and total. Below them are a line for improvement and a box for remarks.

After that come two tables with 18 codes in total. The A codes cover general building elements, such as foundation, crawl space, roof and fire safety. You fill in the B codes per storey. Think of facades, window and door frames, floors, sanitary fittings and ventilation.

The k.v. is the cost split (kostenverdeling) in apartment buildings. It is the share of the costs that belongs to the home. NHG gives an example: €10,000 of costs across 4 apartments gives 25%, so €2,500.

You always inspect the building elements in the tables. Large costs for other building elements go under miscellaneous. So do defects in other building elements that affect safety, health or use. If further investigation is needed, you note that in the remarks.

At the back is the programme of requirements and recommendations. For most codes it says what needs to happen, often with a reference to the Bbl. For the crawl space, for example, it asks for at least two mouse-proof ventilation openings for a facade up to and including 5 metres wide.

For each line in the tables you fill in these columns:

• Code: the reference to the programme of requirements
• Location and description of the defect
• Action: S slopen (demolish), H herstellen (repair), V vervangen (replace), N nieuw aanbrengen (install new) or O overig (other)
• k.v.: the percentage of the costs for this home
• Costs: immediately necessary and necessary in the longer term

The notes to the model say how you estimate the costs. You use contractor prices, not DIY costs. The amounts include VAT. You assume repair where possible, not complete replacement.

You assume that the contractor can work without interruption. Propping, demolition and scaffolding are not included. Nor is consequential damage.

If the report shows overdue maintenance that must be repaired immediately, you price it as if a firm does the work, even if the buyer wants to do it themselves.

The model does not define “immediate” in years. In Keursnel, immediate means within 1 year.

There are three kinds of costs, and you keep them apart:

• Immediately necessary: repairs needed now to prevent further damage
• Necessary in the longer term: maintenance within 5, 10 or 15 years, with a maintenance plan
• Improvement: based on an improvement plan or a quote

First of all: NHG does not approve software. The lender checks whether the report meets the requirements. The overview above sets each requirement next to what Keursnel does. This section explains how that works while you inspect.

You do not fill in the NHG annex separately. You choose what you see for each building element. Costs that come with an answer count under an NHG code. Keursnel turns that into the tables and the summary sheet.

Below the answers you see which code the costs count under. You can change or remove the code. You then give a reason, and it goes into the report.

The B codes are listed per storey. Choose the storey for an item, or once for a building element, such as a bathroom. Facades, exterior frames and exterior paintwork are on the ground floor by default. If there is no storey, the item appears under “Bouwlaag niet aangegeven” (storey not specified) and Controle warns you.

The annex matches the cost overview. Improvement costs and items without an NHG code are shown separately. That way, you can see where each amount ends up.

Under Instellingen, Bureau (“settings, firm”), enter your KvK number, the registration and the inspector's signature. If anything is missing, Keursnel warns you in Controle and with the report. You can still deliver without them. As long as they are missing, they are not in the annex you share or print.

For a partial inspection, Keursnel makes no NHG annex. The model covers the whole home. Not sure whether a lender will accept the annex? Ask beforehand.

The annex also contains:

• The B codes in a table per storey: cellar, ground floor, each upper floor and loft
• The summary sheet with the lines of the model, including a total for the upper floors
• NHG's programme of requirements and recommendations, at the end of the annex
• The code names from the model, such as A.6 Diversen (miscellaneous)