Living in a listed building or protected townscape

National monument (rijksmonument)

National monuments are designated by central government and listed in the Rijksmonumentenregister of the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed). Changes that affect the monument, such as to the façade, the roof structure or historic interior features, require an environmental permit (omgevingsvergunning). Ordinary maintenance can usually be carried out without a permit.

Municipal monument (gemeentelijk monument)

A municipality can designate buildings as municipal monuments itself. The rules are set out in the environmental plan (omgevingsplan) or a heritage by-law (erfgoedverordening) and differ from one municipality to another. Not every municipality publishes its list of monuments as open data.

Protected townscape or village view

In a protected townscape or village view, the focus is on the character of the area as a whole. Buildings that are not monuments themselves are also subject to stricter rules, for example for façades, dormers and window frames.

Support for owners

Grants and low-interest loans are available for the maintenance of national monuments. Current schemes can be found at the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands and the Nationaal Restauratiefonds (National Restoration Fund).