A crack above a window frame, a door that sticks, a floor where a marble rolls into the corner on its own. On a viewing you only notice these things if you are looking for them. Even then, you cannot tell whether it is an old house that has settled a little, or a foundation that is giving way. The difference can run to tens of thousands of euros.
That is why every property page on Buurtje.nl shows a foundation indication: low, medium or elevated. This article explains what that label does and does not tell you, how often it is elevated in the homes currently for sale, and what to do if the house you want falls into that group.
A caveat first. The indication is an estimate based on the building year, the soil and data per postcode and neighbourhood. Nobody has looked under the house. An elevated indication does not mean the foundation is bad, and a low one is no guarantee that it is sound. Treat it as a prompt to ask more questions, or not.
Why it is mostly older homes on clay and peat
Many Dutch houses built before 1970 in clay or peat areas stand on wooden piles. As long as those piles stay below the groundwater, they last a very long time. When the water table drops, the top of the pile dries out and the wood can start to rot. After 1970, builders mostly switched to concrete piles, which do not have this problem.
A second risk affects houses with no piles at all, built on a shallow footing on soft ground. If that ground compacts unevenly, one part of the house sinks faster than another. You see that too in cracks and crooked frames.
The Buurtje.nl indication therefore weighs three things: the building year, the type of soil at that spot, and what national maps say about foundation risk and expected groundwater decline in the area. A pre-1970 house on clay or peat counts most heavily.
How often is it elevated?
We matched the indication against our own listings of homes for sale this week: just over 66,000 private sale properties. For 5.8 per cent the foundation indication is elevated, for 22 per cent it is medium. The rest score low.
The building year makes all the difference:
| Built | Elevated | Medium | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1930 | 17% | 53% | 30% |
| 1930 to 1970 | 11% | 42% | 47% |
| 1970 to 2000 | 0.1% | 4% | 96% |
| 2000 or later | 0.1% | 5% | 95% |
If you are buying something from the 1980s or later, this is rarely a worry. A 1930s terrace or a house in an old town centre is another story: more than half of those listings get at least a medium indication.
It varies a lot by town. In Gouda, Middelburg and Leeuwarden, three historic towns on clay and peat, more than 40 per cent of the homes now for sale are rated elevated. In towns built mostly after 1970, or on sandy soil, it is close to zero. For a particular street, check the property page itself: the indication is given per address.
What you can spot on a viewing
You cannot see a foundation, but sometimes you can see what it does. Look out for:
- diagonal cracks in the outside walls or inside, especially around windows and doors;
- doors and windows that stick or no longer close properly;
- floors that visibly slope;
- a house that sits noticeably lower or at an angle compared with its neighbours or the pavement;
- fresh filler or sealant exactly where you would expect a crack.
None of this proves anything on its own. Old houses move, and a sticking door can simply be damp. But if you see a few of these signs in a house with an elevated indication, that is the moment to ask more. Our viewing checklist covers the rest of what to check.
Questions to put to the seller
A seller does not have to volunteer everything, but must answer honestly. So be specific:
- Has a foundation survey ever been done on this house or the block? Can I see the report?
- Has the foundation been repaired? When, by whom, and is there a guarantee?
- Are there plans in the street or block to repair together? With terraced houses, repairs are often done per block, and you would share the cost.
- Does the municipality monitor groundwater levels or subsidence of buildings here?
For a flat, ask the VvE (the owners' association every Dutch apartment building has): check the minutes and the maintenance plan to see whether the foundation has come up and whether money has been set aside.
Get it checked before you sign
A standard building survey looks for signs of subsidence but does not dig. To judge wooden piles properly you need a foundation survey, where a specialist actually inspects the piles. It takes more time and money than a normal survey, but it is small compared with the cost of repair.
Make sure you know the outcome before the purchase becomes final, for instance by agreeing a condition in the contract that lets you withdraw depending on a building or foundation survey. In a tight market it is tempting to drop that condition, but with an old house on soft ground that is a real gamble.
What the government is doing
The problem is large. According to the Dutch government, an estimated 425,000 buildings and homes will face foundation damage over the next ten years, rising to 780,000 by 2050. The cabinet wants foundation information to reach buyers earlier and more clearly, but there is no compulsory foundation label at sale yet.
Owners of a house with foundation damage who cannot get a bank loan for the repair, for example because their income is too low, have been able to apply to the Fonds Duurzaam Funderingsherstel (a national foundation repair fund) anywhere in the Netherlands since 1 July 2025. Do not count on it when buying: it is a safety net, not a grant.
Walk away or not?
An elevated indication is no reason to rule a house out straight away. Plenty of older homes in these areas have already been repaired, or stand on piles that are still safely under water. It is a reason to find out before you commit, and to let what you find shape your offer.
If you are searching in an old town, glance at the risk sections at the bottom of each property page you save. You can browse all homes for sale in the Netherlands, and a saved search by email tells you when something new comes up.
Read more: what an energy label is worth when buying or selling, and what to know when buying in your favourite neighbourhood.
