Buying, renting or leasing land

The municipality owns pieces of land. Sometimes you can buy, rent or lease a piece of land from the municipality. This can be a (large) plot of land (building plots, agricultural land) or a smaller piece of land adjacent to your garden (green areas), for example. By concluding a purchase agreement and then signing a deed of transfer at the notary, you become the owner of the land.

Are you going to lease or rent? If so, after you have entered into a lease or rental agreement with the municipality, you may use the land upon payment of a lease or rental price. Land leasing is only possible if you want to use the land as a business for agriculture.

What you need to know

  • The municipality decides whether to sell, rent or lease the land and at what price and conditions (for example, by drawing lots, a public bidding process or by letting you make an offer).
  • When selling, renting or leasing, the municipality is obliged to give every serious interested party an equal opportunity. Exceptions to this are possible. The manner in which the municipality does this and the exceptions are described in the Policy Framework for issuing real estate.

Buy or rent green spaces (chippered green)

Sometimes you can buy municipal public green space (snippergroen) adjacent to your garden from the municipality. The public green space of the municipality of Zoetermeer is divided into 4 different types of green according to the Groenkaart: 

  • region green
  • urban green
  • neighborhood green
  • neighborhood green

Only neighborhood green space may be eligible for purchase or rental. On the map Green types you can see what type of green space there is in your neighborhood. Only requests to purchase a piece of public neighborhood green space are reviewed against the rules on whether or not to issue snippet green space. You can find these rules in the Snippergroen Policy.

Renting green spaces for grazing

The municipality also leases land which can be used for grazing (exclusively) goats or sheep.

Buy free sector lots

If you are interested in a plot of land on which you want to build your house look at Kavels Zoetermeer.

Building on land

Did you buy, rent or lease land? If so, you may not just start building on that land. There are rules:

  • The zoning ordinance must state that construction is allowed on the land.
  • You need an Environmental Permit to build.
  • You own the land or have a superficies or long leases on the land.

Do you not own the land? Nor do you have a building lease or superficies right? Then you must ask the owner's permission to build on the land.

Rule

You investigate whether you can use the piece of land you want to buy, rent or lease for your purpose:

  • Use the Environment Counter to see what rules apply to the land.
  • Find out who owns the land and what you can and cannot do with it (special restrictions). You can get this information from the Land Registry.

Then contact the municipality using the contact form.