Call for fundamental revision of Building Decree swells: 'Construction costs are running out of steam'

The Building Works Environment Decree (BBL) needs a drastic overhaul. So say municipalities, concerned fire chiefs, builders and cost experts. There would be a lack of consistency, experts say costs are out of control and the fire safety of residential buildings would be at risk. "We need to go back to the drawing board."

Changing building codes is no easy task. It usually involves tough and long-term processes. The bigger the adjustment, the longer it takes. Take, for example, the Building Quality Assurance Act. Before that law went into effect in 2024 (in very slimmed-down form, by the way), it had been under discussion for at least 10 years.

Municipalities and fire chiefs care little about this unruly practice. They believe the former Building Code is due for a fundamental overhaul. According to the VNG (Association of Netherlands Municipalities), this is necessary in order to build faster. In turn, the association of firefighters Brandweer Nederland warns of an increasing number of accidents.

Roundtable discussion in the Lower House

"Formal compliance with regulations no longer guarantees actual fire safety. Without modernization of fire safety regulations, the chances and consequences of fire increase," writes the association in a position paper that the House of Representatives will consider this month during a roundtable discussion on a more modern BBL.

Experts from the construction industry cite more motives for cutting building codes drastically. Building cost expert Max de Jong of Archidat argues that various rules overshoot their goal and drive up the price of a home unnecessarily.

"We have too many rules piled on top of each other ... We need to go back to the drawing board to see what we really need," says De Jong in the latest episode of the podcast Bureau Stoer.

Not tougher, smarter

Dick van Ginkel, innovation manager at TBI Woonlab, shares that observation. "The BBL is too complicated in some parts and no longer readable, let alone verifiable, even for many professionals. What's needed? Tough 2.0? No, no. Building regulations need to get smarter and steer more toward future-proofing."

A smarter version of the BBL should also benefit home builders and developers, Van Ginkel believes. "They should be given more room to get more innovative, including to be able to use other building materials (bio-based or sustainable concrete, not oil-driven, ed.) materials."

De Jong calculated with Archidat two weeks ago that construction costs will rise nearly 7 percent next year due to the unrest in the Middle East. He warned of a shock wave. Biobased materials, he said, are less sensitive to geopolitical states. He encouraged Housing and Planning Minister Elanor Boekholt-O 'Sullivan to give experimental housing more space.

Error concealing construction

"We must dare to innovate. Are we building too badly? No we are building just too well (too many installations, ed), that is precisely the problem. Sometimes an installation masks a poor design," De Jong said.

Whether the twosome will spark a revolution? "Maybe so...," De Jong responds soberly. "But look at America. There they build houses that are completely wiped out after a hurricane. In the Netherlands, not a roof tile is allowed to blow off the roof. Maybe there is a middle ground..."

Curious about the whole story? Listen to episode 31 of Bureau Stoer here.