by Martha Andrus

Housing is quite different in comparison to housing in the U.S. The one common characteristic is that Dutch people live in what we would call condominiums, but they call it a house. You will see a great many rows of attached 'houses' individually owned. You will also see two houses under one roof. And then there are also the free standing homes as in the U.S. The one big difference is the size of the lots.

Land here is at a premium and it is very hard to find land to build a home. There is a lot of available land, but the government keeps it as 'farm land' and you are not allowed to construct anything on the property, even if you own it. The only way you can build anything on property that you might purchase is if there is already a large barn or an old house with a foundation that you can demolish and then you can only rebuild on that foundation. You will see a lot of homes that are constructed in a barn-like fashion because of this.

Greenhouses and flower growing are, of course, a big industry here. And I have found that there is not the 'zoning' that we normally have in the U.S. Many people have several greenhouses sitting behind their house, and these are for either personal use or business. There are a lot of big growers but also a lot of small entrepreneurs who grow bulbs, plants and flowers as a second income. You will find a gas station squeezed into the middle of a row of homes and it might even have a garage or a car dealership sitting in the back. You will see a lot of apartments over stores. It is likely that you will see a field of cows or sheep right in the middle of some businesses.

The average home in the Netherlands is much smaller than the average home in the U.S. This is due, not only to the size of the property, but also the cost of purchasing or building. A small home here, even one of the condominium-type homes, will sell for at least 250,000 Euros. With the conversion rate of the dollar now equivalent to 1.30 Euros, you can do the math.

Most homes consist of at least three bedrooms and an upstairs. You will find a small 'water closet' downstairs, which we would refer to as a 'powder room'. As you enter a Dutch house, you will find a foyer with doors leading to the other rooms. These doors are always kept closed and the rooms are not open as they are in the U.S. Also, one of the traits of most Dutch homes is to have their window coverings open all the time, even at night. It is not uncommon to drive down any street in any town in Holland and be able to see right into their living room. And all homes have plants displayed on their window sills.

Most of the condominium-type homes and apartment-type buildings have 'postage stamp' size lots and all will have a 'garden' or (as we refer to) a yard. But this yard is mostly in the back of the house. Most of the homes are built very close to the road, with most of the property being behind the house. Roofs on all homes are either tile or grass. It is very interesting to see the installation of a grass roof. Amazingly, it does last a long time and is very durable. The grass roof will be a light brown wheat color when it is installed, but, over time, it darkens and becomes a dark gray or brown.

When you do see a house standing alone, most of the ones that are older homes, some over 100 years old, will have barn-like structures that are actually attached to the house. The barn can be entered from inside the house. This was done so that the early farmers could walk right into the barn to feed the livestock, etc. It's hard to imagine having a barn that close to your residence, but that practice still goes on today.

Martha's partner, Jac, provides specialist tax advice for expats in The Netherlands. He can be contacted at:

Multibreen BV
Individual and Corporate Tax Consultants
Located in Leiderdorp, The Netherlands
Phone: 071-541-9220
Email: multibreen@xs4all.nl