Netherlands

The person posts on a public social-media account, under their own name, that the Holocaust did not happen and the gas chambers are a fabrication. The post contains no threat, no call to violence, and names no living individual.

Since 1 October 2024, art. 137c(2)(b) Sr explicitly criminalises publicly denying or grossly trivialising genocide and crimes recognised by the Nuremberg Charter or Dutch/international courts, when it insults a group; maximum 1 year or a third-category fine (2 years if done habitually or by two or more people together). The first conviction under the new paragraph (January 2025, Enschede) was 60 hours of community service, half suspended. Group-insult cases are a small caseload (111 art. 137c offences registered by the OM in 2024).

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · OM: Eerste veroordeling wegens vergoelijken Holocaust (15 Jan 2025)

The person posts a public rant using slurs against an ethnic or religious group, saying the group is inferior and unwelcome in the country. No threat, no call to violence, no named individual.

Art. 137c Sr (group insult on race or religion, max 1 year) clearly covers the post, and art. 137d (incitement to hatred or discrimination, max 2 years) can also be charged. The Hoge Raad upheld Geert Wilders' group-insult conviction for 'fewer Moroccans' in 2021, though no penalty was imposed. The OM registered 160 specific discrimination offences in 2024, 111 of them group insult and a third committed online. Typical outcomes are fines or community service, preceded by a police investigation.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · OM: Geregistreerde discriminatiefeiten in 2024 gestegen

At a lawful, peaceful protest in a public square, the person burns a national flag they own and a copy of the dominant religion's scripture they own. No fire-safety rule is broken.

Blasphemy (art. 147 Sr) was repealed in 2014, and burning one's own flag or Quran is not an offence; the mayor of The Hague said the law gave him no room to ban Pegida's Quran desecration. Mayors can still ban a protest or the burning on public-order grounds under the Wet openbare manifestaties (Arnhem did in 2024). Pegida's leader was later convicted for insulting Muslims in his posts and for breaking an area ban, not for the burning itself.

Sources: De Kanttekening: Burgemeester Den Haag kan koranschennis Pegida niet verbieden · Omroep Gelderland: Werkstraf van 20 uur voor Pegida-voorman Wagensveld

The person posts that the head of state is a criminal and a pedophile. They have no evidence and present it as their opinion of the leader.

Lese-majesty (arts. 111-113 Sr) was repealed on 1 January 2020. Insulting the King now falls under the general insult and defamation offences, with the prison maximum raised by one third (art. 267) and no complaint needed (art. 269(2)). Simple insult therefore carries up to 4 months; calling him a criminal and pedophile could also be charged as written defamation (smaadschrift, 1 year + 1/3 = 16 months). Prosecutions are occasional and end in fines or community service.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · NJB: Schrappen belediging bevriend staatshoofd en majesteitsschennis (Stb. 2019, 277)

The person prints and hands out a pamphlet praising an organisation the state has banned as terrorist or extremist, saying its cause is just. The pamphlet urges no specific act, and the person has no contact with the group.

Dutch law currently has no offence of glorifying terrorism or praising a banned organisation. Incitement (arts. 131-132 Sr) requires urging a criminal act, and art. 140 reaches only participation in or continuing a banned organisation. The government sent a bill to the Tweede Kamer in June 2026 (Kamerstuk 36971) criminalising glorification (max 2 years) and public support for banned terrorist organisations; as of October 2026 it is still at the committee stage. A 9 rather than 10 reflects that the incitement provisions are broad and that the bill is pending.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · Rijksoverheid: kabinet stuurt wetsvoorstel terrorismeverheerlijking naar Tweede Kamer (19 June 2026) · Tweede Kamer: wetsvoorstel 36971 (verheerlijken van terrorisme), status

The person repeatedly refers to a named transgender public figure by their former pronouns and name in public posts, with no threats and no contact with the figure.

Art. 137c Sr protects only race, religion, sexual orientation and disability, and art. 137d adds sex, so gender identity is not covered and misgendering is not a crime. Stalking (art. 285b) requires systematic intrusion into privacy and doxing (art. 285d) requires spreading personal data, and neither fits public posts about a public figure. The realistic exposure is a civil tort claim (art. 6:162 BW) under the art. 8/10 ECHR balancing test. No reported Dutch prosecutions for misgendering were found.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · Elferink Kortier: Onrechtmatige perspublicaties (Dutch press-liability balancing test)

A blogger writes that a named local businessman (a private figure) is a fraud. The claim is false, but the blogger honestly believed it after reading a news report.

Criminal defamation (smaad, art. 261 Sr, up to 6 months; smaadschrift up to 1 year) does not apply where the author 'in good faith could assume the accusation was true and the public interest required it' (art. 261(3)). Calumny (laster, art. 262) requires knowing falsity. Civil liability under art. 6:162 BW turns on a balancing test that weighs whether the statement 'finds support in the available facts', so reliance on a news report is a strong but not complete defence. Typical exposure is a civil claim for rectification or removal with modest damages.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · Elferink Kortier: Onrechtmatige perspublicaties (Dutch press-liability balancing test)

A journalist accurately reports, with evidence, that a sitting politician is having an extramarital affair. The politician sues for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Truth is not a complete defence in Dutch civil law. A true publication about private life can be unlawful under art. 6:162 BW if, on balance under arts. 8 and 10 ECHR, it serves no public interest; a politician's public role weighs toward publication. For criminal smaad (art. 261 Sr), truth matters only if the public interest required the publication. In practice the journalist usually prevails when the affair bears on the official's role, but the risk of an injunction or rectification order is real.

Sources: Elferink Kortier: Onrechtmatige perspublicaties (Dutch press-liability balancing test) · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

A foreign billionaire sues a local critic in local courts over a harsh but clearly opinion-based review of their business conduct.

Dutch courts strongly protect value judgments that have a factual basis. Since 14 July 2026 the anti-SLAPP implementation (Kamerstuk 36731) lets courts order claimants to give security for costs. Dutch cost awards follow fixed scales (liquidatietarief), so a winning defendant still bears much of their own legal cost. Insult is a complaint-based offence (art. 269 Sr), so the claimant can file a criminal complaint, but art. 266(2) excludes statements judging matters of public interest.

Sources: Eerste Kamer: Wetsvoorstel 36731 strategische rechtszaken tegen publieke participatie · Elferink Kortier: Onrechtmatige perspublicaties (Dutch press-liability balancing test) · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

The person wants to buy a common centrefire semi-automatic rifle (e.g. an AR-15 pattern rifle with a 30-round magazine) and keep it at home.

Firearms need a police-issued verlof (art. 28 Wwm), which requires a 'reasonable interest' (in practice membership of a recognised shooting club or hunting) and is renewed yearly. A semi-automatic long gun with a magazine over 10 rounds (EU category A7) is licensable only for listed KNSA disciplines (e.g. IPSC Rifle, Dynamic Service Rifle) with proof of club membership in that discipline. Possessing a firearm without a licence carries up to 8 years (art. 55(3)).

Sources: Wet wapens en munitie (Weapons and Ammunition Act) · KNSA: Wetswijziging als gevolg van implementatie EU-richtlijn (A6/A7 rules for sport shooters)

The person wants to buy a 9mm handgun and keep it loaded at home for self-defence.

A handgun needs a verlof under art. 28 Wwm, granted only for a 'reasonable interest', in practice target shooting through a recognised club; self-defence is not accepted. Licensed guns may be kept only for sport use, so a loaded home-defence gun is not lawful. Unlicensed possession of a handgun carries up to 8 years (art. 55(3)(a)).

Sources: Wet wapens en munitie (Weapons and Ammunition Act)

The person wants to carry a loaded handgun, concealed, in everyday public places.

Carrying weapons is prohibited (art. 27 Wwm). A carry endorsement (art. 29) can be issued only for a 'reasonable interest' and in practice goes to a few professional categories, never for personal self-defence. A person carrying a handgun without a possession licence commits the art. 26 offence, punishable by up to 8 years for firearms (art. 55(3)). Courts typically impose unconditional prison terms of months.

Sources: Wet wapens en munitie (Weapons and Ammunition Act)

The person wants to carry pepper spray, or a folding knife with a 9 cm locking blade, in public for self-defence.

Pepper spray is a category II weapon (art. 2 Wwm, cat. II 6°), and possessing one is a crime carrying up to 9 months or more. A single-edged 9 cm lock knife is not category I, but carried for self-defence it becomes a category IV weapon (items intended to injure people, cat. IV 7°). Carrying it is banned by art. 27 and punishable under art. 54 by a third-category fine, the more lenient regime. Police typically settle such cases with an OM penalty order (strafbeschikking) fine.

Sources: Wet wapens en munitie (Weapons and Ammunition Act)

The person wants to own a machine gun, or a destructive device such as an artillery piece or a grenade launcher with live rounds.

Automatic weapons and explosive devices are category II and banned (art. 26 Wwm, up to 8 years under art. 55(3)). The Minister may grant an exemption (art. 4) only to a museum or collector he has formally recognised, with a collection plan and membership of a recognised collectors' association. The explanatory memorandum to the 2019 amendment says such exemptions are granted only in individual cases. Ordinary citizens have no route.

Sources: Wet wapens en munitie (Weapons and Ammunition Act) · Kamerstuk 34984 nr. 3, explanatory memorandum to the Wwm amendment (EU firearms directive)

At night, a stranger armed with a knife breaks into the person's home. The person shoots and kills the intruder with a lawfully held gun.

Self-defence (noodweer, art. 41 Sr) is a full defence but is judged on proportionality and subsidiarity case by case; there is no home-defence presumption. A resident who kills an intruder is treated as a suspect and the death is investigated. Prosecutors usually drop the case when force against an armed intruder was necessary, but only after investigation; a few such cases have gone to trial.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · Hoge Raad 22 March 2016, ECLI:NL:HR:2016:456 (self-defence overview ruling) · Omroep Brabant: Oog in oog met een inbreker - dit mag je wel en niet doen

On the street, a stranger attacks the person with fists. The person could safely walk away but instead punches back once, breaking the attacker's nose.

In its 2016 overview ruling, the Hoge Raad held that self-defence fails the subsidiarity test where the defendant 'not only could, but also should have withdrawn' from the attack; the mere possibility of escape is not enough to reject the defence, but a real and reasonable safe escape counts against it. This is a qualified duty to retreat. A single punch that breaks the nose may also be judged disproportionate. Such incidents are usually investigated as mutual assault and are often dropped or settled with a fine.

Sources: Hoge Raad 22 March 2016, ECLI:NL:HR:2016:456 (self-defence overview ruling) · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

The person wants to buy a course of amoxicillin for a sinus infection without seeing a doctor.

Amoxicillin is prescription-only (UR). Only pharmacists and dispensing GPs may sell it (art. 61 Geneesmiddelenwet), and violations draw administrative fines from the Inspectorate (art. 101). Art. 67 forbids prescribing over the internet to patients the prescriber has never met, which rules out instant online prescriptions. Buyers are not penalised, but access depends on a GP's judgement, and Dutch GPs are restrictive with antibiotics.

Sources: Geneesmiddelenwet (Medicines Act)

The person wants to take a drug approved by the EMA or FDA but not approved in their own country, for a non-terminal condition.

An EMA-approved drug is automatically authorised in NL, so the hard case is an FDA-only drug. Art. 40(2) Geneesmiddelenwet bans importing or supplying unauthorised medicines, so personal mail-order import is unlawful and subject to seizure. The legal route is a pharmacy import on a doctor's declaration (artsenverklaring) certifying that no Dutch-authorised medicine will do. The Inspectorate (IGJ) must approve it, within 8 weeks by law and about 4 weeks on average.

Sources: Geneesmiddelenwet (Medicines Act) · IGJ: Leveren op artsenverklaring

A terminally ill patient wants a drug that has passed Phase 1 trials but is not approved anywhere, and the manufacturer is willing to supply it.

Art. 40(3) Geneesmiddelenwet allows compassionate-use programmes (CUPs) approved by the medicines board (CBG) on set criteria: a serious or life-threatening disease, no adequate registered treatment, and a pending authorisation application or ongoing trials. Single patients can also be supplied on a named-patient basis through the IGJ. Both routes depend on the manufacturer applying and on regulator approval.

Sources: Geneesmiddelenwet (Medicines Act) · CBG-MEB: Compassionate use programme

The person wants to sell one of their kidneys to a willing recipient, with surgery by licensed surgeons.

Under art. 2 of the Wet op de orgaandonatie, consent to donate given in return for payment above costs (including lost income) is void. Art. 32 makes it a crime, punishable by up to 1 year or a fourth-category fine, to arrange or promote such a paid donation or to offer oneself publicly as a paid donor. No Dutch prosecutions of willing sellers were found; in practice transplant centres simply refuse such donations.

Sources: Wet op de orgaandonatie

An adult declines a vaccine the state recommends or mandates for adults (score the strictest adult mandate in force in the last 5 years).

NL has had no adult vaccine mandate. The strictest measure of the last 5 years was the coronatoegangsbewijs (25 Sept 2021 to 25 Feb 2022), required for restaurants, culture, events and indoor sport. It accepted vaccination, recovery or a negative test (3G), with free testing, and the planned 2G version was never introduced. So refusing the vaccine meant getting tested, not exclusion.

Sources: College voor de Rechten van de Mens: Coronatoegangsbewijs en mensenrechten · Rijksoverheid coronavirus timeline, February 2022 (end of the CTB)

A competent adult with a terminal illness and under 6 months to live asks their doctor for lethal medication to take themselves.

Under arts. 293(2) and 294(2) Sr and art. 2 of the euthanasia act (WTL), a doctor may lawfully provide assisted suicide if the due-care criteria are met: a voluntary, well-considered request, unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement, no reasonable alternative, and consultation of an independent second doctor. Each case is reported to the regional review committees (RTE). In 2025 there were 10,341 notifications and only 7 were found not to meet due care.

Sources: Wet toetsing levensbeeindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding · RTE: Jaarcijfers 2025

A competent adult with unbearable but non-terminal suffering (e.g. advanced multiple sclerosis) asks their doctor for the same.

The euthanasia act (WTL) requires unbearable suffering with no prospect of improvement, not a terminal diagnosis, so advanced MS qualifies under the same safeguards (second independent doctor, review by the RTE committees). Neurological diseases are among the common grounds in RTE reports; RTE 2025 figures also show hundreds of non-terminal cases (dementia 499, multiple geriatric conditions 475, psychiatric 174).

Sources: Wet toetsing levensbeeindiging op verzoek en hulp bij zelfdoding · RTE: Jaarcijfers 2025

A layperson gets lethal medication for a competent friend who has clearly asked to die, and is present when the friend takes it. No payment.

Art. 294(2) Sr punishes anyone who helps with a suicide or supplies the means, if the suicide follows, with up to 3 years; only doctors meeting the euthanasia act are exempt. The Hague court of appeal held on 2 December 2025 that the ban on help by family and friends is lawful. Prosecutions are actively brought: a Cooperatie Laatste Wil member was sentenced in January 2025 to a 12-month suspended term plus 240 hours of community service. Compassionate lay helpers are investigated and tried, though sentences are usually suspended.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text · Nederlands Dagblad: Hulp bij zelfdoding door familie of vrienden blijft strafbaar (2 Dec 2025) · BijzonderStrafrecht.nl: Taakstraf en voorwaardelijke gevangenisstraf voor lid Cooperatie Laatste Wil

The person is found with 5 grams of cannabis for personal use.

Possessing up to 30 g of cannabis is a minor offence (overtreding) under arts. 3 and 11(1) Opiumwet, punishable by up to 1 month's detention (hechtenis) or a second-category fine. Under the Aanwijzing Opiumwet, possession of up to 5 g for personal use is tolerated: police seize the cannabis and do not prosecute.

Sources: Opiumwet (Opium Act) · Aanwijzing Opiumwet (2015A003), prosecution guideline

The person is found with one personal dose of psilocybin mushrooms or MDMA.

MDMA is a List I drug; possessing a small amount for personal use carries up to 1 year (art. 10(6) Opiumwet). Psilocybin mushrooms have been on List II since 2008, and small personal amounts are a minor offence (art. 11(7) with 11(1): up to 1 month or a fine). The Aanwijzing Opiumwet sets no targeted enforcement and no prosecution for a user amount (one pill/0.5 g, or 0.5 g dried or 5 g fresh mushrooms), so the substance is seized and the case dropped.

Sources: Opiumwet (Opium Act) · Aanwijzing Opiumwet (2015A003), prosecution guideline

The person sells 30 grams of cannabis to another adult.

Selling 30 g or less of cannabis is a minor offence (overtreding) under art. 11(1) and (6) Opiumwet, punishable by up to 1 month's detention or a second-category fine. Licensed-in-effect sale exists only through tolerated coffeeshops limited to 5 g per transaction (AHOJ-G criteria). A private seller outside that system is typically fined or given a short community service.

Sources: Opiumwet (Opium Act) · Aanwijzing Opiumwet (2015A003), prosecution guideline

Two adults agree to have sex for money, in private, with no third party involved.

Prostitution between adults is legal and not criminalised for either party. Regulation is municipal: local bylaws (APV) license sex businesses and some require licences or registration for home-based or escort work, with bylaw fines for violations. The national Wet regulering sekswerk (registration and permits) was abandoned in April 2026. A private one-off arrangement draws no state response in practice.

Sources: CCV: Achtergrond Wet regulering sekswerk / sekswerkbeleid

Three consenting adults want to live together as a family, share property, and make binding arrangements for inheritance, medical decisions and parenting.

Cohabitation by three adults is free, and cohabitation contracts, wills and medical powers of attorney can cover property and much of inheritance (subject to children's forced share). Bigamy (art. 237 Sr) applies only to entering a second marriage. Current law allows at most two legal parents and two holders of parental authority. A government draft bill allowing up to four legal parents was in consultation until 31 January 2026 and has not been enacted.

Sources: Gemeente.nu: Conceptwetsvoorstel meerouderschap · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

Parents want to homeschool their 10-year-old using their own curriculum.

Parents must enrol a school-age child (Leerplichtwet art. 2). The only homeschooling route is an exemption under art. 5(b): a declaration of 'overwhelming objections' to the denominational or ideological orientation (richting) of all schools within reasonable distance, which is invalid if the child attended such a school in the past year (art. 8). Pedagogical or curriculum reasons do not qualify. Breaching compulsory education is a minor offence punishable by up to 1 month's detention or a second-category fine (art. 26), and school-attendance officers routinely start proceedings against non-exempt families.

Sources: Leerplichtwet 1969

The state wants to read the person's end-to-end encrypted messages, although they are suspected of no serious crime.

In criminal cases, hacking devices requires authorisation from an investigating judge, and suspects cannot be compelled to reveal passcodes. The Hoge Raad (ECLI:NL:HR:2021:202) does allow forced fingerprint unlocking. Under the intelligence act (Wiv 2017), the AIVD and MIVD can hack and run bulk 'investigation-directed' cable interception with ministerial approval plus the TIB review committee, not a court, which can reach people suspected of no crime. No encryption backdoor or client-side scanning mandate is in force; the EU CSA regulation is still in trilogue.

Sources: BijzonderStrafrecht.nl: Hoge Raad - police may unlock seized phone with suspect's finger · CTIVD: onderzoek naar onderzoeksopdrachtgerichte interceptie op de kabel

The person wants a prepaid SIM card and an internet connection without giving their identity.

NL has no SIM-registration law: prepaid SIM cards are sold for cash in shops without ID. The justice minister rejected a registration duty in 2019 as easily evaded. Fixed broadband requires a contract in one's own name, like any subscription.

Sources: Prepaidsimkaart.net: Prepaid simkaarten blijven voorlopig anoniem

The person wants to pay a dealer 15,000 USD (or the local equivalent) in cash for a used car.

Art. 1f Wwft (in force in the consolidated text current from 1 January 2026) forbids professional traders in goods, including vehicle dealers, from making or accepting cash payments of EUR 3,000 or more. Breaches draw administrative fines from the supervisor. The buyer is not personally penalised, but a car dealer cannot lawfully take about EUR 13,000 in cash.

Sources: Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van terrorisme (Wwft)

The person wants to found a new religion, or an association, and hold weekly meetings without registering it.

The Constitution recognises freedom of religion (art. 6) and of association (art. 8), restrictable only by statute for public order. Religious communities and informal associations need no registration or permission; a notarial deed and registration only give full legal capacity. The only restriction is a court ban on organisations whose activity is contrary to public order.

Sources: Grondwet (Dutch Constitution)

The person organises a protest of 50 people in a public square with one day's notice to nobody. It is peaceful.

The Wet openbare manifestaties lets municipalities require advance notice (art. 4). The mayor may ban an unnotified demonstration or order it to disperse because notice was not given (arts. 5 and 7). Holding or joining a demonstration without the required notice is a minor offence punishable by up to 2 months' detention or a second-category fine (art. 11). In practice small peaceful unnotified protests are usually tolerated, with dispersal or fines possible.

Sources: Wet openbare manifestaties · Grondwet (Dutch Constitution)

The person publicly announces they have left the country's dominant religion, or Islam, and criticises it.

Apostasy and criticism of religion are not offences; blasphemy (art. 147 Sr) was repealed in 2014, and art. 6 of the Constitution protects freedom of religion. Prominent ex-Muslim critics face private threats, for which the state provides police protection.

Sources: Grondwet (Dutch Constitution) · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

The person wants to move abroad permanently, taking 1 million USD of savings and shares.

Leaving triggers no exit tax on savings or ordinary portfolio shares, and after emigration box-3 tax applies only to Dutch-situs assets such as real estate (art. 7.7 Wet IB 2001). The only exit charge is a deferred (conserverende) assessment when the holder owns a substantial interest of 5% or more in a company (art. 4.16(1)(h)) or has pension rights. The emigrant must deregister from the municipal personal records database (BRP).

Sources: Wet inkomstenbelasting 2001

The person, who already holds another citizenship, wants to renounce this one.

An adult loses Dutch nationality by making a declaration of renunciation (art. 15(1)(b) Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap), lodged in person at the municipality or abroad at a mission (Besluit verkrijging en verlies Nederlanderschap). No approval, tax clearance or military-service condition applies. A routine administrative fee is charged.

Sources: Rijkswet op het Nederlanderschap · Besluit verkrijging en verlies Nederlanderschap

Police find 20,000 USD in cash in the person's car at a traffic stop. They charge no crime.

There is no civil forfeiture. Police and prosecutors can seize cash without a court order as evidence or for possible confiscation once there is suspicion, typically of money laundering (arts. 94 and 116 Sv). Confiscation itself requires a criminal conviction (arts. 33a and 36e Sr). If no charge follows, the money must be returned once the criminal-investigation interest ends, but the owner may need to file a complaint (beklag, art. 552a Sv) to force its return, and owners are often pressed to explain where the cash came from.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafvordering (Code of Criminal Procedure), consolidated text · Wetboek van Strafrecht (Dutch Criminal Code), consolidated text

The person is arrested for a non-violent offence carrying up to 2 years in prison. They have a home and a job.

A suspect may be held for questioning for at most 6 to 9 hours, not counting midnight to 9 am (art. 56a Sv). Police custody (inverzekeringstelling) and pretrial detention are allowed only for offences carrying 4 years or more or on a specific list (arts. 58 and 67). Where custody is allowed, the suspect must see the investigating judge within 3 days and 18 hours (art. 59a), which is longer than 48 hours. There is no money bail; for a non-listed 2-year offence a suspect with a home and job is released the same day.

Sources: Wetboek van Strafvordering (Code of Criminal Procedure), consolidated text

The person wants to build a 20 m² wooden shed on their own rural land.

Under the Omgevingswet, a shed is a consequence-class-1 structure needing no technical building permit (art. 2.27 Bbl). Whether it is allowed spatially depends on the municipal environment plan (omgevingsplan): next to an existing house in the rear-yard area it is normally permit-free, but on undeveloped rural or agricultural land it usually needs a discretionary plan-deviation permit. Unpermitted buildings face enforcement by periodic penalty payments (last onder dwangsom).

Sources: Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl)