Guide · 6 minWhich documents do you need to sell your house?
The paperwork of a house sale is manageable — if you start it in time. This is the complete list, with for each document where to get it and when you'll need it.
Before you advertise
Energy label. Legally required the moment you advertise; the label class belongs in the listing. A registered energy assessor visits — plan this weeks ahead, because waiting times are growing. Proof of ownership. This is the deed of transfer from when you bought; lost it? For a few euros you can download a copy from the Kadaster (Dutch land registry). Living area. Buyers compare on square metres; a measurement report to the industry standard (NEN 2580) prevents discussion afterwards, especially if your floor area differs from what the WOZ portal (the public register of municipal property valuations) says.
For the viewing: show what you have
Serious viewers ask follow-up questions — and whoever has the documents ready wins trust. Have to hand: the WOZ assessment (it comes with your municipal tax bill), recent energy bills (monthly costs have become buying argument number one), construction drawings and permits for renovations (available from the municipal archive if you no longer have them), and warranty certificates for the boiler, roof or window frames. If you live in an apartment: the owners' association (VvE) documents — the deed of division, recent minutes, the long-term maintenance plan and the level of the service charges and reserves. Buyers (and their mortgage lender) are guaranteed to ask for these.
At the agreement: the duty of disclosure on paper
As a seller you have a duty of disclosure: known defects must be shared. The standard tool for that is the seller's questionnaire (often called "questionnaire part B") plus the list of contents — what stays, what goes with you, what's available for takeover. Both forms are freely available and belong as annexes to the purchase agreement. Filling them in honestly isn't a courtesy but self-protection: concealed defects are the most expensive pitfall there is.
For the notary
Towards completion, the civil-law notary asks for your identification, your mortgage details (for paying off the mortgage and removing it from the land registry — the discharge, or "royement"), and specifics such as a leasehold deed if the land isn't yours, or a consent declaration from your partner. Special situations — selling from an inheritance, a rented-out property, a divorce — require extra documents; the notary will tell you exactly which. That's their profession, and the notary is the only professional the law actually prescribes.
The checklist
In short: energy label, proof of ownership, measurement report or substantiated living area, WOZ assessment, energy bills, construction drawings and permits, owners' association documents (for an apartment), questionnaire and list of contents, identification and mortgage details. Everything collected? Then nothing stands in the way of a smooth sale — the step-by-step plan from photos to notary is here.
What Panvia doesn't do: Panvia doesn't draw up contracts and doesn't check documents. This list is information, not advice — in special situations the notary is your first port of call.