Role of notary in land transactions not adjusted

The government sees no need to adjust the role of notaries in land transactions following RTL Nieuws's report that tens of thousands of Dutch people are victims of dubious land transactions. This was stated by Minister Hugo de Jonge of Housing and Spatial Planning in response to questions on the matter from Member of Parliament Faissal Boulakjar (D66).

According to the Minister, the disciplinary court assesses whether the notary has fulfilled their duty of care and acted with due care in a land transaction. In each case, the court assesses whether the notary has fulfilled "their duty to provide information and the duty of care arising from the notary's office." However, the "circumstances of the case" are different each time, meaning that the disciplinary ruling may vary from case to case. According to De Jonge, tightening the law to achieve greater uniformity in the assessments by disciplinary court judges is therefore unnecessary.

Proxy
A power of attorney is often used in the transfer of land. The fact that the buyer is not physically present does not absolve the notary of their duty of information and care. For example, they must inform the buyer of the risks of land speculation and ensure that the buyer intends to proceed with the purchase despite its speculative nature. This duty of care requires the notary to record the aforementioned in writing and confirm this to the buyer. In addition, the notary sends the buyer a draft of the deed of transfer so that the buyer can review its contents in a timely manner. According to the Minister, this procedure provides sufficient safeguards to fulfill the notarial duty of care, even in the case of a power of attorney.

Parliamentary questions
In January, Boulakjar submitted parliamentary questions about the role of notaries in speculative land trading. Land traders divide up plots of land and sell them with the promise that construction can begin soon. This often isn't the case. In its response to parliamentary questions in 2021, the government also indicated it had no intention of changing the role of notaries in land trading.