Smarter collaboration means faster construction

In the center of Amsterdam alone, the total potential for top-up development this year was rounded up to 700,000 m². This equates to almost 35 times the roof area of the Stopera (20,500 m²). Due to sloping corners and other practical limitations, an estimated 50 percent of this potential is eliminated, but with an average gross floor area (GFA) of 75 m² per dwelling, this would create space for approximately 4,500 homes. Yet, the realization of many projects often stalls at the same stage: the preparation phase. And that's precisely where significant gains can be made.

Topping up: low-hanging legal fruit

Topping up – adding floors to existing buildings – has now reached maturity. The technology is available, the practical examples are available, and the spatial efficiency is evident: more housing without breaking new ground. Moreover, topping up offers opportunities for combining housing and care, as the number of elderly people living independently grows and the supply of care-friendly housing lags behind.
What is still too often overlooked in practice, however, are the legal preconditions.

Dividing properties into condominiums, establishing building rights, or revising leasehold structures requires careful, timely coordination. The national government recently emphasized the importance of collaboration from the outset in its Transformation Implementation Agenda: "Municipalities, property owners, developers, and knowledge institutions must find common ground already in the planning phase." In our experience, it has become clear that the early involvement of notarial experts is crucial.

When the legal structure is established after the design phase or even after the building permit has been issued, complications can arise. Think of poorly thought-out divisions, outdated leasehold provisions, or ambiguities regarding ownership and use of common areas. This leads to extended processing time, higher costs, and, in the worst-case scenario, revisions to existing contracts or procedures.

The alternative is to include legal input on the structure, rights, and obligations from the initial design phase. This creates future-proof frameworks for ownership, management, and transfer. For example, in the case of topping up, this could mean a new division into apartment rights, including superstructures, modified building rights, or a clear separation of ownership relationships for mixed-use properties—residential and healthcare, for example.

Combining care and housing

The housing market is under pressure not only due to the quantity of homes available, but also due to changing care needs. Traditional nursing homes no longer exist, and seniors are encouraged to live independently for longer with remote support. Transforming existing complexes—sometimes by adding to the existing buildings, sometimes through redesign—offers opportunities. However, the legal structure must facilitate this.
Establishing user rights, service components, or shared care facilities requires a tailored approach. Notaries can work with developers to bridge the gap between construction, care, ownership, and operations. And the sooner this bridge is established, the more stable the project can be.

From real estate vision to area vision

Aedes and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) recognize that successful transformation requires more than a technically sound plan. It revolves around area development, coordination with residents, infrastructure, and amenities. This also requires an area-specific legal perspective: how are interests safeguarded? How are homeowners' associations involved? Which ownership structures are future-proof? The municipality plays a guiding role in this, but early coordination with private parties and notaries creates control. Instead of treating legal structures as a final step, they then become the starting point for an integrated design. This prevents hassle and accelerates implementation.

Aedes chair Liesbeth Spies put it aptly at the opening of Provada: "We must build bridges and dare to appreciate boring collaboration." Because acceleration isn't about bravado, but about smart coordination. Municipalities, developers, housing associations, and notaries share more interests than is often realized: a predictable process, legally robust solutions, and manageable risks.

In practice, we see that projects with early coordination between all stakeholders get off the ground faster. This is not only due to legal certainty, but also because trust grows. Notarial guidance is then not the final step, but the driving force behind collaboration.

This article previously appeared on Vastgoedjournaal: https://vastgoedjournaal.nl/news/69223/slimmer-samenwerken-betekent-sneller-bouwen