When am I entitled to plan damage?

Plan damage can only arise from a planning decision, usually the adoption of a new or amended zoning plan or a deviation from a zoning plan by granting an environmental permit. It is a special form of (disadvantage) compensation provided for by law for the loss of value of immovable property and certain forms of income damage. The request for compensation for plan damage is handled by the government body concerned, usually the municipality.

Foreseeable damage

Obtaining compensation for plan damage is not easy, as there are strict assessment requirements and also a reduction for a part of the social risk to be borne by oneself. An important requirement is the assessment of an application against the criterion of whether the damage was "foreseeable" at the time of purchase of the immovable property, such as a house or a business premises. In that case, you have taken a risk yourself - whether consciously or not - that is not eligible for compensation.

Plan damage request deadline

A request must in any case be submitted to the municipality concerned within five years of a planning decision becoming irrevocable. For submitting the request, you pay a fee to the municipality. Usually an amount of approximately € 300, - which you get back when a plan damage compensation is determined. For the assessment of your request, the municipality usually engages a specialised consultancy to assess the content of your request and to issue an advice.

What does HABITAT do?

The plan damage application is a largely standardised form on which you can indicate what damage you think you will suffer as a result of the planning decision that has been made. The description of the damage items that you include in the application can already have an effect on the final draft of the plan damage advice and thus on the plan damage assessment. In accordance with the legal regulation, you will be given the opportunity to react to the draft advice of the planning consultancy. This is an important moment, because the definitive recommendation is usually adopted in full by the government body concerned as the justification for the plan damage decision. It is therefore important to respond substantively to the draft plan damage report. If you do not agree with the final plan damage assessment, objection and (higher) appeal are possible.

Where appropriate, this also applies to the initiator who has committed himself with a plan damage agreement to reimburse the municipality for the plan damage paid out. Anyone who wants to get a building initiative settled with the municipality, whereby a deviation from the zoning plan is required or a new (postage-stamp) zoning plan must be adopted, is always confronted with such a plan damage agreement. It is therefore possible that you yourself are satisfied, but that the initiator is not satisfied and submits an objection against the plan damage decision. You can then intervene in the procedure as a interested third party, to ensure that the outcome is not unfavourable for you.

Discussions usually arise regarding the planning comparison between old and new, the damage factors used and the calculation of the damage amount. HABITAT provides assistance at every stage of the plan damage procedure in order to achieve the most favourable outcome.
If required, HABITAT can organise the submission of a plan damage request with a group approach and appropriate cost arrangements.