What Are Resolutive Conditions and how do they work?

What Are Resolutive Conditions and how do they work? 

When you sign a preliminary purchase agreement for a home (especially when buying your first home in the Netherlands), you’re generally bound to the purchase after the statutory three-day cooling-off period. If you still want to cancel the purchase after that, you usually risk a penalty of 10% of the purchase price. Fortunately, including resolutive conditions in the agreement gives you a legal way out in specific situations. 

What are resolutive conditions? 

Resolutive conditions are pre-agreed clauses in the purchase contract that give you the right to cancel the agreement without penalty, provided certain conditions are met. Examples include not being able to secure financing or discovering serious issues in a building inspection. 

How Do They Work? 

Resolutive conditions are included in the preliminary purchase agreement and play an important role when applying for a mortgage in the Netherlands. The most common conditions typically have a duration of six weeks. Within this period, you can withdraw from the purchase without cost, as long as the stated condition applies.
Is your financing approved sooner? Let the estate agent know. Need more time than the agreed six weeks? Then, an extension can often be requested in consultation with the estate agent. We’ll guide you through this process, so you don’t need to worry about timing or deadlines.
Important: If you take no action by the agreed deadline and fail to invoke the condition in time, you are legally bound to the purchase. In that case, the 10% penalty still applies. We monitor all key dates for you, but we also recommend that you stay alert and always check that the conditions are correctly listed in the signed agreement. 

Common Resolutive Conditions

• Financing Clause
  This is the most frequently used condition. If you’re unable to secure a mortgage within the agreed period, you may cancel the purchase without penalty.
• Structural Survey Clause
  This protects you from buying a home with hidden defects. If the inspection reveals major unexpected repair costs, you may choose to cancel the purchase.
• Sale of Current Property
  This makes your purchase conditional on selling your current home. It gives you peace of mind — especially if you want to avoid double housing costs.
• National Mortgage Guarantee (NHG)
  You only proceed with the purchase if you successfully obtain an NHG-backed mortgage. If that doesn’t work out, you can cancel without penalty.

How Do You Cancel the Purchase Contract? 

If you wish to cancel the agreement under a resolutive condition, you must always notify the estate agent (or seller if no agent is involved) in writing and clearly. This must be done via an official letter stating exactly which condition you are invoking. Be sure to include supporting documentation. Simply stating that your mortgage wasn’t approved is not enough, you bear the burden of proof. So be sure to have everything properly documented. 

Resolutive conditions can protect you but only if they are correctly formulated, monitored and invoked on time. That’s why many expats choose to work with a mortgage advisor who guides them through the entire purchase process.

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