Right of Ground Lease

A Powerful, Yet Incomplete, Form of Ownership

The erfpachtrecht (right of ground lease) is the formal legal right that a person or entity holds under a ground lease (erfpacht) agreement. It is a powerful 'right in rem' (zakelijk recht), which means the right is attached to the property itself, not to the person holding it. This makes it very similar to full ownership (eigendom). The holder of the right, the erfpachter, can sell their right, bequeath it to their heirs, and use it as collateral for a mortgage. They have the full rights to use and enjoy the property—to live in it, renovate it, or rent it out—just as a full owner would.

The Fundamental Limitations

Despite its strength, the erfpachtrecht has two fundamental differences from full ownership. First, the erfpachter does not own the 'bare land' (bloot eigendom); that title remains with the landowner. Second, the right is conditional upon adhering to the terms of the ground lease agreement, the most important of which is the obligation to pay the annual ground rent, the canon. The agreement can also contain other conditions regarding the use of the property. The erfpachtrecht is legally established in a notarial deed and recorded in the public land registry (Kadaster), which makes it a transparent and legally binding right that is clear to all parties. For property buyers, it is critical to understand that they are often not buying the property itself, but rather the erfpachtrecht associated with it.