Owner verification

How to verify a Dutch landlord with the Kadaster (before you pay)

By Dormetrics — DoArt (sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak)), KVK 58598464 · Last updated: 18 July 2026

Every property in the Netherlands has a registered owner in the Kadaster, the national land registry — and that record is public. Before you transfer a deposit, you can check whether the person calling themselves the landlord matches the name on the deed. You can order the extract yourself from the Kadaster for a few euros, or let Dormetrics run the check and give you a plain match / no-match answer within 24–48 hours. This guide explains both routes, what the check proves, and — just as important — what it cannot prove.

What is the Kadaster?

The Kadaster is the Dutch government agency that registers real estate: every parcel, every address, every registered owner and mortgage. When a property is sold, the notarial deed is registered there — which makes it the ground truth for 'who owns this home', independent of anything a landlord shows you in chat.

Because the register is public, ownership information is available to anyone with a legitimate reason — including a tenant about to hand a stranger a deposit.

Route 1: check the owner yourself

According to the Kadaster, anyone can order Eigendomsinformatie (ownership information) for any address on kadaster.nl. It costs a few euros, arrives as a PDF, and shows the registered owner's name as recorded in the deed.

Doing it yourself is cheap and reliable, but it has friction when you need it most: the site is in Dutch, you pay per lookup, and you still have to interpret what you get — for example when the owner is a BV (company), an heir, or a housing corporation rather than the person you spoke to.

Start with a free check

Route 2: let Dormetrics run the match

Dormetrics does the lookup for you and answers the only question that matters: does the name your landlord gave you match the deed — match or no-match. Each check is a fresh land-registry query for that address, run by a human, and emailed to you within 24–48 hours.

We deliberately never display the owner's identity. You tell us the name you were given; we tell you whether it matches. That data-minimal design is what GDPR asks of a service like this — and it protects you from acting on a stranger's personal data while still getting certainty about your counterparty.

Kadaster check vs. doing nothing: what each route gets you

The honest comparison:

  • Do nothing: free, instant — and you are trusting a chat conversation with a stranger about the largest transfer you'll make this year.
  • DIY Kadaster extract: a few euros per lookup; you get the deed name; Dutch-language flow; you interpret BVs, heirs and corporations yourself.
  • Dormetrics owner check: we run the fresh Kadaster query, handle the interpretation, and return match / no-match plus the listing's full risk report — built for exactly this decision.
  • Whichever route you choose: never skip it when the landlord is unknown to you and a deposit is about to move.

What an owner match cannot prove

An owner match is powerful but not a guarantee, and anyone who tells you otherwise is overselling. The ownership record is public — a determined scammer can find the real owner's name and impersonate exactly that person.

That is why a match must travel with three behavioural checks: you (or someone you trust) have physically been inside the property; you are paying by SEPA to a Dutch IBAN in the matching name; and the landlord confirms you can register at the address (BRP). A no-match, on the other hand, is close to conclusive: if the deed says someone else owns the home, do not pay.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to look up who owns a Dutch address?
Yes. The Kadaster is a public register, and ownership information for a specific address is available to anyone. Checking your prospective landlord against it is a normal, legitimate use.
How much does a Kadaster lookup cost?
Ordering ownership information yourself on kadaster.nl costs a few euros per address (check kadaster.nl for the current tariff). Dormetrics' owner check includes the fresh lookup, human interpretation, and the match / no-match answer.
What if the owner is a company (BV) or a housing corporation?
Common and often perfectly legitimate — much of the Dutch rental stock is owned by corporations and investment BVs. The question becomes whether the person renting to you verifiably represents that company. That interpretation is exactly what our check helps with.
Does Dormetrics store the owner's name after the check?
No. We log the verdict (match / no-match), not the owner's personal data. Every check is a fresh Kadaster query — we keep no owner database, by design.
The names match. Am I safe to pay?
A match plus an in-person viewing plus a Dutch IBAN in the same name plus BRP registration is as strong as pre-payment verification gets. But 'safe' is a word we never use — a scammer can impersonate a real owner, so keep every rule in place.

Confirm the owner before the deposit moves

Run the free risk check first — then add a fresh Kadaster owner match, run by hand and emailed within 24–48 hours.

Start with a free check

Dormetrics is a risk signal, not a guarantee. We show you which red flags fired and whether the person taking your deposit legally owns the property. Always view in person, pay by SEPA to a Dutch IBAN, and insist you can register at the address (BRP). The final decision is yours.

Sources

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