Opstal in law · insurance term · right of superficies
Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering): what the word means
Opstal is a legal term for what stands on the land. That is where the name comes from.
Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Opstalverzekering: de betekenis van het woord.
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Opstal in law
In civil law, an buildings is a building, structure or planting permanently united with the land. Article 6:174 DCC uses that term for the liability of the possessor.
By nature, what stands on the land belongs to the landowner; that is called accession.
The right of superficies
There is also a right of superficies (recht van opstal): a property right to have a building or structure on someone else's land. It occurs with solar panels on someone else's roof, with utility installations and with homes on ground-lease land.
If you have a right of superficies, you own the building but not the land. That changes nothing about the duty to insure the building.
In the insurance world
The buildings insurance covers the building. Some insurers call it woonhuisverzekering or gebouwenverzekering; that is the same product.
The old term fire insurance dates from the time when only fire was covered.
Why it matters
With a ground lease or a right of superficies, who insures the building is sometimes unclear. Read your deed; the duty to insure usually rests on whoever owns the building.
Read more
Similar pages
- Who takes out the buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)?
- Is buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) the same as home insurance?
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering): what is it and what does it cover?
- Who pays for the buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)?
- What is buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)?
- Is my kitchen covered by the buildings insurance (opstalverzekering)?
- Buildings or fire insurance: the difference
- Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering): everything permanently attached
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often about this.
What does opstal mean?
A building or structure permanently united with the land.
What is a right of superficies?
A property right to have a building on someone else's land.
Is home insurance the same?
Yes; that is another name for the same cover.
What about a ground lease?
You own the building; read your deed about the duty to insure.
Where does the term appear in the law?
Among other places in Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code on the liability of the possessor.
Is fire insurance the same?
That is the old term; the cover is wider now.
What is covered and what is not
What is covered
| Situation | Buildings insurance (opstalverzekering) | Home contents insurance (inboedelverzekering) |
|---|---|---|
| A brick shed on its own foundations burns down | Yes | No |
| The fitted kitchen and sanitary ware are damaged by a leaking pipe | Yes | No |
| Your sofa, clothing and television are made unusable by that same leak | No | Yes |
| Solar panels on your roof held by someone else under a right of superficies | Provided that | No |
| The fence and paving in the garden come down in a severe storm | Provided that | No |
| The foundations subside after years of drought and cracks appear | No | No |
The dividing line is whether something is permanently united with the land or the building; what you would take with you when you move belongs to the contents.