Over the years ahead, there will be lots of work taking place in Zuidas, on Zuidasdok and various other Zuidas projects. As a result, you may find that you suffer loss or damages. If this happens, there are various schemes available that can provide assistance.

There are three types of loss or damage, each of which is dealt with in a different way:

• Construction damage
• Planning damage
• Loss compensation
• Construction damage

Construction damage

Any damage caused by building work is referred to as construction damage. This may be damage caused by a machine or lorry that accidentally hits your building or vehicle. Or damage to your home or company property caused when sheet piling is installed or removed. This concerns loss or damage that is a direct consequence of the work.

Liability

If you sustain construction damage, you must hold the party responsible for causing this construction damage liable. This may be the construction company that owns or is responsible for the lorry that hit your building or vehicle. Because there are many different construction projects in the area, it can be difficult to identify who caused it. In that case, Amsterdam Zuidas will help you to find the party to be held liable.

Submitting claims

If you have sustained construction damage, you can report this to the Amsterdam Zuidas Information Centre. For this purpose, you should complete the general damages form. The Information Centre will ensure that your claim reaches the right contractor. The contractor will then be responsible for settling the damage or loss. You will then have direct contact with the contractor or their insurance company.

Planning damage

Planning damage is damage or loss caused by changes to planning decisions made by central or local government. For example, a home or company property may lose value due to a route decision or a change to the zoning plan. Perhaps your home previously had a view of the park but this will now be obstructed by a block of flats because of a change to the zoning plan. Or, if the road is widened, the noise nuisance caused by the road could permanently increase.

Plans that cause damage or loss

For the development of Zuidas and construction of Zuidasdok, several plans have been drawn up or amended that may result in planning damage: the route decision, two route decision changes, zoning plans, development plans, zoning plan changes and, in some cases, environmental permits that deviate from a zoning plan. The route decisions are agreed by central government and the other plans by the City of Amsterdam. In order for a decision to be made on the claim, the plan in question must be irrevocable.

Central government or City of Amsterdam

The authority responsible for handling your claim for damages depends on the planning amendment or decision that resulted in your damage or loss. If your claim concerns the Route Decision, an independent advisory committee appointed by the Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management will issue advice to the Minister. The Minister will decide whether payment will be made. The procedure for this is described (in Dutch) in the Infrastructure and Environment Loss Compensation Policy Rule 2014 (Beleidsregel nadeelcompensatie Infrastructuur en Milieu 2014). In the assessment process, several key principles from Chapter 6.1 of the Spatial Planning Act (Wet ruimtelijke ordening) apply.

If, in your judgement, the damage or loss is a result of one of the zoning plans or an environmental permit that departs from the zoning plan, your claim will be handled by an independent advisory committee of the City of Amsterdam. The procedure and the scheme itself are described (in Dutch) in the City of Amsterdam’s regulations on planning damage claims and advice on compensation for planning damage (Regeling planschadeverzoeken en advisering tegemoetkoming in planschade gemeente Amsterdam) and in Chapter 6.1 of the Spatial Planning Act.

Conditions

The Spatial Planning Act stipulates the conditions that your claim must meet in order to be eligible for compensation. The most important of these are:

• You will not be eligible for compensation if you are entitled to compensation in some other way. This may be because you have already been bought out or have insurance to cover the loss or damage.
• The damage or loss incurred must go beyond what is considered to be ‘normal social risk’ or ‘normal business risk’. These terms are used to describe developments that anyone in the Netherlands can face and which anyone should or can be expected to take into account. This always applies to loss or damage lower than €1,000 (central government scheme).
• You must have been unable to foresee the decision that led to the planning change. For example, if the decision was already known when you purchased your property, you could have taken this into account during the purchase and will therefore not be eligible for damage compensation.

Submitting claims

If you think you are eligible to claim for planning damage compensation, you can submit an application to the Amsterdam Zuidas Information Centre. This is done using a general damages form. Based on this form, they will decide which compensation scheme applies to your application. They will then refer you to the appropriate authority to deal with your claim: the City of Amsterdam damages committee or the Minister. The committee concerned will be responsible for the further handling of your damage claim.

Costs

If you submit an application for planning damage compensation to the Minister, you will not be charged a handling fee. If your claim is processed by the City of Amsterdam, the handling fee payable will be €300. If the planning damage compensation is granted partially or in full, this fee will be refunded.

Loss compensation

The development of Zuidas and work on Zuidasdok will both last for several years. You may experience loss or inconvenience during this period of construction. Examples include loss of turnover for your company because of poor accessibility or noise nuisance or a loss of value to your home because it is next to a construction site. In principle, the cost of any such loss is payable by the injured party. Only in the exceptional situation of your company being disproportionately affected will you have the right to compensation for the damage.

Implementation decisions or acts

For the development of Zuidas and construction of Zuidasdok, implementation decisions may be made. It is also possible that implementation acts are taken in order to achieve plans that have previously been approved. These decisions or acts can cause you to sustain losses, for example in the form of disruption or nuisance.

Central government or City of Amsterdam

The authority responsible for handling your claim for compensation depends on the decision or act that resulted in your damage or loss. If your claim concerns an implementation decision or act by the Minister, an independent advisory committee set up by the Minister will issue advice to the Minister. The Minister will decide whether payment will be made. In this process, the Infrastructure and Environment Loss Compensation Policy Rule 2014 (Beleidsregel nadeelcompensatie Infrastructuur en Milieu 2014) will apply. If your claim concerns an implementation decision or act by the City of Amsterdam, your claim will be handled by an independent advisory committee of the City of Amsterdam. In this process, the General Loss Compensation Regulation (Algemene Verordening Nadeelcompensatie) will apply.

Conditions

The two official documents referred to above stipulate the conditions that your claim must meet in order to be eligible for compensation. The most important of these are:

• You will not be eligible for compensation if you are entitled to compensation in some other way.
• The damage or loss incurred must go beyond what is considered to be ‘normal social risk’ or ‘normal business risk’. These terms are used to describe developments that anyone in the Netherlands can face and which anyone should or can be expected to take into account. This always applies to loss or damage lower than €1,000 (central government scheme) and €750 (City of Amsterdam scheme).
• You must have been unable to foresee the decision that led to the planning change.

Submitting claims

If you think you are eligible to claim for loss compensation, you can submit an application to the Amsterdam Zuidas Information Centre. This is done using a general damages form. Based on this form, they will decide which compensation scheme applies to your application. They will then refer you to the appropriate authority to deal with your claim: the City of Amsterdam damages committee or the Minister. The committee concerned will be responsible for the further handling of your claim.

Costs

If you submit an application for loss compensation to the City of Amsterdam, a fee of €300 will be charged. If the loss compensation is granted partially or in full, this fee will be refunded.

Reporting loss or damage