Working with regulations in a protected cityscape can quickly become confusing. When your plot falls within a beschermd stadsgezicht, the rules around what you can build—especially in the rear yard—become significantly more complex.

Until now, our Permit Free checker addressed this by showing a disclaimer and linking to a static PDF, but we knew this experience could be improved.

The challenge

In protected cityscapes, it’s not enough to know that additional rules apply—you need to understand where you are still allowed to build.

The concept of the achtererfgebied is central here. It defines the part of your plot where certain types of development may still be possible, even under stricter heritage regulations. However, calculating this area manually from legal text is far from straightforward.

As a result, most users were left reading dense legal articles, interpreting definitions on their own, and ultimately guessing how those rules applied to their specific plot. That is exactly the kind of friction we set out to remove.

What we changed

Instead of relying on a generic disclaimer, our Permit Free checker now shows you the actual rear yard area directly on your plot.

When your location falls within a protected cityscape, we automatically detect that context, apply the relevant rules from article 22.28 of the omgevingsplan, and draw the achtererfgebied for your specific situation. This is then visualized immediately, so you can see at a glance where building may still be allowed.

What this means in practice

When you do a permit free check for a plot in a protected cityscape, you no longer have to interpret abstract regulations on your own.

Instead, you get a clear indication that special rules apply, along with a visual outline of the achtererfgebied on your plot. This gives you a much stronger starting point for assessing what is feasible and turns something that used to be theoretical into something concrete.

Why this matters

Protected cityscapes play an important role in preserving the character and history of an area. But preservation does not mean development is impossible—it simply requires a more nuanced understanding of what is allowed.

By making the achtererfgebied visible, we help you understand your possibilities faster, reduce the risk of misinterpreting regulations, and have more informed conversations with municipalities and advisors.

A step towards truly usable regulation

At Struck, we believe regulations should not only be accessible, but also understandable and actionable.

This update reflects that belief. Instead of sending you to a document, we translate legal text into something you can actually use—because knowing the rule is one thing, but seeing how it applies to your plot is what truly makes the difference.

Start your permit free check

Stop guessing and start seeing. Enter your address and get a clear view of what’s possible on your plot.