What Does Article 7:758 of the Dutch Civil Code Say?
Article 7:758 of the Dutch Civil Code governs the moment a contracted work is delivered. Once the contractor reports the work ready and the principal accepts it, expressly or by silence, the work is delivered, risk passes to the principal, and the contractor is released from defects the principal should have spotted. For construction works, the contractor remains liable for defects not discovered at delivery unless they cannot be attributed to the contractor.
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What Is the Text of Article 7:758?
English translation (unofficial, by the Dutch Law Institute):
1 If the contractor has indicated that the work is ready for delivery and the principal does not, within a reasonable period, inspect the work and accept it, with or without reservation, or refuse it with an indication of the defects, the principal is deemed to have accepted the work tacitly. After acceptance, the work is regarded as delivered.
2 After delivery, the work is at the risk of the principal. Accordingly, the principal remains liable for the price, regardless of destruction or deterioration of the work through a cause that cannot be attributed to the contractor.
3 The contractor is released from liability for defects that the principal should reasonably have discovered at the time of delivery.
4 By way of derogation from paragraph 3, in the case of a contract for the construction of structures, the contractor is liable for defects that were not discovered at the delivery of the work, unless those defects cannot be attributed to the contractor. This paragraph cannot be departed from to the detriment of the principal insofar as the principal is a natural person not acting in the course of a profession or business. In other cases, this paragraph may be departed from to the detriment of the principal only if this is expressly included in the contract.
Dutch text (Burgerlijk Wetboek Book 7, article 758):
1 Indien de aannemer te kennen heeft gegeven dat het werk klaar is om te worden opgeleverd en de opdrachtgever het werk niet binnen een redelijke termijn keurt en al dan niet onder voorbehoud aanvaardt dan wel onder aanwijzing van de gebreken weigert, wordt de opdrachtgever geacht het werk stilzwijgend te hebben aanvaard. Na de aanvaarding wordt het werk als opgeleverd beschouwd.
2 Na oplevering is het werk voor risico van de opdrachtgever. Derhalve blijft hij de prijs verschuldigd, ongeacht tenietgaan of achteruitgang van het werk door een oorzaak die niet aan de aannemer kan worden toegerekend.
3 De aannemer is ontslagen van de aansprakelijkheid voor gebreken die de opdrachtgever op het tijdstip van oplevering redelijkerwijs had moeten ontdekken.
4 In afwijking van het derde lid, is bij aanneming van bouwwerken de aannemer aansprakelijk voor gebreken die bij de oplevering van het werk niet zijn ontdekt, tenzij deze gebreken niet aan de aannemer zijn toe te rekenen. Van dit lid kan niet ten nadele van de opdrachtgever worden afgeweken, voor zover de opdrachtgever een natuurlijk persoon is die niet handelt in de uitoefening van een beroep of bedrijf. In andere gevallen kan van dit lid alleen ten nadele van de opdrachtgever worden afgeweken, indien dit uitdrukkelijk in de overeenkomst is opgenomen.
Dutch text as in force from 1 July 2026, taken from wetten.overheid.nl, the official source of Dutch legislation. The English translation is not official; in case of doubt the Dutch text prevails.
What Does Article 7:758 Mean?
Article 7:758 belongs to the rules on contracts for work (aanneming van werk): contracts under which a contractor undertakes, outside employment, to create and deliver a work of a physical nature for a price (Article 7:750 of the Dutch Civil Code). Building a house, renovating an office, installing machinery or constructing a road are typical examples.
The article makes delivery (oplevering) the turning point of the contract. Three legal consequences are attached to it: the work is at the principal's risk, the price remains payable even if the work is lost without the contractor's fault, and the contractor is freed from liability for defects that the principal should have noticed at that moment.
When Is a Work Accepted and Delivered?
The process starts with the contractor: it must indicate that the work is ready for delivery. The principal then has a reasonable period to inspect the work and either accept it, with or without reservation, or refuse it while stating the defects.
A principal who does nothing within that reasonable period is deemed to have accepted the work tacitly (paragraph 1). Silence therefore has legal effect. A principal who wants to keep options open should inspect promptly and record any defects in writing, either as a reservation on acceptance or as a reasoned refusal.
Once accepted, the work is regarded as delivered. The statute does not fix what counts as a reasonable period; that depends on the work and the circumstances.
Who Bears the Risk after Delivery?
After delivery the work is at the principal's risk (paragraph 2). If the work is destroyed or deteriorates afterwards through a cause that cannot be attributed to the contractor, the principal still has to pay the price. Before delivery, the risk of such loss remains with the contractor, which is why the moment of delivery is often important for insurance.
Is the Contractor Still Liable for Defects after Delivery?
The general rule in paragraph 3 is that the contractor is released from liability for defects the principal should reasonably have discovered at delivery. Hidden defects remain the contractor's responsibility.
For contracts for the construction of structures (bouwwerken), paragraph 4 goes further: the contractor is liable for all defects not discovered at delivery, unless they cannot be attributed to the contractor. For a consumer principal (a natural person not acting in the course of a profession or business), that rule is mandatory. Other principals can agree otherwise, but only if the contract says so expressly.
After delivery, the principal must normally first give the contractor the opportunity to remove defects within a reasonable period (Article 7:759 of the Dutch Civil Code), and a claim for a defect is time-barred two years after the principal complained about it, and in any event twenty years after delivery for construction works and ten years in other cases (Article 7:761 of the Dutch Civil Code).
What Extra Rules Apply When a Consumer Has a Home Built?
Where a natural person not acting in the course of a profession or business has a home built, a separate section of the Code adds protections (Article 7:765). The contract must be in writing, and the principal may dissolve it within three days after receiving the signed document (Article 7:766). Payments may only be required roughly in line with the progress of the building, although a deposit of up to 10% of the contract sum with a notary may be stipulated (Article 7:767). At the end, the principal may withhold up to 5% of the contract sum from the last instalment or instalments and deposit it with a notary, while retaining the right to delivery (Article 7:768).
How Does Article 7:758 Work in Practice?
Silence after a delivery notice. A contractor informs the principal that a renovated office is ready. The principal does not inspect it and says nothing for several weeks while using the premises. Unless that period was not yet reasonable, the work is deemed accepted and therefore delivered, and the principal bears the risk from then on.
A visible defect. At delivery of a commercial fit-out, a clearly damaged floor is visible but nobody mentions it. Outside construction works, the contractor is released from liability for defects the principal should reasonably have discovered at delivery.
A hidden defect in a building. Months after delivery of a new warehouse, water leaks through a roof seam that could not be seen at delivery. For construction works, the contractor is liable for defects not discovered at delivery unless they cannot be attributed to it. The principal should complain promptly: the two-year limitation period of Article 7:761 runs from the complaint.
Which Provisions Are Related to Article 7:758?
- Article 7:750: definition of a contract for work.
- Article 7:754: the contractor's duty to warn about errors in the assignment and defects in materials or plans supplied by the principal.
- Article 7:759: the opportunity to remedy defects after delivery.
- Article 7:761: the limitation periods for claims about defects.
- Article 7:764: the principal's right to terminate the contract at any time.
- Article 7:768: for a consumer building a home, the right to withhold up to 5% of the contract sum at the end and deposit it with a notary.
Related Provisions and Guides
Related articles in this library:
- Article 7:764 of the Dutch Civil Code: Principal's right to terminate a works contract
- Article 6:74 of the Dutch Civil Code: Liability for non-performance
- Article 6:265 of the Dutch Civil Code: Rescission for non-performance
Further reading on dutch-law.com:
All articles: the Dutch Civil Code in English.