Documentation for every window and door, growing from a few sheets of paper into a bulging folder. That is the nightmare scenario Dutch industry associations are painting regarding new requirements that are poised to be adopted by the European Parliament. They are asking the minister to vote against them.
The European Commission plans to publish a so-called Standardization Request, which specifies what information and supporting documentation manufacturers will be required to provide for construction products in the future. However, according to industry associations, the current draft would mean that for nearly all windows and doors in a project, a great deal of additional technical information would have to be included, additional testing would have to be conducted, extensive data on materials and environmental impact would have to be collected for each door and window, and that new digital documentation would have to be added. According to the alliance, this effort is disproportionate to the benefits for building owners and consumers.
Documentation is turning into an overflowing folder
The main issue is that window and door frames—including windows and doors—are often custom-made. And even changes to dimensions, glazing, panel fillings, hardware, or fittings create new product variants that require their own extensive documentation. This would cause the workload to skyrocket. According to industry estimates, the documentation for the window and door frames in a single-family home could grow from a few pages to a bulging folder.
The place where it hurts
If this goes ahead, it will mean additional administrative staff, external testing, new IT systems, and the ongoing maintenance of large amounts of data for small and medium-sized construction businesses. And all of that costs time and money. These additional costs would ultimately be borne by building owners, investors, buyers, and tenants.
And with that, they’re hitting Minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan where it hurts. Because such a surge in costs and bureaucracy would come at the worst possible time for her as well: the Netherlands needs more new construction, a faster pace of renovation, and additional investments in energy efficiency. These kinds of new rules, which increase the workload and costs, could once again contribute to delays in all sorts of projects. Moreover, the associations believe that many small and medium-sized businesses won’t be able to cope and will go under.
Aren’t the rules missing the mark?
So now six industry associations—VMRG, VKG, NBVT, the Glass Division of Bouwend Nederland, VHS, and NH -I—are calling on the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) in a joint letter to advocate for a Dutch “No” vote in the upcoming referendum. The associations emphasize that their goal is not to prevent uniform European rules. The draft must be revised so that the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises remains manageable and the construction sector does not become unnecessarily more expensive.
