2027 is set to be a busy year for construction. Housing construction is approaching 100,000 homes a year, non-residential construction is picking up again and the government is focusing on large-scale housing areas and factory-built homes. For project managers and main contractors that means more projects at once, in a labour market that remains tight. Fire protection is often a cost item that is procured late, while the choices that decide it are made early in the project. This overview sets out the figures and plans as they stood in October 2026, and shows where fire safety on large projects needs attention.

How much will be built in 2027?

The forecasts differ, because they measure slightly different things. In its July 2026 forecast, ABF Research expects almost 100,000 homes to be added in 2027 (99,700); according to ABF, output then dips slightly. The Economisch Instituut voor de Bouw (EIB) is more cautious and expects 84,000 completed new-build homes in 2027.

SourceOutlook for 2027
ABF Research, July 2026Almost 100,000 new homes (99,700); slightly fewer afterwards.
EIB, January 202684,000 completed new-build homes; total construction output grows by 4.5%.
EIB, January 2026Recovery in non-residential construction, especially shops and offices, and extra investment in logistics buildings due to higher defence spending.

There is no shortage of plans: for 2025 to 2030, municipalities have almost a million homes (932,300) in the pipeline. According to the EIB, the brake lies mainly in execution, because the labour market in construction remains tight. So expect that the deployment of specialist subcontractors also has to be secured early.

Where are the large housing projects?

The national government has designated 26 areas as national large-scale housing locations, together accounting for more than 400,000 new homes up to and including 2035. They are mainly inner-city areas around stations and canal zones, and new urban districts. A selection from the list:

  • Zuid-Holland: Den Haag CID Binckhorst (some 20,000 homes in CID and the Binckhorst together), Rotterdam Oostflank and the Oude Lijn, the railway corridor between Leiden and Dordrecht.
  • Utrecht and Amsterdam: Utrecht Groot Merwede & Rijnenburg, Haven-Stad in Amsterdam, and MRA West and MRA Oost.
  • Brabant and the east: the Internationale Knoop-XL in Eindhoven, the Brabantse Stedenrij, the Kanaalzone and Stationsgebied in Nijmegen, Arnhem Spoorzone-Oost, Zwolle Spoorzone, Apeldoorn, Helmond Centrum+ and the Spoorzone Hengelo-Enschede.
  • North and centre: Groningen Suikerzijde and Stadshavens, the Spoor- en A1-zone in Amersfoort, Regio Foodvalley and the Alkmaars Kanaal.

The five newest locations were designated on September 1, 2026, for the accelerated construction of some 30,000 homes in total over ten years: Deventer (Centrum, Schil and Keizerslanden), Haarlem Schalkwijk, Leeuwarden Middelsee-Spoordok, Maastricht Spoorzone and Weert Spoorzone. Five more locations will follow this autumn with the Nota Ruimte.

For fire safety, this mainly means multi-storey construction at high densities, often as high-rise near a station. Homes are separated from each other and from stairwells, access galleries and storage rooms by fire separations, and shafts, meter cupboards and pipes break through those separations in hundreds of places per building. A wrongly chosen detail recurs in every home. Read how we approach this in fire protection in apartment buildings, and for the Den Haag region on fire protection in Den Haag.

Factory-built: where does the fire separation end up?

In the Actieplan Versnelling Woningbouw (housing acceleration action plan) of September 21, 2026, the government is betting on factory-based construction: by 2030, half of all new homes should come from the factory. Homes with an approved housing concept should then be able to be built without a separate building-technical permit, and the design and permit process, currently eight years on average, should be halved by 2030.

This shifts part of the fire protection to the factory: walls, floors and penetrations within a module are made under controlled conditions. What remains on site is precisely the work that is hardest to check: the connections between modules, shafts running through several modules, the pipes to the meter cupboard and the connection to a concrete core or stairwell. An approved concept says something about the design; whether the work on site matches it has to be recorded for each project. So agree in advance who seals and documents the connections and penetrations on site.

Non-residential construction, healthcare, defence and data centres

Non-residential construction. After a few lean years, the EIB expects a recovery from 2027, especially for shops and offices. Offices have a lot of building services per square metre, and therefore many penetrations through fire separations; see fire-resistant penetrations in non-residential buildings.

Healthcare. Several large hospital projects are under way in 2027. According to the hospitals' own schedules, the new building of Frisius MC in Leeuwarden, with the ICU, the operating theatre complex and day treatment, is due to be ready at the end of 2027, the new Slingeland Ziekenhuis in Doetinchem goes into use in mid-2027, and work starts in 2027 on, among others, the redevelopment of the Groene Hart Ziekenhuis in Gouda (phased up to and including 2031) and the new St Jansdal hospital in Lelystad. Where people stay who cannot escape unaided, compartmentation is finer-grained and smoke resistance carries more weight; see fire safety in healthcare institutions.

Defence. Over the coming years, the Ministry of Defence has to build or replace some 2.5 million square metres of real estate, largely standardised and industrialised. This runs partly through the Commandopost Vastgoed, a partnership of Defence and the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (Central Government Real Estate Agency) with major construction companies. The same applies there: standardisation only works if the fire-resistant detail of the first building is right.

Data centres. Since June 2025, Amsterdam no longer allows new large data centres, and according to Cushman & Wakefield, growth is shifting to places such as the Eemshaven and Middenmeer. Grid congestion and permits are slowing growth. In data centres, fire safety revolves around compartmentation and around penetrations that have to be reassessed with every change; see fire safety in data centres.

Which rules change around 2027?

Facades of tall buildings. In 2023, stricter requirements for high-rise facades were adopted in the Besluit bouwwerken leefomgeving (Bbl) (Staatsblad 2023, 426). The facade of a building in which people sleep must meet fire class A2 above 50 metres, and above 30 metres where people with reduced self-reliance sleep; for windows, doors and frames, class B is sufficient. In addition, in tall buildings in which people sleep, a space with a floor above 50 metres must have a WBDBO of 120 minutes relative to fire compartments whose floor is 20 metres lower (Article 4.53a). The requirements only apply once the test method is fixed: NEN has published NPR 6999 for this, and the minister sets the required level in the Omgevingsregeling. In October 2026 the requirements were not yet in force. If you are now designing a high-rise building for which the permit will be applied for in 2027 or later, check which requirements apply at the time of the application.

Wet kwaliteitsborging (Wkb, Building Quality Assurance Act). The Wkb still only applies to consequence class 1, such as ground-level houses and simple commercial buildings. For apartment buildings, offices and healthcare buildings (consequence classes 2 and 3) there is no start date yet: after the interim evaluation of 2026, an evaluation follows in 2027, and introduction for the higher consequence classes depends on its outcome. The Wkb for renovations has also been postponed for the time being. A file showing which system has been applied where is the basis for a handover without disputes, with or without the Wkb.

Charging points. With the first tranche of the European buildings directive (EPBD IV), new requirements for charging infrastructure have applied since May 29, 2026 to new construction and major renovation of non-residential buildings (Staatsblad 2026, 103). More charging points in car parks also call for attention to fire safety there; see fire safety and charging infrastructure in car parks.

What does this mean for your project?

  • Assign the fire-resistant scope early. With more projects at once and a tight labour market, fire protection that is only procured during the finishing stage is a scheduling risk. A quotation per item with unit prices is often already possible in the tender phase.
  • Choose the system with the openings plan. Whether a penetration falls within a system's field of application depends on the opening size, the distances and the build-up of the wall or floor. That can still be steered during work preparation, but usually no longer on site.
  • Standardise the first detail. In multi-storey housing, modular construction and standardised defence buildings, every detail is repeated. Assess the first one together before it is repeated.
  • Assign the connections on site. With factory-built construction, the risk lies in what happens between the modules. Record who seals and documents that.
  • Deliver a file per penetration. With location, system, documentation, date and photo, what was done can be demonstrated at handover, whether or not the Wkb applies.
  • Keep an eye on the facade rules for high-rise. Check for each project which requirements apply at the time of the application.

Working on a project from about 1 million euros building cost? Read how we take over the fire-resistant scope on large construction projects from start to finish, or submit a project request directly.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

In its July 2026 forecast, ABF Research expects almost 100,000 new homes (99,700). The EIB is more cautious and expects 84,000 completed new-build homes. The figures do not measure exactly the same thing, but both point to more housing construction than in 2025.

Not yet. The Wkb applies only to consequence class 1, such as ground-level houses. For consequence classes 2 and 3, which include most apartment buildings, there is no start date yet; it depends on the evaluation in 2027.

The requirements were adopted in 2023, but only apply once the test method and the required level are set out in the Omgevingsregeling. NEN has published the test method NPR 6999. In October 2026 the requirements were not yet in force; check for each project which requirements apply at the time of the permit application.

Preferably in the tender phase or during work preparation, before the openings plan is fixed. The system per type of penetration, the sealing rounds per construction phase and the delivery file can then still be built into the schedule.

Want to know more about fire-resistant seals?

Sealing penetrations against fire with collars, wrap strips, sealant, mortar or other systems with a substantiated application, so that the WBDBO of your fire separation stays intact.

More about fire-resistant seals