What types of housing are there?

The different house types

Anyone looking for a home will have probably noticed: different types of home types are offered on Echtmakelaars.nl, Funda or another website. Examples are a corner house, maisonette or a studio. In this blog we show you what types of homes there are and what exactly the differences are. For example, do you already know what the difference is between an end house and a corner house? Or between an upstairs apartment and a penthouse? Read it below.

Apartment

An apartment is a home in a larger building containing several homes, such as an apartment building. Colloquially, an apartment is also sometimes called a flat. When you talk about an apartment you are actually talking about the building where the apartment is located. Also with a penthouse, maisonette or porch flat, which are also located in an apartment building

Bel-floor

Ever heard of a mezzanine floor? A first floor is a type of home that you often see in old canal houses, castles and palaces. This type of home is located on the first floor, often located above a basement. The first floor is accessible via a monumental staircase from the inside and or outside of the building. A first floor consists of one floor.

Upstairs apartment

An upstairs apartment is a house located higher than the ground floor and can consist of several floors. Characteristic of an upstairs apartment is that the front door of the house is on the ground floor, which borders the street. You enter the upstairs apartment via an internal staircase that does not end in a porch.

Ground floor apartment

The house is located on the ground floor and can consist of several floors. The front door borders the street.

Bungalow

A detached house with one floor, sometimes a bungalow has a bedroom on the second floor, then it is called a semi-bungalow.

End house

An end home is a single-family home that is adjacent to an adjacent home. The difference between an end house and a corner house is that an end house has no (extra) associated land on the side of the house. Sometimes there is a piece of land with plants and flowers adjacent to the side of the house. Did you know that this piece of land does not belong to the house? This concerns municipal land.

gallery flat

In a gallery flat, the home is located in a building with other homes. The front door opens onto a corridor on the outside of the house.

porch flat

A porch apartment is an apartment house where the front door opens onto a communal lockable stairwell, a central hall or a closed porch.

Semi-detached (semi-detached) house

This type of home is a single-family home where the walls of extensions are partly adjacent to (extensions of) other homes. Even if the houses each have a separate roof structure, they fall under the definition of a semi-detached house.

Canal house

A house adjacent to the canal is called a canal house. An old canal house is often narrow, high and deep. The reason for this is that previously tax was levied on the land of the width of the facade. The front door is often located higher and is accessible by a monumental staircase on the inside and/or outside of the building. In the past, this was often built to prevent the risk of flooding. In this case the first floor is a ground floor.

Mansion

A townhouse is a relatively large single-family home located within a built-up area, with an emphatic architectural appearance in the streetscape through a striking (facade) presentation. Originally a mansion was a stately, high and fairly old building, but nowadays it also refers to the more expensive, better quality new-build home.

Corner house

A corner house is a single-family home that is adjacent to an adjacent house. The corner house is located at the beginning or end of the series of houses and has (extra) land belonging to the house on the side of the house.

small house

Maisonnette comes from French and means: house with an exit from reduction. It is a house in a large building, just like an apartment, only an apartment consists of one floor and a Maisonette always consists of two or more floors.

New construction home

A new-build home is a newly built home. If you buy a new-build home, you are the first owner. New-build homes are built by project developers, municipalities, housing associations and on behalf of private individuals or municipalities.

Penthouse

A penthouse is also called a roof apartment in Dutch. Only the word penthouse means more! It has an association with luxury and with both a large indoor and outdoor space. This type of home is always located in a building with several homes and is located on the top floor.

porch flat

A porch apartment is a house where the front door opens onto a communal, usually lockable, central hall or stairwell.

Studio

This type of home is an apartment consisting of one room. The room is your kitchen, living room and bedroom. The shower and toilet are separate or you share them with the neighbors.

terraced house

A terraced house is a single-family home where the dividing walls adjoin other buildings and the houses lie in an equal plane or line with respect to each other. The house that forms the corner of a closed building block (two series of houses are connected to each other) is also a terraced house.

Staggered house

A staggered house is the same as a terraced house. However, the houses are not on one line, but are staggered.

Villa

A villa is a spacious detached single-family home with two or more floors, surrounded by a large free space in the form of a garden or water.

Detached house

As the name suggests, the house is free or separate from other houses. You can walk around the house so you don't have any immediate neighbors.

Farmhouse

Residential farms are mainly former agricultural companies or farms that are now used as a residential destination.

Semi-detached house

These are two houses under one roof, also called a roof. It is also called a two-family home or a double home. The houses have a common dividing wall.

Semi-detached house

A semi-detached house is a single-family home of which:
– the main building is connected to the main building of one other object that is not a home; or
– the main building is connected to the main building of one other non-similar and shaped home (not being a terraced house and not being a semi-detached house).

Quadrant house

A quadrant house is a specific type of single-family home that is part of a block of four homes. Each house is adjacent to two other houses in this block of four.

Drive-in home

A drive-in home is a specific type of single-family home characterized by the indoor location of the garage in the main building mass of the object, as a result of which the space for the main living area is located on the floor above.

Non-existent housing types (real estate agent jargon) or common mistake

Semi-detached house (terraced house in a row of 3)
5/1-detached villa (very expensive terraced house often found in large cities)
Offering an end house as a corner house