Getting paid for work in the home: what can you ask for with urgent jobs and on completion?

With an urgent repair the customer called you for, you can demand payment on completion. With ordinary work in the home, a consumer usually has a 14-day cooling-off period. During that time you cannot demand payment, not even a deposit, unless the customer asked in writing for you to start early. If you arrange this properly in advance, you can settle up at the door by card or payment link on almost every job.

This article is about work for private customers (consumers). The rules on cooling-off periods and collection costs for consumers do not apply to work for businesses, owners' associations and contractors. The statutory provisions were read in the version in force in October 2026.

In this article

1. When does a private customer have a cooling-off period?
2. Can you settle up straight after an urgent job?
3. Can you ask for a deposit before the cooling-off period has ended?
4. Why is payment on completion better than an invoice afterwards?
5. Can you charge extra if the customer pays by card or credit card?
6. Can a customer pay for the job in cash?
7. What can you do if a private customer does not pay?

When does a private customer have a cooling-off period?

A consumer has a 14-day cooling-off period if you agree the job at his home and he accepts there and then. This also applies if the agreement was made only by phone, email or app. The cooling-off period is the time in which the customer may cancel the agreement without giving a reason. For a service, such as a repair or installation, the period starts on the day the contract is concluded (article 6:230o of the Dutch Civil Code).

The law calls this an off-premises contract (concluded somewhere other than your business premises, while you and the customer are both present) or a distance contract (concluded without seeing each other, through an organised system for distance selling) (article 6:230g of the Dutch Civil Code). An installation company that takes on jobs by phone, email or a form on its website quickly falls into that second group.

Did you visit the customer's home for a quote and does he only accept later, for example by email after a few days? Then he has no cooling-off period. The ACM, the Dutch consumer authority, says so literally on its consumer website: anyone who received a quote at home but only signs later has no cooling-off period (ACM ConsuWijzer). The difference lies in the moment of acceptance, not in the place of the work.

The rules also do not apply to a job at home of at most €50, nor to the construction of new buildings or a major renovation of an existing building (article 6:230h of the Dutch Civil Code). An ordinary repair, maintenance or replacing an appliance does not fall under that. For that work, assume there is a cooling-off period, unless one of the other exceptions applies.

If you do not tell the customer about his cooling-off period in advance, that period is extended by up to 12 months (article 6:230o(2) of the Dutch Civil Code). A customer can then still cancel long after the job. So put the cooling-off period in every quote and confirmation, with the model withdrawal form that the ACM offers free of charge (ACM).

Can you settle up straight after an urgent job?

Yes. If the customer asked you to come round for an urgent repair or urgent maintenance, he has no right to cancel the agreement (article 6:230p(b) of the Dutch Civil Code). There is then no cooling-off period, and you can demand payment on completion. The ACM gives emergency services at home for a leak or blockage as an example (ACM).

The exception only applies to the repair itself. Extra work the customer did not explicitly ask for is not covered. The same applies to items you supply that are not needed for the repair (article 6:230p(b) of the Dutch Civil Code). If you fix a leak and the customer also wants a new tap straight away, the cooling-off period does apply to that tap.

So record on the job sheet that the customer called you for an urgent repair, and what exactly you did. Put extra work on a separate line or in a separate order. That way you can have the repair paid for straight away, and the customer knows what he still has time to think about.

Can you ask for a deposit before the cooling-off period has ended?

No, you cannot demand one. With a contract concluded at home or remotely, you can only claim payment once the cooling-off period has ended (article 6:230t(5) of the Dutch Civil Code). This also applies to a deposit. So you cannot oblige the customer to pay part in advance during the first 14 days.

If the customer still pays in advance voluntarily and cancels within the cooling-off period, you must refund everything he paid within 14 days, using the same means of payment he used (article 6:230r of the Dutch Civil Code). So a deposit gives you no certainty during that period. It does not cover the cost of materials you have already ordered.

Does the customer want you to start within the 14 days? That is only allowed if he explicitly asks for it himself, with a written statement on paper or by email (article 6:230t(3) of the Dutch Civil Code). If he then still cancels, he pays for the part of the work already done (article 6:230s(4) of the Dutch Civil Code). Once the work is fully completed, his right to cancel lapses, if he declared in advance that he waives it (article 6:230p(d) of the Dutch Civil Code).

The ACM describes the order for businesses in four steps: tell the customer in advance that he will pay for what has already been delivered, ask for his consent, put that consent in the confirmation, and only then start. According to the ACM, anyone who does not do this runs the risk of not being paid for what has already been delivered (ACM).

Why is payment on completion better than an invoice afterwards?

Because paying for something that is already over feels heavier to the customer than paying at the moment itself. Behavioural research shows that people feel the pain of paying (the unpleasant feeling when spending money) more strongly when they pay for something they have already used. They prefer to pay in advance or to settle up while they still see the result in front of them (Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998).

In that study, this model fitted the behaviour of 60% of participants better than a standard economic calculation, which fitted better for only 29% (Prelec & Loewenstein, 1998). These were surveys among consumers, not installation companies. Still, it matches what you see in practice: an invoice for a leak from three weeks ago is left unpaid more often than a payment at the front door.

So settle up with a mobile card terminal or send a payment link (a payment request by text, email or app) as soon as the work is done. You can do this straight away for an urgent repair, for a job completed after the cooling-off period, and for a job the customer asked in writing to start early and that is fully completed. Hand over the invoice the same day or send it straight afterwards.

Can you charge extra if the customer pays by card or credit card?

No, not for most means of payment. You cannot charge a consumer a surcharge for payment instruments covered by the European rules on card fees, nor for transfers and direct debits in euros (article 7:520(4) of the Dutch Civil Code). According to the Consumentenbond, the Dutch consumers' association, this covers the debit card, credit cards from Visa and Mastercard among others, bank transfers and direct debits (Consumentenbond, 2026).

For other means of payment, a surcharge may in any case never be higher than what that means of payment costs you (article 6:230k of the Dutch Civil Code). Whether a surcharge for iDEAL is allowed is not clear-cut: the Consumentenbond gives iDEAL as an example where it is allowed (Consumentenbond, 2026), but the law and the regulator are less clear on this. So do not charge a surcharge. Quote one price and include the cost of the card terminal in your rate.

Can a customer pay for the job in cash?

Yes, but not without limits. Since 1 January 2026, a business that sells goods may not accept payment of €3,000 or more in cash for those goods (article 1f of the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering Act, SRA, 2025). The ban also applies if the customer pays the amount in related instalments. A boiler, a central heating boiler or a heat pump that you supply and install counts as goods.

For services, Ondernemersplein, the government's business portal, gives a limit of €10,000 for cash transactions (Ondernemersplein). How these two limits work out for a job with both labour and materials is not set out in the law or on the government websites. So never accept €3,000 or more in cash for a job. That way you are sure to stay below the strictest limit.

What can you do if a private customer does not pay?

First send a reminder and then a 14-day letter. That is a formal reminder giving the customer 14 days to pay, stating which collection costs he will pay if he does not. Only once that period has passed without payment can you charge collection costs (article 6:96(6) of the Dutch Civil Code).

The 14 days start on the day after the customer received the letter, not on the day you send it. That was the ruling of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. If the customer disputes receipt, you must be able to show that and when the letter arrived (Supreme Court, 25 November 2016). So allow a few extra days and keep proof of sending.

The amount of the collection costs is fixed in a scale: 15% on the first €2,500, 10% on the next €2,500 and less after that, with a minimum of €40 (Decree on compensation for extrajudicial collection costs). In addition, you may charge statutory interest on the overdue amount. For consumers, this has been 4% a year since 1 January 2026 (Dutch government).

A short, personal reminder helps. In a large randomised trial in the United Kingdom, people with an outstanding fine paid more often after a text message, especially when it addressed them by name (Haynes et al., 2013). These were court fines, not invoices. Still, a text message with the customer's name and a payment link is a cheap first step.

If you hand the claim over, choose a collection agency listed in the Justis register. Since 1 October 2026, a debtor does not have to pay collection costs or accruing interest if the agency is not registered. The original debt does remain (Dutch government, 2026).

Do not wait too long either. A claim under a contract is in principle time-barred after 5 years (article 3:307 of the Dutch Civil Code). If you mainly sell a consumer a product, such as a boiler that you connect, it may be a consumer sale. Your claim for the price is then time-barred after only 2 years (article 7:28 of the Dutch Civil Code). So invoice straight away and to be safe assume 2 years.

Sources

• Prelec, D. & Loewenstein, G. (1998). The red and the black: Mental accounting of savings and debt. Marketing Science, 17(1), 4-28. doi.org
• Haynes, L.C., Green, D.P., Gallagher, R., John, P. & Torgerson, D.J. (2013). Collection of delinquent fines: An adaptive randomized trial to assess the effectiveness of alternative text messages. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 32(4), 718-730. doi.org
• Dutch Civil Code Book 6, articles 6:96, 6:230g, 6:230h, 6:230k, 6:230o, 6:230p, 6:230r, 6:230s and 6:230t, in force from 16 July 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Dutch Civil Code Book 7, articles 7:28 and 7:520, in force from 8 October 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Dutch Civil Code Book 3, article 3:307, in force from 1 July 2025. wetten.overheid.nl
• Decree on compensation for extrajudicial collection costs (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten), article 2, in force from 1 October 2024. wetten.overheid.nl
• Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft), article 1f, in force from 1 July 2026. wetten.overheid.nl
• Supreme Court of the Netherlands (25 November 2016). ECLI:NL:HR:2016:2704, preliminary ruling on the 14-day letter. rechtspraak.nl
• ACM. Cooling-off period (information for businesses), consulted October 2026. acm.nl
• ACM ConsuWijzer. Cancelling a job, course or assignment, consulted October 2026. consument.acm.nl
• Consumentenbond (updated 31 August 2026). Surcharges for payments on online purchases. consumentenbond.nl
• Ondernemersplein (RVO). Rules for cash, consulted October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl
• SRA (19 November 2025). Cash payments of €3,000 or more banned from 2026. sra.nl
• Dutch government. Statutory interest rate, consulted October 2026. rijksoverheid.nl
• Dutch government (21 September 2026). No collection costs with an unregistered debt collection service. rijksoverheid.nl