Private swimming pools surge across affluent Amsterdam neighbourhoods

A growing number of Amsterdam residents are installing private swimming pools in their basements and gardens.

City permit records show that at least 27 private pools were approved over the past ten years.

Between 2015 and 2019, the municipality issued no more than one pool permit per year, but approvals rose to around five or six annually starting in 2020.

Concentration in wealthy districts

The total number is likely higher, as garden pools do not always require a permit and records only capture applications that specifically contain the word pool.

The vast majority of applications are concentrated in Amsterdam-Zuid rather than areas with more open space, such as Noord.

According to research into eighteen applicants, most are Dutch-born men with an average age of 51, working in technology, healthcare, real estate, or the oil and gas sector.

While some properties serve as primary residences for local families adapting to warmer summers, other sites involve deep excavations beneath luxury villas.

High costs and structural risks

Pool builders report that a high-end underground installation typically costs between 150,000 and 200,000 euros.

These projects often form part of broader home wellness centres that include saunas, gyms, hot tubs, and ice baths.

Extensive basement digs have sparked occasional neighbourhood objections over risks to historic seventeenth-century foundation piles and shared structural walls.

Since 2021, basement constructions in Amsterdam are legally required to remain groundwater neutral so local water levels do not drop.

Source: Het Parool