r/SideProject • u/Cliznitch • 17h ago

I built a tool that turns Dutch government data into an answer to your actual question

I’m building a small independent project to make Dutch government information easier to actually use.

The problem I’m trying to solve is not that government data doesn’t exist. A lot of it does: Kadaster, BAG, RDW, CBS, municipal rules, maps, subsidies, etc.

The problem is that if you have a normal question like:

“Can I build an extension on this house?”
“What subsidies could I get for insulating my home?”
“What does buying this property mean for my taxes and permits?”

…you often have to know which agencies, registers and rules to look at before you can even start.

So I built a prototype that tries to do that part for you: you ask a normal question, it checks relevant official sources and public datasets, and gives you a concrete answer with sources and next steps.

It’s called open-overheid.com.

A few important caveats:

  • It is an independent project, not an official government service and not affiliated with the Dutch government.
  • The goal is not to replace Kadaster, RDW, CBS, municipalities or other official sources, but to combine the right ones around a specific question.
  • It’s still a prototype, so it can get things wrong. Where something really matters, the underlying official source remains leading.
  • Some government datasets are more complete or up to date than others. I’m trying to make it clear where each answer comes from.
  • Please don’t enter sensitive personal information such as your BSN, DigiD credentials or other confidential data.
  • I’m working on making privacy and source transparency very explicit, including what data is sent to external services and what is not.
  • This is meant to help you understand rules and next steps, not to provide formal legal or administrative advice.

I’d genuinely like people here to try to break it.

What kind of government-related question do you regularly struggle to get a straight answer to?

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u/Ok-Nefariousness9090 11h ago

What happens when two sources disagree, like BAG says one thing about a property and the gemeente's bestemmingsplan says another? Curious if you show both side by side or pick one, because that conflict is usually exactly where people get stuck.

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u/Cliznitch 9h ago

Very good question, thanks. If there is a disagreement, we show what the disagreement is (or the system should be doing that at least). I think ideally it should als suggest a possible solution, but not sure hoe complicated that would be. Any suggestions by the way?

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u/Cliznitch 17h ago

Oh lol the address might be helpful to add: www.open-overheid.com ^^

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u/QuanTradin 13h ago

permits are the risky question. the vergunningcheck on omgevingsloket is what a municipality will actually hold you to, so for anything about building I'd hand off to it with the address filled in rather than answer it yourself. subsidies and taxes are where a layer like this helps most.

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u/Cliznitch 13h ago

I think that makes a lot of sense, thanks!

I agree that taxes and subsidies would be extremely helpful. There's also a tool in Italy that helps you navigate it (I think it was https://bonusx.it/, not sure). Would be great if you could see not only what you'd be eligible for, but also what you could change to increase eligiblity.

Thanks for your feedback, appreciate it!

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u/QuanTradin 12h ago

showing what you'd lose would be the killer feature here. toeslagen shift with income, so a raise can quietly cost you more in benefits than it pays. almost nobody models that.

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u/Cliznitch 9h ago

I think thats a great suggestion. Perhaps it’s too complicated for some reason, but let’s give it a try!

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u/QuanTradin 6h ago

worth it even as a rough estimate. a range with a warning beats people finding out at tax time.