Establishing a Business Improvement District (BIZ)

Do you want to invest in an attractive and safe business environment together with fellow entrepreneurs? If so, you can set up a Business Improvement Zone (Bedrijven Investeringszone, BIZ) in cooperation with fellow entrepreneurs. A BIZ is a zoned area in a business park or shopping area in the Netherlands.

How a BIZ should be established is determined by the Business Improvement District Act (BIZ Act, in Dutch) . The act determines, for example, the duration of the BIZ, the amount of the contribution, and requirements for setting up the BIZ.

Activities of a BIZ

A BIZ is a zone on a business park or in a shopping area. In this zone you, together with other entrepreneurs, pay for work to improve the area.

The activities of a BIZ are meant to complement the activities of the municipal authority. BIZ activities include, for instance:

• improving traffic infrastructure
• signage
• green spaces
• waste collection
• lighting
• cleaning, graffiti removal
• maintenance and repair of damage
• fire safety
• preventing and fighting crime by taking measures such as additional surveillance, fences, and closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras

Establishing a BIZ

If you want to set up a BIZ together with other entrepreneurs, you must submit a plan of establishment to the municipal authorities. In this plan you describe, among other things:

• how many entrepreneurs participate
• the establishment of a foundation or association
• which business park or shopping area is involved
• what you plan to improve and how much this will cost
• the duration of the BIZ (no more than 5 years)
• the BIZ contribution to the municipality

If the municipality agress, you and the municipality enter into an agreement to carry out the activities. These must be activities the municipality would not be able to do itself.

Obligatory BIZ levy

All entrepreneurs in the BIZ have to pay a BIZ contribution (in Dutch) to the munipality. The municipal authorities, in turn, make the proceeds available to the association or foundation that carries out the activities. With this money, your foundation or association will pay for the costs of improvements in the area. The amount owed depends on the WOZ value (WOZ-waarde) of your business or shop premises. It also depends on whether you are the owner or user of the property. You pay the contribution for as long as the BIZ exists. This is at most 5 years and can be extended for a maximum of 5 years.