perceelgericht

Perceelgericht is a term used in Dutch land administration and spatial planning to describe an approach in which the parcel (perceel) is the primary unit of analysis, management, and decision-making. The term combines perceel with gericht, meaning oriented toward or directed. In practice, perceelgericht means that policies, data models, and workflows are organized around individual parcels rather than around owners, buildings, or legal entities. This facilitates parcel-based zoning, valuation, taxation, and land-use planning, enabling alignment with cadastral boundaries and geographic information systems (GIS).

Applications include municipal planning processes, cadastral administration, and real estate transactions, where parcel-level information such as boundaries, size, ownership, and rights is essential for decision-making and administration. The concept supports integration of spatial data, improved accuracy in property tax assessments, and more targeted interventions at the parcel level, for example regarding development rights, environmental restrictions, or infrastructure investments.

In contrast, non-perceelgerichte approaches may organize data and decisions by owner or building rather than the land unit. Terminology and usage can vary by country or region; in the Netherlands, the term is most often found in planning and cadastral contexts and may appear in policy documents, GIS datasets, or legal texts. Criticism may include potential fragmentation if parcel boundaries do not align with planning objectives or if ownership changes complicate parcel-level management. See also: cadastral map, geographic information system, land-use planning, property tax.