Cemeteries
What is it?
Grave rights
You rent a grave in a cemetery for a specific term. You are then the rightful owner of the grave. As the rightful owner of a grave you can:
- Renew or waive grave rights.
- Transferring grave rights to someone else. We also call this change of tenure.
- Is the owner of the grave deceased and the legal term of grave rest has not yet expired? Then you must transfer the grave rights to another (natural) person. If this does not happen, the municipality will receive the grave rights.
To renew, terminate or change the ascription of grave rights for General Cemetery 't Zand, please fill out the form using the button below. For other cemeteries, please contact the cemetery administrator.
Permit Excavation, reburial and cremation
You can have a remains exhumed if you want to bury the deceased in another grave. You can also still cremate the corpse.You need a permit to exhume a corpse. This can be done either within 2 months after the burial or at least 10 years after. The mayor reviews the application.To obtain a permit to exhume, you or your funeral director can fill out the form using the button below.
Burial or cremation by the municipality
Article 21 of the Burial Act states that the municipality has the duty to arrange the funeral if someone dies within the municipal boundaries whose next of kin are unknown or whose next of kin are unable to pay for the funeral. The municipality then becomes the principal of the funeral. The municipality also determines how the funeral will be conducted. The cost of the funeral, if possible, is paid from the deceased's estate. If this is not sufficient, the next of kin in the first degree are called upon to pay the (remaining) amount.
Scattering ashes
After cremation, next of kin do not receive the ashes of the deceased immediately. The ash container containing the ashes must be kept for at least 1 month. The urn remains at the crematorium. After that, you may decide what you want to do with the ashes. For example, you can scatter the ashes, take them home or have them interred in an urn wall.
Do you wish to scatter ashes? You may not cause a nuisance. In addition, it is prohibited to scatter ashes on:
- the paved road
- municipal cemeteries
- crematorium grounds
It is sometimes possible to get an exemption from this prohibition.
How long does it take?
The municipality initiates the grave release as soon as possible.
Scattering ashes
The municipality will decide on your request for a waiver within 2 weeks. If the municipality does not make the decision within 2 weeks, you will automatically receive the waiver.
What does it cost?
For an overview of the current costs, please refer to the ordinance on the levy and collection of corpse care fees.
Additional information
Objection and appeal
The issuance of a grave is similar to a sale or rental agreement. Therefore, you cannot object to the municipality's decision on where the grave will be located. However, you can object to the decision on who gets the rights to the grave.
You can also object to the decision on your application for a special cemetery. Do this within 6 weeks. After that, do you disagree with the decision on the objection? Then file an appeal with the court.