Looking for an English-speaking plumber in Amstelveen? First check what heats your home. A large part of Amstelveen has no gas boiler: whole neighbourhoods run on Eneco district heating or on a heat pump linked to an underground heat store (WKO). When the heating and hot water both fail on those systems, the heat supplier fixes it at no charge. For everything behind that unit — radiators, pipes, leaks — and for drains, you need a plumber. Here's how to tell in 30 seconds.
1. Many Amstelveen homes have no boiler
The research behind Amstelveen's heat transition plan (CE Delft, 2020) shows how mixed the town is. About half of the buildings in the Stadshart are on Eneco's heat network, and Kronenburg is almost entirely connected (Eneco and DUWO, which also runs the network at Uilenstede). In Westwijk, 64% of the Kastelenbuurt is on a WKO network, and in Langerhuize it's 52%. Smaller pockets of district heating sit in Elsrijk, Randwijck, Bankras-Kostverloren and Middenhoven.
Not sure what you have? Look in the meter cupboard and the utility room:
- Gas boiler (CV-ketel): a white wall unit with a gas pipe going into it, usually in a cupboard or the attic.
- District heating (stadswarmte): no gas pipe. Instead, a compact heat delivery unit ( warmte-afleverset ) with a heat meter, usually in the meter cupboard.
- WKO heat pump: a large indoor unit with a hot-water tank, usually combined with underfloor heating.
2. Who to call: the 30-second test
On district heating, the delivery unit belongs to the supplier. Eneco runs a free 24/7 fault line (0800-0072) and repairs or replaces the unit itself. A plumber isn't allowed to work on it — so calling one first only costs you a callout.
- No hot water and no radiator gets warm: call the heat supplier.
- Hot water works but the heating doesn't, one radiator stays cold, or a pipe leaks after the unit: that's the indoor installation — your landlord or a plumber.
- Water leaking from the delivery unit itself: call the heat supplier.
WKO homes split the same way. With operators such as Eteck, the heat pump belongs to the operator, while the underfloor heating and pipes outside its casing are the owner's or landlord's. That dividing line is exactly where Amstelveen residents get stuck: in August 2026 NH Nieuws reported on WKO flats in Amstelveen with recurring heating failures going back to 2012, with the companies involved pointing at each other. A plumber who tells you — in writing — which side of the line the fault is on breaks that loop.
3. Drain keeps blocking? Check whose side it's on
Amstelveen's sewer bylaw ( Aansluitverordening Riolering Amstelveen 2023 , in force since 5 March 2024) splits your sewer connection at the property boundary — or half a metre into the street if your façade stands right on the boundary. Open the inspection cap ( ontstoppingsstuk ) near that line: dry means the blockage is on your side; full of water means it's probably the municipality's.
Three rules in article 11 of that bylaw decide who pays:
- Their side, not your fault: the municipality fixes it and even reimburses your investigation costs.
- No permission, no refund: any work done without the municipality's explicit permission beforehand is at your own expense. Nobody should dig towards the street before the municipality has been called.
- Your pipe sagged: if a sagging private pipe caused the problem on their side, they can bill you. Sagging is common on Amstelveen's soft peat soil — and it's why a blockage comes back weeks after it was cleared.
The bylaw also requires the inspection cap to be reachable without digging. If yours is under paving or a planter, uncover it before you need it.
4. A pump unit in your garden? It's the municipality's
Homes that sit too low for a gravity sewer are on a pressure sewer, with a small pump unit ( minigemaal ) on their own land. Under article 10 of the same bylaw, the municipality maintains that pump and its pressure pipe at its own cost — even though it's in your garden. The exception is misuse, and the bylaw names one example specifically: draining rainwater or groundwater onto the pump. Pump alarm going off? Call the municipality first.
Renting? Tell your landlord first. Repairs to the sewer pipe fall on the owner — or on the VvE (owners' association) where a building shares one connection.
What we do in Amstelveen
We're English-speaking plumbers covering Amstelveen and the wider Amsterdam area, 24/7. On the phone we'll tell you whether your problem is ours, your heat supplier's or the municipality's — so you don't pay for the wrong callout. For drains we clear the blockage, run a camera through the pipe and explain in plain English where the problem sits and on whose side, with a report you can forward to your landlord, VvE or the municipality.
- On site within 2 hours
- Drain and sewer work from €129 incl. VAT; boiler work from €145 incl. VAT
- 1-month warranty on our work
Call 06-24356980 or WhatsApp us — day or night.
FAQ
Is there an English-speaking plumber in Amstelveen?
Yes. Your English Plumber serves all of Amstelveen 24/7, with the whole job — from the phone call to the written report — in English.
My Amstelveen flat has no boiler. Who fixes the heating?
On district heating, the heat supplier (in most of Amstelveen that's Eneco, 0800-0072) fixes the delivery unit. On a WKO system, the operator fixes the heat pump. Radiators, underfloor heating and pipes after that unit are for a plumber or your landlord.
Who pays for a blocked sewer in Amstelveen?
On your side of the property boundary, the owner pays. On the municipality's side, Gemeente Amstelveen pays — unless the cause is misuse or your own sagging pipe, or someone worked on the municipal pipe without permission.
How much does a plumber in Amstelveen cost?
Our drain and sewer work starts at €129 incl. VAT; boiler work from €145 incl. VAT. You hear the price before we start.
Blocked drain? See also Blocked Drain or Blocked Sewer? Here's How to Tell. Radiators cold? Read Radiator Not Heating Up? How to Bleed It.
