Agricultural and forestry land - apply for permission to buy or sell

Permission is required in particular for the transfer of ownership of the following properties:

• Land on which the farmstead or a farm building of an agricultural or forestry business is located
• Land that is used or could be used for agriculture or forestry and is at least 1 hectare in size
  • In the case of land used for viticulture or horticultural production, the minimum size is 0.5 hectares.
  • For disposals in the area of the Swiss border, the minimum size is 10 ares.

Please note: If the sold property forms a spatially contiguous area with other properties of the seller, you must add these spatially contiguous areas together to determine the above-mentioned minimum sizes. Adjacent areas that are separated from each other by a publicly owned path or ditch, for example, must also be taken into account. If the farmstead or a farm building is located on the property, you always require a permit.

You also need a permit for the following transactions:

• Granting and sale of a co-ownership share in an agricultural or forestry property
• Sale of a hereditary share
  • to persons other than co-heirs if
  • the estate consists mainly of an agricultural business
• Granting of usufruct or heritable building rights to agricultural or forestry land

You must apply for approval in writing to the competent authority.

The application can be submitted by the following persons

• the contracting parties
• the person in whose favor the contract was concluded
• the notary who notarized the purchase contract or the notary.

The competent authority decides on the application. It can also grant approval with conditions or under certain conditions.

Note: Under certain conditions, Landsiedlung Baden-Württemberg GmbH, as a non-profit settlement company, has the right of first refusal.

• notarized contract or draft contract
• a declaration by the seller stating whether the property sold forms a spatially contiguous area with other properties owned by him or her

If no decision has been made by the authority two months after receipt of the complete application documents, the application is deemed to have been approved.

If Landsiedlung Baden-Württemberg GmbH reviews the right of first refusal, the decision deadline and thus the fictitious approval is extended by one month.

Up to two months from the date of application

Note: If Landsiedlung Baden-Württemberg GmbH checks the right of first refusal, the deadline is extended by a further month.