Ordinance on the Federal Act of 4 October 1991 on Rural Land Rights (BGBB) - Ebenrain Center for Agriculture, Nature, and Nutrition ("The Ebenrain") (BGBB)

1. The Ebenrain is responsible for

a. granting exceptions from the prohibition on real division and fragmentation (Art. 60 BGBB);

b. granting permission for the acquisition of agricultural enterprises or property (Art. 61-66 BGBB);

c. granting permission to exceed the encumbrance limit (Art. 76 para. 2 BGBB);

d. ordering annotations in the land register (Art. 86 BGBB);

e. appraising earnings value or approving such appraisals (Art. 87 BGBB).

2. The Ebenrain shall obtain a report from the Office for Spatial Planning if spatial planning interests are affected.

3. The Ebenrain is entitled to inspect the land register and documentation for the purpose of determining purchase prices.

4. In complex cases, the Ebenrain may involve external experts for clarifications.

1. An appeal against decisions of the Ebenrain can be filed with the Government Council within 30 days (Art. 88 BGBB).

1. The Security Directorate is the supervisory authority entitled to file complaints (Art. 83 para. 3 BGBB).

1. The district offices collect the necessary information from the parties involved in applications for the sale and encumbrance of agricultural enterprises or properties.

2. If the district offices determine that a permit is obviously or possibly required, they usually suspend the notarization process and forward the documents to Ebenrain for the issuance of the permit.

3. If there are doubts regarding the application of agriculture-specific issues in a transaction that does not require a permit, the district offices forward the documents to Ebenrain.

4. The district offices may apply to Ebenrain for land registry annotations (Art. 86 BGBB).

5. If agricultural properties encumbered with mortgage rights are reduced in size due to mutations, the district offices notify Ebenrain to determine the new income value.

1. The Office for Spatial Planning provides legally valid zoning plans and landscape zoning regulations of the municipalities, as well as their amendments, to Ebenrain and the district administrations.

1. The Office for Real Estate Transactions periodically provides Ebenrain with price surveys for agricultural land.

1. Fees ranging from CHF 50 to CHF 1,000 are charged for

a. Permits for the acquisition of agricultural businesses and lands;

b. Permits for exceeding the encumbrance limit;

c. Approval of exceptions to the prohibition on real subdivision and fragmentation;

d. Annotations in the land register, subject to the fees for land registration;

e. Estimations of income value;

f. Extensive investigations as well as the refusal of a permit or determination as per items a-d above.

2. The applicant shall bear the costs for external experts.

3. No fees shall be charged for permits for the canton, its dependent public-law institutions, and for the resident, citizen, and church communities.

1. The following are repealed

a. the Ordinance of April 28, 1947, on the Federal Act concerning the Debt Relief of Agricultural Homesteads;

b. the Government Council resolution of September 23, 1947, for the implementation of the Cantonal Execution Ordinance of April 28, 1947, concerning the Debt Relief Act of December 12, 1940;

c. the Government Council resolution of December 30, 1952, regarding the application of the Act on the Preservation of Agricultural Land (Segregation and Valuation Procedures);

d. the Government Council Ordinance of January 11, 1977, on Fees for Debt Relief Measures in Favor of Agriculture.

2. It is established that the Cantonal Introductory Act of October 9, 1952, to the Federal Act of June 12, 1951, on the Preservation of Agricultural Land has become obsolete due to the repeal of the Federal Act of June 12, 1951, on the Preservation of Agricultural Land.

1. This regulation shall enter into force on January 1, 1994.