2 Private Law - Civil Procedure - Enforcement - 21 Supplementary and Implementing Provisions of the Civil Code - 215 Property Rights - I. Grounds for Authorization (LCAIE)

In its general grounds for granting federal law authorization, it is granted in the Canton of Neuchâtel when the property

a) is intended for the construction, without federal aid, of socially characterized housing, within the meaning of cantonal legislation in areas where there is a housing shortage, or includes such housing if it is of recent construction [2];

b) [3]

c) serves as a secondary residence for an individual in a place with which they maintain extremely close and worthy-to-be-protected relations, as long as these relations persist;

d) is intended for an individual as a vacation home or aparthotel apartment.

1. Cantonal law does not impose stricter restrictions on the acquisition of holiday homes or apartment hotels than those of federal law.

2. Municipalities may introduce any of the restrictions provided for in Article 13 of the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (LFAIE) through a decree of their General Council.

3. The ordinary procedure applies with the following reservations

a) The municipal decree is subject to an optional referendum. It must be approved by the Council of State [4];

b) It does not apply when an acquisition authorization has been granted before its entry into force, or an authorization in principle concerning a set of holiday homes or an apartment hotel;

c) Upon the entry into force of the decree, the municipality publishes it in the Cantonal Official Gazette and communicates it to the Federal Office of Justice as well as to the secretariat of the commission provided for in Article 3.

[5] 1. The authority of first instance is a commission named the "Cantonal Commission for the Sanction of Real Estate Acquisitions by Persons Abroad."

2. Its secretariat is appointed by the Council of State.

3. The Council of State appoints the members of the commission and the deputies; it designates the chairperson and the deputy chairperson.

[6] The Cantonal Appeal Authority is the Cantonal Court.

[7] The department designated by the State Council (hereinafter: the department) exercises the rights

d) to request the initiation of a criminal procedure.

[8] The procedure is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), of March 18, 2025 [9], insofar as it is not deviated from hereinafter.

Requests for authorization shall be submitted in writing to the commission.

1. The president instructs the case; he obtains all necessary information either ex officio or upon request.

2. He may assign all or part of an investigation to a member of the commission.

3. The statements of the witnesses are recorded in writing.

1. If it is immediately clear that an acquisition is not subject to the authorization regime, the chairman decides alone.

2. The chairman also decides alone to extend an authorization usage period.

3. Decisions may be made by circulation if no member of the commission opposes it.

[10] For any revocation of conditions and obligations, the commission may issue its decision in a simplified form.

1. The president drafts the decisions.

2. He may delegate the drafting to a member of the commission or the secretariat.

[11] The decisions of the commission are notified to the parties, other interested parties, the department, and the municipality where the property is located.

1. The commission rules on the costs, which include the disbursements and a fee set according to the tariff established by the Council of State (cf. RSN 164.11).

2. It may require the applicant to advance the approximate amount.

[12] The appeal to the Cantonal Court is exercised in accordance with Article 20 of the LFAIE and Articles 101 et seq., 118 et seq., LPA.

A.

The State Council

a) determines the locations where the acquisition of vacation homes and aparthotel apartments may be authorized (Art. 9, para. 3, LFAIE);

b) regulates the distribution of the cantonal quota (Art. 11, para. 4, LFAIE);

c) regulates the expiration of authorizations (Art. 12, para. 3, OAIE);

d) regulates the compensation of the commission members;

e) designates the office for the registration of real estate company shares (Art. 11, let. h, OAIE);

f) takes any other implementation measure required by federal law insofar as it is not regulated by the present law.

Upon the entry into force of this law, the following are repealed

a) the ordinance implementing the federal regulations on the acquisition of real estate by persons domiciled abroad, dated February 22, 1974 [13];

b) the provisional ordinance implementing the LFAIE, dated January 9, 1985 [14].

1 This Act is subject to an optional referendum.

2. The Council of State shall, if necessary, provide for the promulgation and enforcement of this Act, setting the date of its entry into force, after approval by the Federal Council.

Act approved by the Federal Council on October 17, 1985, with the following reservations

1. The justification for authorization, which is that the property is intended for the construction of social housing (Art. 1, let. a of the implementing law), can only be accepted when the canton has legislation applicable to the promotion of such housing construction.

2. Municipalities may themselves introduce all the stricter restrictions that are listed in Article 13 of the Federal Act. The review of these municipal restrictions by the Council of State (Art. 2, para. 3, let. a of the implementing law) cannot address the advisability.

Act promulgated by decree on November 6, 1985. The entry into force is immediate.