Act on the Official Valuation of Real Estate and Mortgages (Valuation and Mortgage Act) - Executive Council

1. The Executive Council exercises oversight over the official assessments.

1. The Department of Finance conducts the official assessments.

1. The cantonal tax administration is the immediate organ of the Department of Finance in the management of official assessments.

2. It is responsible for the execution of official assessments, insofar as no other authority or agency is designated by cantonal law.

1. The cantonal tax administration assesses the value of real estate and installations

a. for the establishment of mortgage liens;

b. for determining the perimeter capital of field and waterway cooperatives;

c. for determining the tax value;

d. for establishing the credit value in an inheritance division;

e. in a contractual relationship for third parties.

1. Property owners are required to cooperate in the property appraisal process. Upon request by the cantonal tax administration, they must provide information, either orally or in writing, and present business records, receipts, and other certificates, as well as documents related to business transactions.

2. They may inspect the appraisal records at the cantonal tax administration or request a free copy of the appraisal report.

3. Persons entrusted with the appraisal are obliged to maintain confidentiality with respect to any information gained during their duties from unauthorized third parties.

1. The offices of the canton and the municipalities provide the cantonal tax administration with all the information necessary for the assessment free of charge.

2. The data may be transmitted individually, on lists, or on electronic data carriers.

3. They can also be made accessible through a retrieval procedure. In this case, data access must be precisely regulated by a role and authorization concept.

4. The building permit authorities report the completion of renovations, new constructions, and extensions.

1. For the valuation, the condition, location, size, and yield of the valuation object at the time of the appraisal are particularly decisive.

2. Where the area or volume of an object or the yield cannot be precisely determined, it must be estimated.

3. The cantonal tax administration may, with the consent of the finance department, obtain expert opinions.

1. For valuation purposes, properties and facilities are categorized as agricultural and non-agricultural.

2. Alpine rights, timber rights, harnessed water powers, and similar usage rights are to be treated as agricultural or non-agricultural depending on their content and purpose.

1. If multiple properties belong to the same owner and form an economic unit or are otherwise closely legally connected, they may be assessed as a whole.

1. For the assessment of building values, each structurally identifiable main and ancillary building is to be appraised separately.

2. Buildings that are in fractional co-ownership are to be assessed as a whole. Independent co-ownership shares are to be appraised separately.

3. Condominium units are to be appraised separately.

1. Against the tax value, the taxpayers may file a written objection with the cantonal tax administration within 30 days after the delivery of each assessment notice regarding income and wealth taxes or profit and capital taxes. The objection must contain a justification and a request.

2. In all other cases, a written objection can be filed with the cantonal tax administration within 30 days after delivery. The objection must contain a justification and a request. Entitled to object are the property owner, the usufructuary, and the other clients.

1. The legal remedies of the tax law apply to the tax values disclosed in the assessment notice.

2. In all other cases, any person entitled to file an objection may lodge a written and reasoned appeal with the Department of Finance within 30 days from the notice of assessment.

1. The costs of real estate appraisals, appraisals for determining the reimbursement value in a division of inheritance, and appraisals conducted on behalf of third parties are to be borne by the property owner, unless they are to be borne by the commissioning party.

2. If the property owner or the usufructuary requests a property appraisal, the costs shall be borne by him or her.

3. The costs of tax appraisals conducted ex officio are borne by the canton.

4. For other types of appraisals where no specific allocation is provided, the commissioning party is liable for the costs.

5. The fees for the appeal proceedings are levied in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Ordinance.

6. The cantonal council regulates the collection of fees by ordinance.

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2. The provisions of the Federal Law on Rural Land Rights apply to agricultural properties.

1. The limit for the establishment of the real estate lien is governed by the provisions of Art. 793 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB).

2. For the encumbrance of agricultural land with real estate liens, the provisions of the Federal Act on Rural Land Law apply.

1. In the establishment of capital mortgages, the maximum interest rate to be entered into the land register must be specified.

1. Unilateral Redemption of Mortgage Rights by the Acquirer is Permitted (Art. 828 CC).

2. The Amount of the Redemption Sum is Determined by Official Assessment (Art. 830 CC).

1. A statutory lien pursuant to Article 836 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), which takes precedence over registered private law liens, exists, subject to other statutory provisions, without being registered in the land register

a. for public law contributions imposed on properties for land improvement measures, watercourse corrections, roads, water supply and sewage facilities, and the like, for a period of 20 years;

b. * for all tax claims directly connected to the charged property (Article 262 StG).

2. Statutory liens not registered in the land register, exceeding CHF 1,000, which are not registered within four months after the underlying claim becomes due, but no later than within two years of the claim's emergence, cannot be asserted against third parties who rely in good faith on the land register, after the registration deadline has expired.

3. Other statutory provisions remain reserved, under which the statutory lien lapses if it is not registered in the land register within four months after the due date of the underlying claim, but no later than within two years of the claim's emergence.

4. If multiple statutory liens are submitted for registration, they shall have the same entitlement to satisfaction from the lien among themselves, even if they are of different dates.

1. The owner of a building is obligated to insure it for at least the current value against fire and elemental damage with an insurance company licensed in Switzerland.

2. The insurance value must be disclosed to the cantonal tax administration annually in the tax return. The cantonal tax administration may examine the insurance policies during assessments.

1. The Cantonal Council issues the necessary regulations for implementation by ordinance.

1. The Removal of the Limit on Non-Agricultural Mortgage Certificates applies to those that are registered in the land register after the enactment of this law.

2. The provisions concerning the determination and assessment of property tax values and imputed rental values, particularly the obligations of landowners and the duties of the cantonal tax administration according to the provisions of the Act on the Reorganization of Property Assessment, shall be applied one year before its enactment.

1. The information necessary for determining the tax values is part of the tax return and must be declared by the taxpayers for the first time with the 2022 tax return.

1. Estimates made pursuant to this law as amended on April 16, 2014, are to be multiplied by a factor of 1.15 until an estimate is made in accordance with the amendment of May 23, 2024. This value serves as the basis for calculating the net tax value according to Art. 23 para. 2 of the Implementing Ordinance to the Tax Law.

2. Rental values for owner-occupied non-agricultural properties (deemed rental value), established pursuant to this law as amended on April 16, 2014, remain in effect until an estimate of the rental value for owner-occupied non-agricultural properties (deemed rental value) is made according to the amendment of May 23, 2024.

1. The Valuation and Mortgage Law of June 8, 1986, is repealed.

1. The Government Council determines when this law comes into force. It is subject to an optional referendum.