2026
Project analysis, farmstead, neighbouring village
Owner's construction advisory
«We bought a farmstead, but what are we actually allowed to make of it?»
PHASE
Owner's construction advisory
SERVICE
Bauherrenberatung, Zweitmeinung
DURATION
3 weeks
READING TIME
5 min read
The concern
The charm becomes a trap because Swiss Rural Land Law rules out my plans.
What we did
A review on three levels: planning and building law, Rural Land Law, economic viability.
What was the goal?
A clear view of what is legally possible and what is not.
What was the initial situation?
Farmsteads have a particular appeal. Anyone who buys one sees the house, the barn and the land, and immediately thinks of conversion, new uses and additional dwelling units. What often stays hidden is Swiss Rural Land Law (BGBB): it strictly governs what is legally possible and what is not, and without that basis there is no planning certainty at all.
You saved us from a purchase that legally could never have become our dream.
Building owner, neighbouring village
What have we accomplished?
I examined the property on three levels. First planning and building law, covering the zoning and building regulations and the rules that apply outside the building zone; then Swiss Rural Land Law, including the question of lifting the prohibition on subdivision; and finally economic plausibility with a view to value and return. Each level was assessed on its own and then placed in the overall picture.
What was the result?
The building owners were then able to decide with a clear head in which direction the project could be developed, and which legal conditions set the limits of that scope.
This is how the collaboration went
01
Getting to know each other
Discuss the plans, the intentions and your needs together.
02
Review of documents
Record the land register entry, plans and existing documents.
03
Planning law analysis
Check the building regulations and the rules outside the building zone.
04
Rural Land Law review
Assess the legal position, the prohibition on subdivision and possible scenarios.
05
Recommendation
Hand over a clear statement on the options and next steps.
Plain text from the project
Swiss Rural Land Law provided answers long before anyone drew a first plan.
What was the added value for the customer?
Legal clarity
You know what Rural Land Law and building law permit.
Wish versus reality
A clean separation of emotional ideas from what can actually be built.
A robust decision
A sound basis in a genuinely complex area of law.
Plain language
You understand what I have analysed.