For owners and developers
Zoning, rezoning or a change of zone directly affects the value of your land: we defend your interests throughout the procedure.
- Comments during consultation
- Objections and appeals
- Added-value levy
- Compensation
Expertise
Spatial planning law
For owners, municipalities and developers affected by a land-use plan.
In a few words
Spatial planning decides how land may be used: where building is allowed, what and to what extent.
It derives from the Federal Spatial Planning Act (RPG/LAT), implemented by the canton through its structure plan and by municipalities through land-use plans. A plan revision can raise the value of a plot or sharply reduce it.
- Legal basis
- Federal Spatial Planning Act (RPG/LAT), cantonal structure plan, municipal land-use plans.
- Parties
- Confederation, canton, municipalities and landowners.
- Added-value levy
- At least 20 % of the gain when land is placed in a building zone (art. 5 RPG/LAT).
Our approach
Step in at the right moment
A land-use plan revision takes several years, with stages where owners can be heard: information, public consultation, public display, objections. The earlier one steps in, the more the outcome can be influenced.
For owners, we assess the plan’s effect on their land: building potential, value, the added-value levy or a right to compensation. For municipalities, we support the revision and prepare the plan’s defence against objections and appeals.
In Neuchâtel, planning rests on the cantonal structure plan and on the municipalities’ land-use plans, which require cantonal approval. Decisions can be challenged up to the Cantonal Court and then the Federal Supreme Court.
Who for
Who we act for
For municipalities
Revising a land-use plan is a long procedure exposed to appeals. We support municipalities in their legal choices and in defending their plans.
- Revising plans and regulations
- Handling objections
- Collecting the added-value levy
- Defence on appeal
What we handle
How we can help
Land-use plans, zoning, rezoning, added-value levy, objections and appeals.
- 01Land-use plans and municipal regulations
- 02Zoning, rezoning and change of zone
- 03Added-value levy
- 04Compensation for regulatory takings
- 05Objections and appeals against planning decisions
What is at stake
Three points that affect the value of land
- 01
Rezoning
Municipalities must match their building zones to foreseeable needs over the next fifteen years. Land can therefore be rezoned out of the building zone, with compensation only under certain conditions.
- 02
The added-value levy
When land is zoned for building, part of the gain is levied, at least 20% under federal law. How it is calculated and when it falls due can be discussed.
- 03
Time limits
Each planning stage has its own deadline. Rights not asserted in time during the public display are hard to invoke later.
Law and tax
What a zoning change costs in tax
Added-value levy, property gains tax, transfer duties: a zoning change has several tax consequences that add up. We assess them together to measure the real effect of planning on a property portfolio.
Get in touch
Tell us about your situation
A question, a dispute, a decision to challenge? Describe your situation in a few lines: we will reply by email or call you back, whichever you prefer.
+41 32 354 35 40Monday to Friday, 8:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:30