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What is the building right?

General

The right to build is an easement granted to a person allowing him or her to build a property on land that does not belong to him/her. He or she can also buy an existing property on this same land. In both cases, the lessor receives an amount for making his/her land available. In a few words, the leaseholder is the owner of a property on land that does not belong to him/her.

How do you set up a right of superficies?

As this is an easement, it must be registered in the Land Register to be valid. The easement has to be assignable and transferable. It is also established for a specified period between 30 and 100 years.

What happens when the contract expires?

When the contract expires, several options are possible:

the contract is extended by the landowner for a maximum of 100 years;
the property is transferred to the owner and the building right owner must move. In this case, the leaseholder owner receives compensation in return.

By Charline Demange, July 28, 2022

Additional definitions

General

Land register

The land register is a state administration that gathers all the information related to real estate. It contains all the rights and charges attached to a property (easements, pledges, etc.). Any modification, deletion or constitution must be reported to the land register. The cantons generally have several land registers organized by district or by arrondissement. They can be kept on paper or by computer.
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