A municipality may be able to reclaim building land for up to 30 years if, contrary to the agreement, no house is built there.
Reserving such a right of repurchase does not violate reasonable contract design.
This was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe on Friday.
It was about a case from Lower Bavaria.
(Ref. V ZR 144/21)
In 1994, Markt Frontenhausen, the filming location for the well-known “Eberhofer” thrillers, sold a plot of land to a private individual for the then market price of just under 60,000 marks.
He undertook to build a house on it within eight years - but did not do so.
The purchase contract stipulated that in such a case the buyer would have to return the property to the municipality in return for a refund of the purchase price.
After around 20 years, namely in 2014, the municipality actually reclaimed the property and sued the buyer.
The Munich Higher Regional Court dismissed the lawsuit.
Since no special buyback period was agreed in the purchase contract, the statutory maximum period of 30 years was set.
However, the latter did not consider it appropriate here: such a long period could only apply if the buyer had received a subsidy for the property.
The BGH saw it differently.
Such an obligation to build should encourage urban planning and also discourage land speculation, he said.
You do not assume that the buyer got the property at a cheaper price.
The long legal period of 30 years is an advantage for both sides: The municipality can react flexibly and, for example, extend the period until the start of construction for a buyer in need of money.
The Munich court must now negotiate the case again.