Anyone who buys a building site but does not build a house there despite being obligated to do so may have to reckon with a claim back from the municipality for a very long time. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided on Friday that such a repurchase right can be exercised for up to 30 years. That was not inappropriate, said the presiding judge at the verdict in Karlsruhe. (Ref. V ZR 144/21)

In the case from Lower Bavaria, the buyer had undertaken in 1994 to build a house on the property within eight years. When nothing happened there in 2014, the community informed the man that they were making use of their repurchase rights. The Munich Higher Regional Court had considered such a long commitment to be inadmissible. The BGH decided the question differently.