ABSTRACT
The building obligation is an instrument that can be applied in the field of land policy. The building obligation is therefore a tool sui generis between the freedom to build and public planning aims. An applicable legal consequence must be integrated into the construction of the building obligation in Swiss Planning Law, even if it is the aim to reach the goals without its actual application. When the revised Spatial Planning Act came into force, the building obligation received nationwide attention – and is thereby wrongly considered a new instrument. As a framework law, however, the Spatial Planning Act allows the cantons to pass further regulations in their own legislation. A draft for a partial revision of the Spatial Planning Act was presented in 2010 and passed by the Federal Assembly in 2012. The Swiss Trade Association called for a referendum against the new law and once again, the people of Switzerland had to vote on the Spatial Planning Act.
