ABSTRACT
Unlike France, the Netherlands, Germany, or Austria, the implementation of an unlimited state pre-emption right on building land is, in Switzerland, very limited. The canton of Geneva introduced a pre-emption right in favour of the state and the municipalities in 1993. Pre-emption has proven to be quite efficient in Geneva as it helped both state and local authorities create favourable land property conditions for the implementation of land use policy objectives. The canton of Vaud has, for its part, very recently introduced in its cantonal Housing Act a limited pre-emption right on buildings and building land in favour of municipalities. Empirical evidence from France and to a certain extent from Switzerland shows that the pre-emption right may be effective as well as efficient. A pre-emption right can impact landowners in direct and indirect terms. Legitimacy also strongly depends on the power relationships between the actors negatively affected by pre-emption and the beneficiaries of its implementation.
