Bürgenstock Resort: Federal Council rejects Lex Koller exemption
Bern, 01.12.2023 - The sale of individual Bürgenstock Hotels AG residences is not a matter of sufficient importance to be in Switzerland's national interest. At its meeting on 29 November, the Federal Council therefore rejected the application from Bürgenstock Hotels AG for an exemption from the authorisation requirement under the Lex Koller. Whether Bürgenstock Hotels AG is permitted to sell the residences as planned must therefore be examined in the ordinary authorisation procedure.
Foreign nationals who are resident abroad are only permitted to buy real estate in Switzerland subject to certain conditions. Under the ‘Lex Koller', the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Immovable Property by Foreign Non-Residents (ANRA), foreign nationals and foreign companies generally require authorisation from the competent cantonal authority.
By way of exception, the Federal Council may waive the authorisation requirement in specific cases if the acquisition of real estate by foreign non-residents is in Switzerland's national interest. Only important and overriding public matters of national importance are considered to be in Switzerland's national interest. A national interest exists in particular if the property acquisition is beneficial to the political, economic, scientific, social or cultural interests of the country. A significant regional interest is not sufficient for an exemption.
Sales do not go beyond a regional interest
The Bürgenstock Resort on the Bürgenberg comprises 30 buildings and complexes with 67 apartments known as ‘residences'. These residences belong to the foreign-controlled company, Bürgenstock Hotels AG. In principle, their sale is therefore subject to authorisation. In its decision of 29 November, the Federal Council concluded that the sale of the 67 residences at the Bürgenstock Resort is not a matter of sufficient importance to be deemed in Switzerland's national interest. The Bürgenstock Resort is important for tourism in Central Switzerland. However, there is no 'national' interest in the sale. The Federal Council's decision is final and cannot be contested.
Whether the 67 residences at the Bürgenstock Resort may be sold as intended by the owner depends on whether another exemption in the ANRA applies. This will have to be decided in the course of the cantonal authorisation procedure.
Exceptions rarely made
In the past, the Federal Council has exempted the acquisition of real estate by international sports organisations from the authorisation requirement under the "Lex Koller" in certain individual cases. The decisive factor was the major political, cultural and economic importance of globally active associations being based in Switzerland. In 2006, the Federal Council also decided that there was a national interest in relation to the sale of properties in a holiday resort in Andermatt. This was justified on the grounds that a significant number of jobs had been lost in the canton of Uri when armaments companies left the area and of the lack of other development opportunities in the region.
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