Facts
The case concerns the question of whether the acquisition of staff housing by a person abroad is subject to the authorization requirement under the Federal Act on the Acquisition of Real Estate by Persons Abroad (BewG). A. AG, a Swiss company, owns a property in the municipality of V., on which it intends to build a residential and commercial building. In addition to retail premises, it also plans to include staff housing for the personnel of Hotel B. A. AG intends to sell the condominium units with the staff housing to a foreign investor.
The Land Registry Inspectorate of the Canton of Graubünden concluded that the staff housing is considered part of the hotel establishment and that the acquisition by persons abroad is therefore exempt from authorization. The Federal Office of Justice challenged this decision, as it was of the opinion that the acquisition of the staff housing is subject to the authorization requirement.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court upheld the appeal of the Federal Office of Justice and ruled that the acquisition of the staff housing by persons abroad is subject to the authorization requirement under the BewG.
According to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, under the BewG, only properties that directly serve the economic activity of a company or a freelance profession can be considered as an establishment. The authorization-free acquisition of dwellings is only possible if they are acquired together…