Since 2026, building outside the building zone has been subject to stricter rules. The second stage of the revision of the Spatial Planning Act — LAT 2 — introduces a stabilisation objective, a compensation logic and a demolition premium. Here is what changes for owners of land and buildings located outside the building zone.
What LAT 2 is
Adopted by Parliament on 29 September 2023, LAT 2 is the second stage of the revision of the federal Spatial Planning Act. It concerns essentially building outside the building zone. Its entry into force is staggered: the provisions requiring no amendment on 1 January 2026, the remainder on 1 July 2026.
The stabilisation objective
The heart of the reform is a stabilisation objective. Outside the building zone, in each canton:
- the number of buildings, and
- the sealed ground surface
may not increase by more than 2% at most compared with the situation on 29 September 2023. The aim: to curb urban sprawl and the scattering of buildings outside the zones intended for that purpose.
Compensation and the demolition premium
If a canton exceeds the objective, it exposes itself to sanctions: every additional construction outside the zone must then be compensated — by a demolition, or by unsealing a surface equivalent to the one newly built.
In parallel, LAT 2 creates, from 1 July 2026, a right to a demolition premium: it encourages the removal of unused or unsuitable buildings located outside the building zone.
What this changes for you
You own land outside the building zone
Do not assume that a new-build project will be authorised there. The possibilities outside the zone are now very tightly regulated and depend on your canton's margin.
You have an old building outside the zone
Its conversion or its demolition-and-rebuild follows precise rules — and a demolition may now give entitlement to a premium.
You confuse “buildable” with “in the zone”
A plot can be large and well located without being in the building zone. Zone status is the first thing to check before any project or any purchase.
The zone first, always
The lesson of LAT 2 is also a matter of common sense: zone status determines everything. A plot outside the building zone almost never offers the potential one imagines for it, and the new compensation constraints reinforce this reality still further.
Before buying a plot or planning a construction, the first check is therefore to establish unambiguously which zone the plot lies in and what it permits — a point covered in detail in our guides on what you can build and checking a plot before buying.