Change zoning plan? Legal advice!

Questioner

Should the zoning plan of a house and plot of land with a business (non-agricultural) designation in a rural area be changed to residential designation (in the case of private residence) before sale or can this also be done afterwards? What are the legal consequences for the buyer after purchase if the zoning plan has not been changed to residential use and if the buyer will not conduct commercial activities on the plot in question?

Lawyer

If you do not want to use this property as a 'company home', you must first be well informed whether the zoning plan permits the home to be used as a 'home' and if so, how this is regulated within the plan (i.e. in the zoning plan itself). Sometimes a 'company home' may still be used as a 'home' via an environmental permit or exemption (which must be requested/obtained in advance). If there is no regulation within the plan, it becomes more complicated because obtaining an environmental permit for deviating use for an object located in the countryside cannot be done via the 'crumb regulation' in this case and the extensive permit procedure must be followed. Therefore, make an inventory in advance whether the municipality is prepared in principle to convert to 'residential space' and also include good suspensive/resolutive conditions in the purchase agreement. If the house is used as a 'home' (and not as a 'company home'), this can lead to an enforcement situation in which the municipality can enforce that the use as a 'home' is stopped, for example by imposing penalty payments.