Deal on the Gaisberg

Forest plot too expensive: deal overturned by commission

The sale of a forest was prohibited by the Land Transfer Commission.(Bild: Tröster Andreas)

Because the price for a plot of land on the Gaisberg was too high, the Land Transfer Commission did not approve the deal. The buyer and seller got other deals through just in time.

A major grassland deal in the south of the provincial capital caused quite a stir a year and a half ago. More than 72,000 square meters of land were to change hands in Salzburg's upmarket Aigen district. The purchase price was at least 1.3 million euros.

It was no coincidence that the deal went through at the beginning of 2023. This is because the new Land Transfer Act came into force in March 2023. This is when the deal should have been submitted to the new Land Transfer Commission. The exceptions that previously existed for parts of Aigen, as in other municipalities, were abolished with the law.

The buyer of the forest on the Gaisberg was not a farmer
SPÖ land transfer spokesperson Karin Dollinger already criticized the deal at the time. A parliamentary inquiry revealed new details. Parts of a forest on the Gaisberg, which were also part of the deal, did indeed have to be presented to the commission. The land in question did not fall under the exception.

And lo and behold, the commission refused to approve the deal. The reason given: The agreed price significantly exceeded the permissible market value. Just under 70,000 euros would have been agreed for the almost 8,000 square meters of woodland.

In addition, the buyer was not a farmer, which would also have been necessary to purchase the land. However, the Land Transfer Commission was only responsible for this contract under the old legal situation. The buyer and seller therefore went through with the deal for the other, significantly more valuable areas just in time.