In one sentence: For each undeveloped plot in the building zone, you receive a
dossier based on official data, location, zone, what may be built, restrictions, indicative price and
the official route to the owner; indicative values, not legally binding, and not the
owner themselves.
1. What you receive with each dossier
| Component | Content | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Parcel | Number, EGRID, area, plot shape in the location plan with the plot boundary (link to the cadastral map) and neighbouring plots, nearest road | Official cadastral survey (geodienste.ch) |
| Zone | Legally valid land use zone, cantonal zone code, floor area ratio (Ausnützungsziffer) as an indicative value | Land use planning (geodienste.ch) / canton |
| Check status | Finding and date for each source (land cover, building register, underground structures, planning applications where available, plus the aerial image with the year it was taken, for information only) and an overall rating: «No indication of above-ground buildings» or «Clarification needed» (always with the reason). Known exclusions (existing, under construction or approved according to the building register) do not appear in the results list (see section 3) | Official cadastral survey + GWR + building permit publications + SWISSIMAGE |
| Aerial image | Most recent orthophoto with the parcel boundary marked and the year of the flight, for your own visual check, included in the dossier as an image (also readable offline), together with a site plan; where the canton's terms of use permit, also an extract from the zoning plan. If the aerial image is more recent than the zoning data, the dossier says so, stating both years: the aerial image is authoritative for the development status, the municipality's current zoning plan for the zone | swisstopo SWISSIMAGE |
| Restrictions | PLR traffic lights (depending on the canton): groundwater, noise, ISOS, distance to bodies of water, forest, contaminated sites, airport safety zone; building lines | Cantonal PLR cadastre (ÖREB-Kataster) |
| Potential | Max. chargeable floor area, recommended typology, possible residential units, indicative values | Calculation from zone/floor area ratio |
| Costs | Indicative land price with confidence level where public statistics exist: ZH range around the median (Statistical Office), TG range around the median of sales (Tax Administration, CC0), BL average of sales (Office for Data and Statistics, use with attribution); otherwise a note on where to enquire about a guide value. Construction cost estimate, total investment, key financing figures | Model values (not an offer) |
| Surroundings | Public transport service quality class, distances to shops/school/childcare/local recreation, tax rate (where recorded) | ARE, OpenStreetMap, canton |
| Building application radar | Pending building applications on the parcel (36-month window) and building activity in the municipality | Official gazette portal (Amtsblattportal) (where the canton publishes) |
| Next steps | Competent official contacts: building administration, land registry office (Grundbuchamt), geoportal/PLR office | verified directories of authorities |
| Data status | Date per source on every dossier, you can always see how up to date each item of information is | — |
Before purchase, the preview shows the municipality, zone,
depending on the canton, the municipality's indicative land price per m², a rough size band (under 500 m², 500 to 1'000 m², 1'000 to 2'000 m², over 2'000 m²; where too few comparable plots lie nearby: "Size after purchase"), surroundings, check status (per source, with date) and approximate location as a circle of around
150 m. You receive the exact area, exact location, parcel number and plan after purchase, in the dossier.
Municipality, district and canton packages with a table for your CRM or GIS (CSV).
In addition to the dossiers, the package contains a table with one row per plot: municipality, FSO no.,
canton, EGRID, plot number, area, zone, zone type, coordinates of the centre (LV95 and WGS84), check
status, aerial image note, land price range per m² (where available) and the name of the dossier file.
The values are the same as in the dossier, without owner data. Single dossiers, the 3-pack and a
selection of individual dossiers do not include a table.
2. What you do NOT receive (deliberately)
- No assurance that the plot will be sold: «candidate» means: identified as undeveloped in the official data analysed, whether or not the plot is advertised for sale, no data system knows whether the owners wish to sell. Bauland-Scout shows where an enquiry is worthwhile.
- No purchase price: price information consists of model ranges with a stated confidence level, not a valuation and not an offer.
- No personal data of owners: we show the official route for an individual query (land registry office), never the person. No data stockpiling, no automated serial queries, no automatically generated letters to owners.
- No binding development study, no 3D model. The building envelope in the dossier uses a uniform boundary distance of 3.5 m and is a guide value, not a check under the municipal building regulations.
- No brokerage, no real estate trading, no legal, tax or investment advice.
Risk notice. Bauland-Scout analyses publicly available data and supports initial screening. Despite several cross-checks, it cannot be ruled out that a plot is already built on, under construction or unsuitable for another reason. In particular, underground structures (e.g. underground car parks) and private-law restrictions (easements, rights of way, building rights) are not publicly recorded everywhere. Before any decision, check the building status with the municipality and the entries in the land register. The information is indicative and does not constitute a warranty. A residual risk remains with the buyer.
Existing-building guarantee. If an above-ground building (with a footprint of at least 12 m²) was already standing at the time of purchase on a plot for which you bought a dossier, you receive the dossier price as a credit for your next dossier, the proportional price for packages. Without an account it is a voucher code, on invoice a credit note or a credit balance; there is no entitlement to a payout. Report the case within 12 months of purchase and within 30 days of becoming aware, by email to kontakt@bauland-scout.ch with the subject GARANTIE and your order number, with evidence (for example a dated photo, land register or cadastral extract, building permit). The guarantee does not cover development options, site access and utility infrastructure, building regulations, easements, the intention to sell, areas or indicative prices, nor structures entirely below ground or structures that appeared after the purchase. This excludes a small structure that the preview flagged before purchase with the note «At least one small structure under 20 m² recorded» and that the dossier mentions. Conditions: Terms and Conditions, section 7a.
3. Cross-checks and their limits
Every «undeveloped» statement is checked against the available registers: the building register, the cadastral survey (underground structures) and, where the canton publishes them, planning applications. In the event of any contradiction, the dossier states «Clarification needed» with the reason instead of a false «vacant». The aerial image does not affect the overall rating of the check status. Where an «Aerial image checked» note exists, it comes from an automatic analysis of the swisstopo aerial image combined with the cadastral survey, checked by random samples; it is a guide value and does not replace a site visit. Before the purchase, register queries older than 7 days are repeated; if that fails, «Clarification needed» is shown.
| Check | Detects | Known limit |
|---|---|---|
| Land cover in the official cadastral survey | Buildings, roads, paths, squares, road parcels are not candidates | Updating varies by municipality, with delays of months |
| Building envelope and surroundings (counting rule) | A plot only counts as a vacant lot if a building envelope of at least 200 m² remains after a boundary distance of 3.5 m; small gardens next to built-up plots, areas with 30 % or more road and paved surface and remnant plots do not count | Building envelope as a guide value with a uniform boundary distance; gardens and car parks cannot always be told apart in the data |
| GWR Register of Buildings (continuously updated) | Existing buildings, buildings under construction, approved and planned projects | Does not record every small structure; very recent projects are missing |
| Underground structures (individual objects in the official cadastral survey) | Underground car parks and the like beneath «undeveloped» areas | Underground structures are not fully surveyed everywhere, no 100% guarantee |
| Building application publications (36 months) | Parcels with pending proceedings («probably taken») | Only where the canton publishes centrally (see section 4); not every publication states the parcel number |
| Aerial image comparison by you | Everything visible, the final safety net | SWISSIMAGE currency 1–3 years depending on the region |
Principle: Better an honest «clarification needed» than a false «vacant».
«No indication of above-ground buildings» is never a guarantee, but a dated indication checked several times, before any
disposition, please verify on site and with the municipality.
4. Coverage by canton and why there are gaps
| Status | Cantons | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Full (parcel-level) | ZH, BE, AG, FR, SO, BL, TG, GE, SZ, SH, ZG, AR, UR, BS, AI | Cadastral survey + land use planning freely available (Open Government Data) |
| Full, partial coverage | GR | Parcels freely available; the canton publishes land use planning for only some of the municipalities so far (e.g. Davos ✓, Chur ✗), municipalities without published zones cannot show any candidates |
| Available (individual dossier) | NE | Individual dossier per plot: click on a plot in the building zone in the zone overview, Bauland-Scout queries exactly this plot from the canton (SITN services, with the canton's consent of 5 October 2026) and delivers the full dossier. There is no list of undeveloped parcels here, because the cadastral survey data are not obtained as a complete dataset. Source: © 2026 SITN |
| Zone overview | LU, JU, VS | Parcel data subject to a fee or to authorisation (e.g. JU CHF 43'025 one-off, LU ~100 CHF/ha), deliberately not obtained, following the cantonal cost information. What is delivered: the legally valid building zone areas for viewing on the aerial image. Everything else directly from the authorities: parcel/owner information from the land registry office (Grundbuchamt), zoning regulations from the municipal building authority (Bauamt der Gemeinde); LU geodata in the cantonal shop (daten.geo.lu.ch) |
| Zoning status 2022 (Confederation) | TI, GL | Parcels freely available; the cantonal zoning data are still «under construction» at federal level. As a substitute, we use the Confederation's harmonised building zones: Zoning status 2022 (Confederation, harmonised), not legally binding, current zones from the municipality. The floor area ratio is not known there: no figure, no estimate. If the aerial image is more recent than the zoning data, this is stated in the dossier with both years, development status: aerial image authoritative. Zone: the municipality's current zoning plan. Source of the zones: Federal Office for Spatial Development ARE, cantonal spatial planning offices (Swiss building zones harmonised, 2022) |
| In preparation | SG | Data freely accessible, authorisation for onward distribution requested from the canton (Oct. 2026) |
| Approval procedure | OW, NW | Approval requested from GIS Daten AG (autumn 2026) |
| Not covered | VD | The canton prohibits the onward distribution of its geodata, deliberately not included, not even as a zone overview |
The building application radar is available where the canton publishes centrally: ZH, BE, SO, SH, SZ, AR, BL, BS, ZG. In AG, FR, GE, TG, UR, AI, the municipalities publish individually; for TI and GL, no building application data are connected. There the dossier honestly states «building application data not available» instead of suggesting a false «vacant». The PLR block with extract is connected as a data service in ZH, BE and AG; in the other cantons the dossier says «not queried automatically» with the contact of the cantonal PLR office.
5. Currency
- Building applications: automatic weekly run; the window is growing towards 36 months
- GWR cross-check and PLR: live for each dossier, cached for max. 30 days
- Cadastral survey/zones: the retrieval date is stated on every dossier
- All key figures on the home page are calculated automatically from the actual datasets, never maintained by hand