erfpacht

Erfpacht is a form of long‑term lease of land under Dutch civil law, whereby the owner of the land grants another party the right to use and develop the land for a defined period while the land itself remains in ownership of the landowner. The recipient of the right is the erfpachter. The landowner can be a private person or a public body, such as a municipality or housing association. This arrangement is commonly used for building plots, homes on publicly owned land, and agricultural land.

A typical erfpacht contract covers a term of 30 to 99 years, often 50 or 75 years. The erfpachter pays an annual ground rent, called the canon, to the landowner. The contract prescribes what the erfpachter may build or change, obligations to maintain the property, and any limits on use. The canon may be adjusted at intervals, according to a fixed schedule or indexation, and can be renegotiated under statutory rules.

There is also a possibility to terminate the right earlier through afkoop, a buy-out in which the erfpachter pays a lump sum to extinguish the remaining erfpacht right, subject to calculation under the contract and applicable law.

At expiry, the lease may be extended under new terms or, in some cases, converted to ownership. In the Netherlands, erfpacht is governed by the Burgerlijk Wetboek, Boek 5, with rules that vary by jurisdiction and contract.

Advantages include lower upfront costs for the erfpachter and stable income for the landowner; disadvantages include long-term financial obligations, possible increases in canon, and complexity of terms.