Voluntary Land Exchange

The Voluntary Land Exchange (VLE) in North Rhine-Westphalia enables municipalities, districts, public institutions as well as private owners, companies, and associations to carry out a fast and unbureaucratic procedure for rural land consolidation. The goal is to create larger and better-shaped agricultural plots through consensual exchange of parcels, to shorten the distances between farm and field, and to effectively implement nature and landscape conservation measures, such as riparian buffer strips. Eligible for funding are primarily rural areas in towns or districts with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants, provided all exchange partners agree and at least one person engaged in agriculture or forestry is involved. Applications can be submitted at any time and are supervised by the Arnsberg District Government.

The funding amount covers up to 75% of the surveying costs, provided the expenses have been fully borne in advance. The average project duration is approximately nine months from application to the correction of the cadastral records. The application requires personal data of the exchange partners, details of the involved parcels, a detailed description of the exchange including sketches, as well as a certificate from the agricultural pension fund. Applications are preferably submitted via the NRW Service Portal, where a short online process with a few pages can be completed in about 15 minutes. Missing or inaccurate information can be supplemented during the further procedure, ensuring a smooth process and allowing all parties involved to jointly benefit from optimized agricultural structures and strengthened nature and landscape conservation.