Passing the farm on — properly.

The Norwegian Agriculture Agency (Landbruksdirektoratet) is the national specialist authority for the Allodial Act (odelsloven). This means the Agency answers general questions about the Act.

Allodial right (odelsrett) is the right of those entitled to it (odelsberettigede) to reclaim the allodial farm when it is sold outside the family. The allodial right can also be exercised if someone with a lower allodial priority than you takes over the farm. To exercise an allodial right, you must bring an allodial redemption action (odelsløsningssak) before the district court (tingretten) where the property is located. Source: https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no

Åsetesrett (right to inherit the farm undivided) is the right of the direct descendants (children and grandchildren) of the owner of allodial-qualifying land (odlingsjord) or allodial land (odelsjord) to demand to inherit the property undivided when the owner dies. This right can only be exercised in the distribution of the estate, not otherwise. Priority between the descendants determines which of them may exercise the åsetesrett. Source: https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no

From 1 January 2014, only two groups have an allodial right (odelsrett) to a farm:

– Children of someone who has owned the allodial farm. This may be the children of the current owner and of previous owners.

– Grandchildren of the current owner.

This means that the nephews and nieces of the owner of the farm no longer have an allodial right. They therefore cannot claim the farm by allodial right if it is sold outside the family.

Transitional rule

If an opportunity to exercise the allodial right ("blitt høve") arose before 1 January 2014, the old rules apply. This means the old rules apply if the farm was sold before 1 January 2014. In that case nieces and nephews may also exercise the allodial right. It is sufficient that an agreement to sell the farm has been entered into (orally or in writing). The agreement does not need to have been registered, see the Allodial Act § 60. The old rules also apply if the owner of an allodial farm died before 1 January 2014.

For all farms sold or inherited on or after 1 January 2014, the new rules apply. Source: https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no

An allodial property (odelseiendom) is a property that is large enough to be subject to allodial right (odel) and that the family has owned for 20 years.

The area requirements

Properties that can become allodial must have more than 35 decares of fully cultivated and/or surface-cultivated land or more than 500 decares of productive forest. From 1 September 2017 the area limit was raised from 25 decares to 35 decares. These are absolute area limits. If the property has too little land or forest, it can never become an allodial property.

How much farmland and forest a property has is recorded in Gårdskart. You can check this yourself at http://gardskart.nibio.no/ if you know the property's farm and title numbers (gårds- og bruksnummer). You can also ask the municipality.

Fully cultivated land is defined as "land cultivated to normal ploughing depth that can be used for arable crops or grassland that can be renewed by ploughing". Surface-cultivated land is "land that has mostly been cleared and levelled on the surface so that mechanical harvesting is possible".

The records in Gårdskart are normally up to date. Even so, disputes can arise over how much fully cultivated and surface-cultivated land or productive forest a property has. Gårdskart is not binding, and where there is disagreement, the property sometimes has to be resurveyed. The courts have the final say and can decide whether a property can become allodial, or whether it is still an allodial farm and can be redeemed by allodial right.

To find out whether a property can become allodial, you can go to the district court (tingretten) and have the question decided by an allodial assessment (odelsskjønn). This is a special type of court case. Where the dispute concerns allodial farms, the district court decides whether the property is large enough and can be redeemed by allodial right when someone brings a redemption action.

The municipality has no authority to decide anything concerning the allodial right to a farm.

From allodial-qualifying land to allodial land.

When the first person in a family buys a property that can become allodial, the 20-year allodial acquisition period (odelshevdstid) begins. The farm is then called allodial-qualifying land (odlingsjord). After 20 years the property has become allodial land (odelsjord), i.e. an allodial farm. On allodial-qualifying land there is only åsetesrett (right to inherit the farm undivided), while on allodial land there is both åsetesrett and allodial right.

When the area limits change and the farm is no longer large enough

The area limits in the Allodial Act have been raised several times. When the Act is amended, an allodial farm may have had enough land under the old rules but be too small under the new ones. In that case the allodial status of the property lapses on the day the new rules take effect. If the farm was sold or inherited shortly before the amendment, the old rules can normally be applied to carry out an allodial redemption from the person who bought or inherited it. After that the allodial status lapses. Source: https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no

The allodial founder (odler)

The person who owns the farm when the 20-year allodial acquisition period expires becomes the allodial founder (odler). Normally the same person has owned the farm for all 20 years, but periods can also be combined when the property passes from parents to children in a generational transfer. The allodial founder acquires an allodial right (odelsrett) to the property.

Other persons with allodial rights

The allodial founder's descendants also acquire an allodial right to the farm, but they must be sufficiently closely related to the owners of the farm.

You have an allodial right if you are:

– a child of someone who owns or has owned the whole property with allodial right, or

– a grandchild of the person who owns the whole property with allodial right today.

Previously the circle of persons with allodial rights was wider. You can read about this under the tab "Changes to the Allodial Act".

"Owned the whole property with allodial right"

This means the owner must both have held an allodial right to the farm and been its sole owner for the descendants to acquire an allodial right. If siblings own the allodial farm together, their children do not acquire an allodial right. There is one exception: if spouses or cohabitants each own half of the property, their joint children and grandchildren acquire an allodial right.

Grandchildren of the owner

Grandchildren have an allodial right as long as their grandparents own the farm. When there is a generational transfer, some of the grandchildren lose their allodial right. For example: Grandfather owns the allodial farm and has two children, Anne and Bjørn. Anne has two children of her own and Bjørn has three. Both Anne's and Bjørn's children have an allodial right as long as Grandfather is the owner. When Grandfather sells the farm to Anne, Bjørn's children lose their allodial right. At the same time, Anne's grandchildren acquire an allodial right. Source: https://www.landbruksdirektoratet.no