Hunting Lease Agreement; Notice

The lessor (hunting cooperative, owner, or beneficial owner of the private hunting ground) is obligated to grant the hunting lessee the right to hunt freely and without interference within the agreed-upon geographical and temporal limits. The hunting lessee is obligated, above all, to pay the agreed-upon hunting lease fee on time and to fulfill the hunting quotas; furthermore, the lessee is obligated to compensate for any game damage incurred, if and to the extent that the lessee has agreed to do so in the hunting lease agreement.

The hunting lease agreement must meet certain requirements; failure to do so renders the agreement null and void.

For example: It must be concluded in writing. Only individuals who hold a valid annual hunting license and have held such a license in Germany for at least three years prior may serve as lessees. The total area on which a hunting lessee is entitled to hunt and the number of co-lessees are limited. The hunting lease agreement must be reported to the local hunting authority.

Termination
The hunting lease agreement expires, in particular, if the lessee’s hunting license has been irrevocably revoked. It also expires if the validity period of the hunting license has expired and either the competent authority has irrevocably refused to issue a new hunting license, or the lessee fails to apply for an annual hunting license within a reasonable period set by the hunting authority, or fails to meet other requirements for such a license.

The contract must be reported to the competent authority.

The authority may object to the contract within three weeks of receiving the notification, particularly if it violates the conservation objectives or if the minimum lease term of 9 years (for small game hunting grounds) or 12 years (for big game hunting grounds) has not been met. If the objection is final, it will result in the termination of the hunting lease agreement unless the parties to the agreement remedy the deficiency within the specified time limit.