BAKU, Sept. 30, 2025
Azerbaijan has approved new rules governing construction on agricultural land, clarifying long-standing uncertainties for landowners and aiming to make rural property use more efficient.
Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed the regulations, which define the conditions and limits under which building is permitted on farmland. The rules allow owners of plots of at least five hectares, within a single boundary, to construct permanent facilities for agricultural production, processing, or temporary worker housing. Summer and winter pastures, as well as communal grazing lands, are excluded.
Only one percent of the total land area can be used for such construction.
“This means that an owner of 10 hectares may build on just 0.1 hectares, or 10 sotkas,” explained Vugar Bayramov, a member of parliament’s labor and social policy committee, who highlighted the changes on social media.
He called the reform “crucial for improving efficiency” in the use of farmland, noting that the absence of clear rules had created serious obstacles for owners in the past.
The legislation also restricts construction if a parcel without permanent buildings is subdivided and becomes smaller than five hectares. In such cases, capital development will not be allowed – a move expected to encourage land consolidation. Larger contiguous plots are considered a key to boosting productivity in Azerbaijan’s agricultural sector, where small-scale holdings remain common.
The Cabinet of Ministers further ruled that if the construction quota on a parcel has already been fully used, any subdivided portion without buildings will not be granted a new quota. Officials say this provision is designed to prevent abuse of the rules and ensure land is utilized more productively.
According to Bayramov, the new framework could help tackle one of the sector’s chronic problems: the limited number of large farms capable of scaling up production.
