For over 50 years, peasant agricultural communities ruled over the communal property in Tyrol, meaning the land ownership of the affected municipalities. To maintain the power of the farmers in light of changing social conditions, the agricultural authority of the state of Tyrol transferred the land and property of the 176 affected municipalities to a total of 399 agricultural communities starting in 1950. A total of 2,104.73 square kilometers—an area larger than East Tyrol—was thus removed from the influence of the municipalities. There was no legal basis for these transfers. For decades, the member families of these agricultural communities unlawfully enriched themselves at the expense of the communal property, and their democratically unlegitimized power overshadowed the municipal councils. It was only in 2005 that the underlying scandal became publicly known, leading to political and legal disputes.