How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Austria

The Land Register database can be accessed online through various websites, including the following:

• https://justizonline.gv.at/jop/web/grundbuchabfrage
• https://www.advokat.at/Advokat-Online/Module/Grundbuch.aspx
• https://www.auszug.at/grundbuch
• http://www.bundesdienste.at/public/default.aspx
• https://www.lexunited.com/
• https://dienste.manz.at/vst/gb/gb.jsf
• https://www.registerauszug.at/

Each of these websites retrieves the information from the same data base (Land Register). The pricing models are different. It is not necessary to sign up for a user account, although the price per register search is cheaper if you do.

The following website is available in English

https://www.austrian-registers.com/query-services/land-register

Note that only the website is English, the data is from the same source and therefore in German.

Alternatively, land register excerpts can be obtained from the district courts and public notaries in person or (in most cases) via email at a cost of appr Euro 15 per search.

Searches can only be made for a particular property. It is not possible (and prohibited) to carry out a reverse search, i.e., a search for all properties or other rights associated with a particular person (subject to certain exceptions).

Every entry in the Main Register of the Land Register consists of the following elements:

• A sheet (Property Inventory Sheet) – this information is not binding
• property number, size and the type of use
• rights associated with the ownership of the property, such as easements that individual or all plots of this land register entry have at the expense of other (third-party) plots
• existence of a building which is not owned by the land owner
• restrictions under public law, such as the safety zone for airports
• B sheet (Ownership Sheet) – this information is binding:
• owner(s) of the property and details of their respective shares (expressed in fractions)
• in case there is more than one owner, the register shows whether condominium ownership was established. In this case, each owner has the right to exclusively use one or more units as shown in the Land Register. Otherwise, every owner owns a fraction of the entire property and any right of use must be agreed separately.
• C sheet (Encumbrance Sheet) – this information is binding:
• restrictions associated with ownership, such as mortgages, easements, prohibitions on encumbrance and sale, rights of first refusal or repurchase; lease rights, etc.
• building Rights pertaining to the property.

Entries which are deleted from the Main Register are shown in the Register of Deleted Entries.

In addition to the Main Register, there the following additional registers:

• The Collection of Deeds includes all deeds on which the land register entries are based, such as purchase agreements, easement agreements, pledge deeds, etc.
• The Collection of Property and Building Deeds Deposited and Filed with the Court contains agreements related to building which are not registered in the Land Register.
• There are also auxiliary directories, namely a property directory, an address directory and the directory of persons or names.

There are three different scenarios for ownership (and other) rights in buildings:

• generally, the owner of the land is automatically also the owner of the building
• a building right can be registered in the Land Register. In this case, the owner of the building can be different from the owner of the land. This registration is binding
• alternatively, buildings which are intended to remain on the land for a short period of time only can be constructed as so-called superstructure (Superädifikat). This can be anything from a hot dog booth to a multi-storey office building. These can be registered in the Land Register. The registration is not binding, meaning that a building registered as superstructure does not necessarily have to be a superstructure and the fact that a building is not registered as superstructure does not exclude it from being a superstructure.

All the information and documents contained in the Land Register are public and can be accessed by anyone without having to state a reason.

All deeds on which the land register entries are based, such as purchase agreements, donation agreements, easement agreements, pledge deeds or lease agreements can be accessed from the Collection of Deeds. Documents which were filed in the last 20 years (the exact date varies depending on the location) are available online; older documents can be accessed at the district court for the respective location. Very old documents are stored at central archives and can be obtained after filing a written request.

There is a nominal fee for obtaining the documents. Certified copies are slightly more expensive.

There is a vast amount of information available; however, in contrast to the Land Register, none of these is binding. The more common registers are:

• Zoning Plans
• Flood Risk Areas, natural habitats
• Register of known contaminated sites and Sites assumed to be contaminated
• Register of building plots
• Register of sites that were bombed during WWII

The parties to a dispute concerning a registered property can register the dispute in the Land Register. However, there is no obligation to do so. The legal effect of the registration varies depending on the type of action. Pending litigation is not binding to third parties until the action has been registered.