How to Find Real Estate and Land Register Information in Germany

In principle, the land register information of a property in Germany is only assessable by persons having a “legitimate interest” in accordance with Section 12 (1) Sentence 1 of the German Land Register Code (Grundbuchordnung, “GBO”). The land registers are kept by the local courts (land registries), cf. Section 1 (1) GBO. The jurisdiction of the land registry depends on the district in which the property in question is located. Therefore, there is no generally authoritative land registry. The request to access the land registry must be addressed to the relevant land registry. The application to access land register information must be submitted in writing or verbally to the relevant office. A printout from the land registry is subject to a fee: an uncertified extract from the land registry costs around EUR 10.00 (cf. KV 17000 GNotKG) and a certified extract from the land registry around EUR 20.00 (cf. KV 17001 GNotKG).

However, it is possible to access the electronic land register via internet for certain authorized users. An unrestricted land register retrieval procedure is open to authorities, courts, notaries and publicly appointed surveyors. In addition, the restricted land register retrieval procedure enables authorized users, in particular banks and lawyers, to use the retrieval procedure for enforcement measures, in the case of a right in rem to the property and if the owner has a power of attorney, as well as for utility companies. Practically, the easiest way to obtain an excerpt from the land registry is the direct request to a notary’s office, provided there is a legitimate interest.

Since 14 January 2005 the electronic land register access also offers the possibility of searching for unknown land register sheets using information regarding the parcel or the owner of the property. However, this information is reserved for courts only, as the courts have direct access to the land registry.

In the Federal Republic of Germany property information can be reviewed in the public land register. This is a public register in which all important information about a parcel of land or a property is registered and includes the owner of the land or property, any encumbrances such as mortgages or land charges, and other rights and encumbrances in rem. A land register sheet is structured as follows:

• register indicates the authorized district court as well as the volume and sheet of the registration of the property in the land register. It also provides information on the location and size according to the cadaster. This indicates the district, corridor and parcel of the property.
• the ownership structure is entered in section I of the land register sheet. In addition to the person of the owner, the distribution of ownership is also recorded in Section I, if there is a co-ownership.
• section II lists the encumbrances and restrictions on the property. This includes in particular rights of way, residential rights, pre-emption rights, notices of conveyance etc.
• section III lists the liens, mortgages or land charges regarding the property.

Buildings on the property are not registered as such in the land register. A compulsory entry ensures that all properties must be registered, only properties serving public purposes are exempt from this obligation (cf. Section 3 (2) GBO).

Land registers are intended to register the real ownership and legal relationships to land. Disclosure is made against proof of legitimate interest, as essential contents of the land register, such as the owner or encumbrances, cannot be made public to all interested parties.

Furthermore, the German legal system recognizes the so-called public faith of the land register, a statutory presumption. In accordance with Section 892 German Code Civil (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, “BGB”), the content of the land register is deemed to be correct unless an objection to the right is registered or an inaccuracy is known. The statutory presumption establishes the rebuttable presumption for the existence of a registered right and for the non-existence of a deleted right. This presumption does not extend to factual entries such as size, economic type and location. Security in legal transactions requires that the legal relationships and facts entered in registers are deemed to be (rebuttably) correct and are subject to prima facie evidence. The public faith of the land register is therefore part of the principle of publicity that prevails in German property law. It protects the trust of legal transactions in the accuracy of publicly maintained registers such as the land register.

The authorization documents on which the entries are based can be requested from the land registry for a certain fee. This also requires a legitimate interest.

The property values determined by the expert committees for property values can be accessed online for the respective federal state of the Republic of Germany. Information and extracts from the daily updated primary database of the real estate cadaster can be obtained from the relevant cadastral authority.

Moreover, public-law information about the property can also be requested from the relevant authority. These are for example:

• Information from the list of monuments, whether a registration exists or is intended.
• Information on development contributions, road construction contributions and drainage connection fees for the property.
• In which area the property is located according to public law; e. g. development plan area, redevelopment area or preparatory investigations, conservation statute area, reallocation area, change ban, urban development measures, urban redevelopment area, reserved area, design statute, etc.
• Information from the register of building encumbrances, existing entries or whether there are any pending transactions, entry of further building encumbrances. However, there is no register of building encumbrances in the federal states of Bavaria and Brandenburg. In those states, the land register is used to register encumbrances.

Normally, a legitimate interest is required in order to obtain the relevant information.

In principle, it is not possible to obtain information on pending litigation concerning property in the Federal Republic of Germany. However, provided there is a legitimate interest, it is possible to determine in the land register whether the land registry has any registration applications relating to a specific land register sheet that have not yet been completed and when the last entry was made in the land register. The applications that have been received by the land registry but have not yet been completed are listed in an auxiliary directory, known as the trade mark table. However, such applications do not necessarily relate to an ongoing legal proceeding.