Investor Guide
2026-10-10 08:37

Baulast (public-law encumbrance): The Burden the Land Register Does Not Show

A Baulast is an obligation that a landowner assumes towards the building authority to do, tolerate or refrain from something on its plot, recorded in a separate register rather than in the land register. For a supermarket it can decide whether the store's access, parking and setbacks are lawful, and whether the site can grow.

What it is

By declaration to the building authority, an owner can assume public-law obligations concerning its plot that do not already follow from public law (§ 71(1) LBO Baden-Württemberg; § 85(1) BauO NRW). Typically, the obligation is that a neighbour's access, parking spaces or setback areas may lie on the plot. The Baulast binds every later owner.
It is recorded in a separate register, the Baulastenverzeichnis, kept by the building authority or, in Baden-Württemberg, by the municipality. In some states, such as North Rhine-Westphalia and Brandenburg, it takes effect only on entry (§ 72 LBO BW; § 85(1), (4) BauO NRW; § 84(1), (4) BbgBO). It ends through the authority's waiver, which must be declared once there is no longer a public interest in it (§ 71(3) LBO BW; § 85(3) BauO NRW). Inspection requires a legitimate interest (§ 72(4) LBO BW; § 85(5) BauO NRW).
Bavaria has no Baulast. Where its building code requires access or parking on another plot to be legally secured towards the authority, this is typically done by an easement in the land register in favour of the Free State (Arts 4 and 47(1) BayBO).

Why it matters to investors

Because a Baulast is not in the land register, the register's public faith does not protect a buyer against it (Part 7). It can cut both ways. On the store's plot, a Baulast for a neighbour's parking or access can block the extension the tenant will want at renewal, the "silent reserve" of some 450 m² per supermarket (Part 3). On a neighbour's plot, it may be what makes the store's own permit work.
Yet a Baulast creates only a duty towards the authority and gives the benefited neighbour no civil-law claim. The use should therefore also be secured by an easement in section II of the land register.

What to check

• An extract from the Baulast register for the store's plot and every neighbouring plot it relies on (none exists in Bavaria).
• Each Baulast compared with the parking, access and setback requirements of the building permit.
• A matching easement in section II for every right the store depends on.
• Any Baulast that limits an extension or a change to the car park.
Related terms: Grundbuch · Bebauungsplan · Bestandsschutz
Sources: Landesbauordnung Baden-Württemberg §§ 71, 72 (version of 16 March 2026); BauO NRW 2018 § 85 (version of 1 September 2026); BbgBO § 84; BayBO Arts 4, 47 (version of 1 May 2026); Bavarian administrative rule on representing the Free State in planning and permit procedures, no. 6; Bezirksamt Reinickendorf von Berlin, building authority, information on Baulasten; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Parts 3 and 7. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Alex Block / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.