The Grundbuch is Germany's official land register: it shows who owns each plot and which rights burden it, and ownership of land passes only when the buyer is entered in it. For a supermarket investor it is the most reliable document in the data room, yet building-authority burdens, contaminated-site records and the lease all sit outside it.
What it is
The land register is kept by the local courts (Amtsgerichte) as land registries; every plot has its own register sheet unless several plots of one owner share one (§§ 1(1), 3(1), 4(1) GBO). Each sheet has an inventory of the plots and three sections (§§ 4, 6, 9–11 GBV). Section I names the owner and the basis of acquisition. Section II lists encumbrances and restrictions such as easements, pre-emption rights, heritable building rights and priority notices. Section III records mortgages and land charges.
As a rule, land is transferred or charged by agreement plus registration (§ 873(1) BGB), and rank follows the order of entry (§ 879(1) BGB). The register is presumed correct (§ 891 BGB), and a buyer acquiring by legal transaction may rely on it unless an objection is registered or the buyer knows it is wrong (§ 892(1) BGB). Access is restricted: inspection requires a legitimate interest (§ 12(1) GBO).
Why it matters to investors
Registration, not signing or payment, completes the purchase: only then is the buyer owner and, stepping into the existing leases, landlord (§§ 566, 578 BGB; Part 8). Because buyers may rely on the register, title insurance is rarely used in German asset deals (Part 8). In our €10 million example, the land registry's fees for the priority notice and the transfer of ownership came to €17,000 (Part 11).
The risk sits in what the register leaves out (Part 7). Public-law encumbrances (Baulasten) for access, parking or setback areas are kept in separate registers in every state except Bavaria. Public charges such as development contributions are, as a rule, excluded from the land register (§ 54 GBO). Contaminated sites are recorded elsewhere, and the lease itself is not registered.
Section II is also deceptively brief: an entry may merely refer to the deed that defines the right (§ 874 BGB). A right of way across the car park or a neighbour's pre-emption right then becomes clear only from that document. The right of inspection covers those deeds and pending applications (§ 12(1) GBO).
What to check
• A current extract, re-checked by the notary immediately before signing, including applications not yet completed.
• Section I: the seller is the registered owner, or its authority to sell is documented.
• Section II: the deed behind every entry, read for its effect on access, parking and any extension.
• Section III: every land charge, and its holder's deletion approval against repayment from the price.
• Plot numbers and areas that match the site plan, the building permit and the lease.
Sources: BGB §§ 566, 578, 873, 874, 879, 891, 892; GBO §§ 1, 3, 4, 12, 54; Grundbuchverfügung (GBV) §§ 4, 6, 9–11; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Parts 7, 8 and 11. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.