Investor Guide
2026-10-10 08:20

MaBV (Brokers and Developers Ordinance): Payments Tied to Construction Progress — or to a Guarantee

The MaBV (Makler- und Bauträgerverordnung) governs when a developer selling land with a building still to be completed may take the buyer's money: after four safeguards, in up to seven instalments that follow construction progress — or earlier against a guarantee. For a forward purchase of a supermarket it limits the money at risk — up to 58% of the price once the shell stands — but does not secure completion.

What it is

The MaBV's payment rules bind a developer that carries out a building project in its own name using buyers' money (§ 34c(1) sentence 1 no. 3 lit. a GewO) and is to transfer the land. They do not bind the seller of a completed store. Before taking any money, the developer needs (§ 3(1) MaBV):
  • an effective contract with the approvals needed to implement it, confirmed in writing by the notary, and no contractual right of withdrawal for the developer;
  • a priority notice (Auflassungsvormerkung) registered at the agreed rank;
  • secured release of the land from prior-ranking land charges, also if the building is not completed;
  • the building permit.
The developer may then take up to seven instalments composed from a statutory scale. The scale starts at 30% of the price once earthworks begin (20% for a heritable building right), then allots shares of the remainder, from 40% for the shell to 5% on full completion (§ 3(2) MaBV). Alternatively, the developer may take payments against a guarantee from a bank or insurer for all repayment claims, maintained until the building is fully complete (§ 7(1) MaBV). The developer cannot exclude or limit these duties by contract (§ 12 MaBV) and can demand instalments only on this basis (§ 650v BGB). Only a public body, or a merchant registered in the commercial or cooperative register — a GmbH, for instance — may waive the protection, and only in a separate document (§ 7(2) MaBV).

Why it matters to investors

The scale front-loads payment: up to 30% of the price once earthworks begin, up to 58% once the shell stands. If the developer fails, the priority notice survives its insolvency (§ 106 InsO). But the developer's lender may repay the instalments up to the proportionate value of the property instead of releasing the land (§ 3(1) sentence 3 MaBV). The priority notice secures the claim to the land, not the money paid: a buyer who withdraws from a stalled project holds an unsecured repayment claim unless a § 7 guarantee covers it. Some developers ask GmbH buyers to waive the protection (Part 6).

What to check

• Whether the MaBV applies: land and building from one seller, paid before completion.
• The notary's written confirmation and the other § 3(1) conditions before the first payment.
• A payment plan that follows § 3(2) MaBV, or a § 7(1) guarantee until full completion.
• No waiver under § 7(2) MaBV without an equivalent guarantee.
• The developer's balance sheet and track record, and the tenant's long-stop date (Part 6).
Related terms: Bauträger · Auflassungsvormerkung · Abnahme
Sources: MaBV §§ 3, 7, 12 (as amended up to 28 July 2026); GewO § 34c; BGB § 650v; AbschlagsV § 1; InsO § 106; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Parts 3 and 6. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.