Nießbrauch is a usufruct: a right, registered in the land register (Grundbuch), to draw all the income from someone else's plot, rent included. If one burdens a supermarket that is for sale, the rent goes to the usufructuary rather than the owner — so before the purchase the right must be deleted, or its consequences calculated precisely.
What it is
A usufruct entitles its holder to all the income and other benefits of a property, although particular kinds of income can be excluded (§ 1030 BGB). The usufructuary holds possession, must keep the property's existing economic purpose (§ 1036 BGB) and is responsible for ordinary maintenance (§ 1041 BGB). While the usufruct lasts, the usufructuary also bears public charges other than extraordinary ones, and interest on land charges (Grundschuld) that existed when the right was created (§ 1047 BGB). The right cannot be transferred, but its exercise can be left to another (§ 1059 BGB); it ends with a natural person's death or when a company ceases to exist (§ 1061 BGB).
Why it matters to investors
A usufruct can come with the property — for example, where a previous owner handed the property to their children but kept the income. The right shows in section II of the land register, and its terms in the underlying deed requested during due diligence (see Part 7 of the series German Prime Retail). The entry cannot be deleted without the usufructuary's approval (§ 875 BGB, § 19 GBO), so that approval belongs among the conditions for paying the price. If the usufruct remains, you are buying future income: while it lasts, the usufructuary collects the rent but does not bear major repairs beyond ordinary maintenance.
The lease is a separate question. If the usufructuary signed it, the owner steps into it when the usufruct ends — under the rules for the sale of a let property, but with the right to terminate on statutory notice. If the usufructuary gave the right up, termination is possible only from the date on which the usufruct would otherwise have ended (§ 1056(1), (2) BGB). Who signed the lease with the chain as landlord therefore matters. Banks look at a usufruct too: if it ranks ahead of the land charge, it survives a forced sale (§§ 44, 52 ZVG) and devalues the collateral.
What to check
• Section II: whether a usufruct exists, in whose favour, for what term and at what rank.
• The usufructuary's deletion approval, listed among the conditions for paying the price.
• Who signed the lease as landlord, and into whose account the rent is paid.
• If the usufruct remains: who bears maintenance, property tax (Grundsteuer) and loan interest (§§ 1041, 1047 BGB).
• Your bank's position: a usufruct ranking ahead of its land charge devalues the collateral.
Sources: BGB §§ 875, 1030, 1036, 1041, 1047, 1056, 1059, 1061; GBO § 19; ZVG §§ 44, 52; Gordon Real Estate Group, "German Prime Retail", Part 7. Legal position as of 10 October 2026.
Photo: Annie Spratt / Unsplash
This entry is general information and not legal or tax advice.