Selling property in Germany as a foreign owner: process, taxes and getting your money out (2026)

In brief

As of 7 November 2026, a sale in Germany is valid only if a notary records the contract (section 311b BGB), and the notary also organises the land register steps, the release of any charge and the municipal pre-emption certificate, which the municipality has three months from notice to issue. A consumer buyer can be charged at most half of the broker fee since 23 December 2020. Gains from a sale within ten years of purchase are generally taxable, after ten years generally not, with a self-use exemption and a EUR 1,000 limit. No source gives the total time. As our own planning assumption, allow about two to three months from the listing contract to payment. This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Why Germany is notary-driven

In Germany the notary is not a formality; the sale does not exist without a notarised contract. The notary reads the contract to both sides, checks the land register, files the priority notice (Auflassungsvormerkung) for the buyer, requests the pre-emption certificate from the municipality, confirms when the price is due and finally files the transfer. For a foreign owner this is good news: the procedure is standardised and the notary carries many of the checks. The appointment itself usually takes 45 to 90 minutes, according to one guide; the work before and after it takes the time.

Check your tax position before you list, because it depends on the date of your original notarial purchase: capital gains tax when selling in Germany.

Step 1: documents you need

Gather early:

• an extract of the land register (Grundbuchauszug), which shows the owner, the charges and their ranking
• the energy certificate (Energieausweis), which the seller must provide
• the purchase contract of your own acquisition and, if you let the home, the history of rental
• for flats, the condominium documents, usually the declaration of division, the owners' meeting minutes and statements of the monthly charges (general practice, not searched here: ask the administrator what the buyer will request)
• plans and technical papers, and, if the home is financed, your bank's contact for the release of the mortgage

If you hold the property through a company or inherited it, add the corporate or inheritance documents. Do this before the viewings, not after the offer.

Step 2: the broker and the fee split

You can sell with or without a broker. Since 23 December 2020 the law (section 656c BGB) says that, when a broker acts for both sides, the fee must be the same on both; a broker who claims the full fee from only one side makes that broker contract void. At most half of the fee can be passed to a consumer buyer. There is no statutory maximum total fee. One provider quotes market-typical totals of 5.95% to 7.14% by federal state, and stresses these are market figures, not law.

A Federal Court of Justice decision of 16 July 2026 (case I ZR 111/25), reported by three legal news pages, concerns the half-split for a multi-family house that the buyer later used as a single-family home; the outcome depends on what the broker knew when the broker contract was concluded. We have not read the judgment text. If your property is a two-family house or similar, ask your lawyer how it affects the fee.

Step 3: the contract, the notary appointment and the pre-emption right

The notary prepares the draft and sends it to both sides in advance. The key terms for a seller are the price due date, the conditions for the due date and the handling of any charge. In most contracts the price becomes due only when the notary confirms that: the priority notice for the buyer is entered in the land register, the municipality has waived its pre-emption right and all other approvals are in place. The municipality has three months from notice to decide on its statutory pre-emption right (section 28 BauGB), and on request must issue the certificate without delay if it does not use it; the notary normally applies for it. The land register will not record the transfer without that certificate. A Federal Court of Justice judgment of March 2026 (III ZR 182/25), from one law-firm note, says a notary who records an unclear pre-emption clause may breach official duties, which is one more reason to read this clause.

If you cannot attend, a power of attorney is the usual route. General practice, not searched here: confirm with the notary how it must be signed or legalised abroad and whether an interpreter is needed.

Step 4: releasing the charge

Most financed homes carry a Grundschuld in section III of the land register. The buyer wants the property free of it. A bank's approval to the sale is not enough: the bank must give a release (Löschungsbewilligung), usually after it receives the part of the price that covers the loan. The usual solution is that the notary pays the bank directly from the buyer's payment and you receive the rest. Tell your bank early that a sale is planned and ask how long it needs.

Step 5: tax in brief

Germany has no separate capital gains tax on property. A profit from a private sale is a private disposal gain (section 23 EStG) added to your income if the time between the notarial purchase and the notarial sale is ten years or less; after ten years the gain is generally tax-free. A sale within the ten years can be tax-free if you used the home yourself continuously, or in the year of sale and the two years before. A gain below EUR 1,000 a year (the limit since 2024) is not taxed, but once it reaches EUR 1,000 the whole amount is taxable. The gain is taxed at your personal rate. Our article explains this in full: Germany capital gains tax on sale.

Whether and how a non-resident is taxed on the sale of German property, and how a treaty changes it, is the point we could not confirm in detail. General knowledge says that German real estate sold by a non-resident is generally within limited tax liability, but do not rely on that: ask a tax adviser who knows both systems before you sign.

Step 6: ownership transfer and getting the money out

Ownership passes when the transfer is entered in the land register, not on the day of signing. The payment is made after the notary confirms the due date. Practical points for the payout:

• Give the notary an account in your own name, and expect identity and anti-money-laundering checks.
• Expect source-of-funds questions at your receiving bank. If you hold a Russian, Belarusian, Kazakh or Ukrainian passport, the checks can be stricter and slower; see what banks ask Russian citizens living in the EU.
• Keep the contract, the notary invoice, the tax calculation and the bank statements for your home-country filing, and see repatriating money after selling property abroad.

Common mistakes

• Selling just before the ten years run out without counting the days from the notarial dates.
• Forgetting a period of letting that breaks the self-use exemption.
• Not asking the bank about the release of the charge until the contract is signed.
• Ignoring the pre-emption certificate and then wondering why the price is not paid.
• Assuming the buyer pays the whole broker fee.
• Signing a power of attorney that the German notary cannot use.

Step-by-step plan and rough timing

• Week 0-2: count the ten years; check the self-use exemption; ask your bank about the release of the charge; gather documents and the energy certificate.
• Week 2-6: choose or skip a broker; agree the fee split; market the property.
• Week 6-8: agree the price; the notary prepares the draft; read the due-date and pre-emption clauses.
• Notary day: sign (or by power of attorney); the notary requests the pre-emption certificate and enters the priority notice.
• Weeks 8-12 (our planning assumption): the certificate arrives, the price is due, the bank gets its share, you receive the rest; the transfer is entered.
• After the payout: file the tax return for the year of the contract if the sale is taxable; keep the papers.

What the buyer paid at the start is in our costs guide: buying costs in Germany; a buyer who used a loan will also ask about mortgages for foreigners. If you manage the home from abroad until it sells, see property management for remote owners, and if you moved to Germany, the first 30 days checklist covers the registrations.

FAQ

Do I need a broker to sell in Germany? No. The notary is required, a broker is optional. If you use one, the fee for a consumer buyer can be passed on at most by half.

How long does a sale take? No source gives a total. As a planning assumption, allow about two to three months from the listing contract to payment. The municipal pre-emption step has an outer limit of three months from notice.

Is a sale after ten years tax-free? Generally yes, if ten years have passed between the notarial purchase contract and the notarial sale contract.

Can the buyer pay before the charge is released? Usually the price becomes due only after the priority notice is entered and the pre-emption right is waived, and the notary arranges the payment to the bank that holds the charge.

Can I sign from abroad? Usually through a power of attorney that the notary accepts; confirm the formalities with the notary in advance.