Buying a new build and first-occupancy property in Berlin

From a developer or completed first occupancy

In adverts, "new build" stands for two different purchases. When you buy from a developer, you acquire a share of the plot and a flat that is still being built in a single contract. With a completed first-occupancy property, the building is already finished, and the developer often has the last units still unsold.

The timings are typical values and depend on the project.

For the purchase price, this means: if you buy early, you often get the wider choice of floor plans and floors. If you buy late, you pay for the certainty that the building is standing.

The developer contract

The developer contract is regulated in the German Civil Code (§ 650u BGB). Contract-for-work law applies to the construction, and sales law to the transfer of the plot. It must be notarised. As a consumer, you should normally receive the draft two weeks before the appointment (§ 17 para. 2a Beurkundungsgesetz, German Notarisation Act). Use this time.

The most important document alongside the contract is the specification. What is not stated there is not owed by the developer. Watch for wording such as "or equivalent" and for missing details on sound insulation, floor coverings, sanitary fittings and external works. The contract must also state bindingly when the building will be finished or how long construction will take (§ 650k para. 3 BGB).

Check whether a contractual penalty for delay has been agreed and how high it is. Without such a clause, you have to prove any loss from delay yourself, such as double rent.

Instalments under MaBV: the payment plan

Before the developer may take any money at all, four conditions must be met (§ 3 para. 1 MaBV). The contract is effective, and the notary has confirmed this. A priority notice is entered in the land register in your favour; for condominium ownership, the division has been completed in the land register. The developer's bank has undertaken to release your flat from its charges, even if the building is not completed. And the building permit is in place.

After that, you pay according to construction progress. § 3 para. 2 MaBV sets out what share may be demanded for what. The first instalment is 30 per cent. The other rates in the law refer to the remaining 70 per cent; in the table they are converted to the whole purchase price.

Calculation: rate of the remainder × 70%, for example 40% × 70% = 28%. The developer may combine the stages into no more than seven instalments. If a piece of work is omitted, its share is spread across the other instalments.

Instead of this plan, the developer may also provide a guarantee that secures all your payments (§ 7 MaBV). Other payment dates are then possible. In that case, ask which bank is giving the guarantee and whether it runs until full completion.

Handover: individual property and common property

With handover, you declare that the work has been produced essentially in line with the contract (§ 640 BGB, German Civil Code). From that day, the five-year period for defect claims starts to run. Defects you know about at handover must be expressly reserved in the record. Otherwise you lose rights.

With a condominium flat, there are two handovers. You accept your own flat yourself. The common property, meaning roof, facade, cellar, stairwell and external areas, is accepted on behalf of all owners. How this is arranged is set out in the developer contract. Clauses under which an expert chosen by the developer accepts the common property are disputed in case law.

Take a building surveyor with you to the handover. The fee is small compared with a missed damp problem. You pay the instalment for readiness for occupation in exchange for handover of the keys; if there are defects, you may withhold a reasonable part, as a rule twice the expected cost of remedying them (§ 641 para. 3 BGB).

Special requests

Different tiles, an extra socket, a bath instead of the shower: developers often offer this through a sampling session. Have every special request confirmed in writing with its price and its effect on the completion date. If you instead commission tradespeople yourself, the warranty for their work does not lie with the developer. A dispute over who caused damage is then foreseeable.

Many developers set a cut-off date for special requests. After that, changes are no longer possible or much more expensive, because pipes and walls are already in place. Ask about this date at the very first meeting.

Completion risk

The biggest risk when buying off plan is that the developer does not finish the building, for example because of insolvency. The MaBV limits the damage: you only pay for work that is already in the building, your priority notice secures your claim to ownership, and the release protects you from the charges held by the developer's bank. In addition there is the security of 5 per cent under § 650m para. 2 BGB.

That does not remove the risk entirely. If construction is interrupted, it costs time, and a new contractor rarely works at the old price. So ask about the developer's reference projects, the state of the project's financing and how many units have already been sold.

Energy efficiency and funding

New buildings are subject to the requirements of the Building Modernisation Act, which has replaced the Building Energy Act since 29 July 2026. The efficiency standard the building reaches is shown in the energy performance certificate, which the seller must show you at the latest at the viewing. For projects under construction, it is the calculated demand; there is no measured consumption yet.

Whether a KfW promotional loan is an option depends on the standard achieved and on the programme conditions at the time of your application. The current conditions are on kfw.de. Important: many programmes require the application before you sign the purchase contract. Clarify this with your bank; see also Mortgage financing in Berlin.

For investors, a declining-balance depreciation of 5 per cent of the residual value may be an option for new residential buildings if the purchase contract was concluded after 30 September 2023 and before 1 October 2029 (§ 7 para. 5a EStG, German Income Tax Act). Whether it applies in your case is a question for your tax adviser.

Real estate transfer tax and notary costs on a new build

When you buy from a developer, you pay real estate transfer tax on the entire price, that is, on the plot share and the building together. In Berlin that is 6.0 per cent, in Brandenburg 6.5 per cent. On a flat costing €400,000, that comes to €24,000 in Berlin and €26,000 in Brandenburg. Notary and land registry costs are, by experience, around 1.5 to 2.0 per cent, towards the upper end for a developer contract because the contract is more extensive.

The tax assessment arrives a few weeks after the notary appointment, long before the flat is finished. So plan for this sum at the start and not only at the handover of the keys. The instalments to the developer run through your bank; for the period in which parts of the loan have not yet been drawn down, many banks charge commitment interest. Ask before you sign when it starts to apply.

What to ask when viewing a show flat: does the fit-out match the specification or has it been upgraded? Which flat in the building has the same floor plan? And what does the view look like from your floor, not from the show floor?

Commission-free listings

On many new-build projects, the developer pays the agent. For you as the buyer, the purchase is then commission-free. Whether that is the case for a project is stated in the brochure. For existing flats, by contrast, the commission is usually split between seller and buyer, as described in the guide Agent's commission in Berlin. Real estate transfer tax and notary costs apply in any case; the article Additional purchase costs in Berlin works out examples.

New-build projects at BBI

We market new-build projects in Berlin and the surrounding area, including Potsdam, Oranienburg, Beelitz, Zossen and Kleinmachnow. On our listings page, the flats of a project are brought together on one project page, with floor plans, prices and the state of sales. What is added when buying a house outside Berlin is covered in the guide Buying a house near Berlin.

Sources

• § 3 Estate Agents and Developers Ordinance, requirements and payment plan; § 7 MaBV, provision of security
• § 650u BGB, developer contract; § 650k para. 3 BGB, information on completion; § 650m para. 2 BGB, security for consumers
• § 640 BGB, handover; § 641 para. 3 BGB, withholding payment for defects; § 634a BGB, limitation of defect claims
• § 17 para. 2a Beurkundungsgesetz (German Notarisation Act), draft for consumers before notarisation
• § 7 para. 5a Einkommensteuergesetz (German Income Tax Act), declining-balance depreciation for residential buildings
• Consumer advice centre: what is in the Building Modernisation Act?, as of 21 August 2026
• KfW, funding programmes for new builds, conditions updated daily