Selling a plot in Berlin

Developed or undeveloped

As a rule, a building is an essential component of the plot on which it stands (§ 94 para. 1 BGB, German Civil Code). If you sell a house, you therefore sell the plot with it; this case is described on the page Sell your house in Berlin. This guide deals with plots where the land itself is the focus: building land without a building, a plot with an old building that a buyer wants to replace, or part of your garden.

Anyone buying a plot usually wants to build. Buyers therefore first ask what may be built there and how much, then about servicing (Erschließung, i.e. road access and utility connections), encumbrances and the soil. If you have the answers before you advertise, you negotiate on the basis of documented facts rather than assumptions.

If there is residential space on the plot, demolition in Berlin requires a permit under the ban on the misuse of residential space (§ 2 para. 1 no. 5 ZwVbG, Berlin Act on the Ban on Misuse of Residential Space). Since 30 July 2026, a relaxation has applied to one- and two-family houses if residential space of at least the same size is newly built there within a reasonable period (§ 3 para. 4 sentence 1 no. 4 ZwVbG). Details are in the guide Ban on the misuse of residential space (Zweckentfremdungsverbot) when selling.

If you only want to sell part of the plot, that area must be surveyed and entered in the land register as a separate plot (§ 19 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). The survey is carried out by a publicly appointed surveyor, and the surveying office transfers the result to the real estate cadastre (Liegenschaftskataster); the costs depend on the individual case. If a development plan applies, the division must not create conditions that contradict its provisions (§ 19 para. 2 BauGB).

What may be built there

What may be built on a plot is not recorded in the land register. It follows from planning law. If a development plan (Bebauungsplan) applies, a project is permissible if it does not contradict the plan's provisions and servicing is secured (§ 30 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). The plan governs, for example, the type of use, such as residential or commercial, the extent of use, such as floor area and height, and the area that may be built on.

The Geoportal Berlin shows whether a development plan applies to your plot. It lists adopted plans and plans in preparation; you can search by address or plan number. In most cases, an adopted plan can be viewed there as a scan, and the online information is free of charge. According to the Senate Department, the digital version can only serve as initial information. Several plans may apply to one plot; binding information comes from the district's urban planning office (Stadtplanungsamt).

Where no development plan has been adopted, it depends on the location. In Reinickendorf, for example, according to the district office, planning law is then as a rule set by the land use plan (Baunutzungsplan) of 28 December 1960, which continues to apply as a development plan; the Geoportal shows this too. Within a continuously built-up area, a project must fit in with the character of the immediate surroundings. The yardsticks are the type and extent of building use, the type of construction and the area to be built on, and servicing must be secured (§ 34 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). In the outer area (Außenbereich), mainly projects expressly listed in § 35 para. 1 BauGB are permissible, for example for agriculture and forestry. Other projects are permissible there only in individual cases if they do not adversely affect public interests (§ 35 para. 2 BauGB).

Written information on the planning law basis is provided by the district's urban development office (Stadtentwicklungsamt) on an informal application, and anyone can apply for it. According to the State of Berlin, it costs €30 in areas covered by a development plan and €75 in areas without one. A preliminary decision (Vorbescheid) goes further: at the request of the person intending to build, the building authority uses it to decide individual questions about the project before the building application is submitted (§ 75 para. 1 BauO Bln, Berlin Building Code). It requires building documents that are complete enough to be assessed, and the fee is based on the building fees ordinance (Baugebührenordnung). Whether you go to this effort before the sale or leave it to the buyer depends on the plot.

The standard land value as a guide

The standard land value (Bodenrichtwert) is an average location value for undeveloped land in euros per square metre of plot area. In Berlin, the Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss) determines it every year as of 1 January. You can look it up free of charge in BORIS Berlin, and anyone can request information on it (§ 196 para. 3 BauGB, Federal Building Code). The value applies to a notional plot with the typical features of its zone; it does not take into account shape, size, contamination or third-party rights. In Berlin, the values for building land refer to plots free of development charges.

Alongside the value, BORIS states the value-relevant floor area ratio (WGFZ), i.e. the typical density of the zone. If your plot may be built on more or less densely, the land value can be adjusted using the conversion coefficients of the Berlin valuation committee, but not in every case. In addition, the standard land value gives no entitlement to a building permit. The guide Standard land value in Berlin explains how to look it up and read it.

Only an individual valuation determines the value of a specific plot. It combines the standard land value of the zone with what is permitted on your plot and with what encumbers it. How we go about this is set out on the page Property valuation in Berlin; the initial assessment with us is free of charge.

Documents and servicing

For a plot, buyers, the bank and the notary ask for these documents. Office and costs according to the State of Berlin and the district offices:

A building encumbrance (Baulast) is an obligation of the owner towards the building authority, for example accepting a setback area or parking area for the neighbour. It is not recorded in the land register but in the register of building encumbrances (Baulastenverzeichnis), and it can reduce the area a buyer is allowed to build on. According to the State of Berlin, owners and also prospective buyers have a legitimate interest in obtaining the information.

An entry in the contaminated land register (Bodenbelastungskataster) is an indication, not a finding. For building land, the future use matters, because stricter trigger values apply to residential areas than to commercial use, for example for lead and arsenic. The processing period for the information is four weeks; how to apply for it is explained in the guide Contaminated land register Berlin.

A buyer may only build if servicing is secured (§ 30 para. 1, § 34 para. 1 BauGB, Federal Building Code). When a public road is built to its final standard for the first time, the owners of the plots it serves bear the costs that can be passed on as a development charge (Erschließungsbeitrag); the legal basis is the Federal Building Code and the Berlin Development Charges Act (Erschließungsbeitragsgesetz). A certificate from the district roads and green spaces office (Straßen- und Grünflächenamt) shows whether charges for your plot have been paid or may still become due later. It is issued to owners, notaries, lawyers and authorised representatives, not to prospective buyers. The Steglitz-Zehlendorf district office quotes €31 without and €82 with a calculation, with a processing time of one to two weeks.

Unless otherwise agreed in the purchase contract, the seller bears the development charges for works on which construction has begun by the day the contract is concluded. This applies regardless of when the liability for the charge arises (§ 436 para. 1 BGB, German Civil Code). Clarify the wording in the contract with the notary's office.

With your written power of attorney, your estate agent can also request most of these documents. Start with the ones that take longest. Obtain the land register extract and the cadastral map last, so that they are up to date at the notary appointment. A checklist for all property types is in the guide Documents for selling a property.

The district's right of first refusal

If your plot is in a social preservation area, also known as a Milieuschutzgebiet, the district generally has a right of first refusal when it is sold (§ 24 para. 1 sentence 1 no. 4 BauGB, Federal Building Code). It may then buy on the same terms as your buyer. The Federal Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) restricted the exercise of this right on 9 November 2021 (4 C 1.20). It is excluded if the plot is built on and used in line with the objectives of the regulation and the building has no deficiencies or defects (§ 26 no. 4 BauGB). Our social preservation map shows whether an address is in such an area.

The Federal Building Code lists further cases of a municipal right of first refusal in § 24 para. 1. After notarisation, the notary asks the district whether such a right exists and whether it will exercise it. Only once this has been clarified may the land registry enter the buyer as owner (§ 28 para. 1 BauGB). More on this in the article Right of first refusal.

Agent's commission and tax questions

The rules on splitting the agent's commission apply only when a private individual buys a flat or a single-family house (§§ 656a to 656d BGB, German Civil Code). They do not apply to undeveloped plots. There, the client and the agent set the amount and the split of the commission in the agency agreement, before marketing begins and in black and white. If a single-family house is sold with its plot to a private individual, buyer and seller share the commission (§ 656c, § 656d BGB). The net proceeds calculator in the guide Agent's commission in Berlin works out what you keep afterwards.

Clarify tax questions relating to the sale with a tax adviser; the basics are covered in the article Ten-year holding period for property.

Selling a plot in five steps

1. Clarify documents and building rights. Land register extract, cadastral map, information on building encumbrances and contaminated land, development charge certificate and, where necessary, written planning law information. The contaminated land information has a processing period of four weeks, so apply for it first.
2. Assess the value. The standard land value of the zone, the permitted development, the shape of the plot and encumbrances together give a price range. Our initial assessment is free of charge and without obligation.
3. Market the plot. A brochure with a site plan, details of the building rights and the documents answers buyers' first questions. You decide whether registered prospective buyers are approached first or the plot goes straight onto the portals.
4. Purchase contract at the notary. The contract is notarised (§ 311b para. 1 BGB). The notary then asks the district about the right of first refusal and has a priority notice (Vormerkung) entered in the land register for the buyer.
5. Payment and transfer of ownership. The buyer pays when the notary requests payment and becomes the owner on entry in the land register. There are usually three to four months between the notary appointment and the entry. The process is described in the guide Notary appointment and land register.

Not living in Berlin? How to arrange the power of attorney and notary appointment remotely is explained in the guide Selling property in Berlin while living abroad.

Sources

• Senate Department for Urban Development, Building and Housing: development plans in the Geoportal, search by address, plans in preparation and adopted, scan, initial information only, information from the urban planning office
• Geoportal Berlin, development plans and land use plan online
• Service Berlin: development plan and building lines, information, provisions, buildability, online information free of charge
• Service Berlin: statement on urban planning and planning law aspects, informal application, €30 and €75
• Service Berlin: issue of a preliminary building decision, building documents, fee under the building fees ordinance
• § 75 Berlin Building Code (BauO Bln), preliminary decision
• Reinickendorf district office: planning law advice, land use plan of 28 December 1960 continuing to apply as a development plan
• Service Berlin: commissioning a boundary survey, division to sell part of a plot, publicly appointed surveyors, transfer to the cadastre
• Service Berlin: land register, copy, application, €10 and €20
• Service Berlin: real estate cadastre, information and extract, cadastral map €16 per sheet, application online or in writing
• Service Berlin: register of building encumbrances, information, building encumbrance, legitimate interest, €17 and €29
• Service Berlin: building files archive, inspection of building files, minimum fee €36
• Service Berlin: information from the contaminated land register, €5 to €500, processing period four weeks
• Steglitz-Zehlendorf district office: development charges and charge certificates, legal basis, who may apply, €31 and €82, one to two weeks
• Tempelhof-Schöneberg district office: development charges and charge certificates, €31
• Berlin valuation committee (Gutachterausschuss für Grundstückswerte in Berlin): standard land values, BORIS Berlin, free look-up
• Berlin valuation committee: explanations of the standard land values 01/01/2026, building land free of development charges, WGFZ
• GNotKG schedule of costs, nos. 17000 and 17001, land register printouts
• § 94 German Civil Code (BGB), buildings as essential components
• § 311b BGB, notarisation of the contract for the sale of land
• § 436 BGB, development charges when buying land
• § 656a BGB, agency agreement for a flat or single-family house
• § 656c BGB, commission when acting for both sides
• § 656d BGB (German Civil Code), agreements on the agent's costs
• § 19 Federal Building Code (BauGB), division of plots
• § 24 BauGB, municipal right of first refusal
• § 26 BauGB, exclusion of the right of first refusal
• § 28 BauGB, notification, entry in the land register
• § 30 BauGB, projects within the scope of a development plan
• § 34 BauGB, projects within continuously built-up areas
• § 35 BauGB, building in the outer area
• § 196 BauGB, standard land values, information for anyone
• § 2 Zweckentfremdungsverbot-Gesetz (ZwVbG), demolition as misuse
• § 3 ZwVbG, relaxation for demolishing one- and two-family houses
• Federal Administrative Court, judgment of 9 November 2021, 4 C 1.20, right of first refusal in a preservation area

All sources accessed on 10 October 2026.