The documents for selling a property in Berlin

The basic set for every sale

Buyers, the bank and the notary almost always ask for the same papers. If you have them together before the first viewing, you can answer questions on the same day instead of two weeks later. That keeps interested parties who are viewing other properties at the same time.

• Land register extract, as current as possible. Buyers and lending banks ask for it, and the building files archive requires an extract no more than six weeks old for inspection.
• Cadastral map (extract from the real estate cadastre). It shows plot boundaries and buildings.
• Floor plans and living space calculation. For subsidised housing, the Living Space Ordinance prescribes how to calculate (Section 1 WoFlV). In open-market sales it is not mandatory, but is often used as the benchmark. State which method was used to determine the floor area.
• Energy certificate, more on this below.
• Property tax assessment and evidence of modernisations (invoices, warranties, year of heating, windows and roof).

Land register extract: who gets it and what it costs

Anyone who demonstrates a legitimate interest can inspect the land register and obtain a copy (Section 12 GBO). As the owner, you always have one. An estate agent or prospective buyer needs your written power of attorney; curiosity alone is not enough.

In Berlin, the land registries are concentrated at eight local courts: Charlottenburg, Köpenick, Lichtenberg, Mitte, Neukölln, Schöneberg, Spandau and Tempelhof-Kreuzberg. Which court keeps your land register depends on the land register district. According to Service Berlin, you can submit the application at any Berlin land registry, in writing or in person, not by phone.

A simple printout costs 10 euros, an official printout 20 euros (nos. 17000 and 17001 of the GNotKG schedule of costs). Mere inspection is free of charge. Owners cannot retrieve their land register online: although it is kept electronically, automated retrieval is only open to notaries, courts, authorities and publicly appointed surveyors.

Cadastral map, building encumbrances and building file

Cadastral map. The extract from the real estate cadastre is issued by the surveying office of the district in which the plot is located. An extract from the cadastral map costs 16 euros per sheet, an extract from the property register 16 euros for up to five pages.

Building encumbrances. A building encumbrance is an obligation under public law, such as a setback area or a right of way in favour of a neighbour. It is not in the land register but in the register of building encumbrances of the district building authority. Owners and prospective buyers can obtain information. A negative certificate costs 17 euros per plot, copies of existing building encumbrances 29 euros.

Building file. Building permits, approved plans and inspections are kept in the district's building files archive. For inspection you need a land register extract no more than six weeks old and your ID; authorised representatives also need the owner's power of attorney. The fee depends on the effort involved. Ask early, as the files often have to be retrieved from the archive first.

Energy certificate: when you must show it

When selling, you or your estate agent must present the energy certificate to prospective buyers at the viewing at the latest. After the purchase contract, you hand it over to the buyer (Section 80 para. 4 GModG, formerly the Building Energy Act). If a certificate already exists when an advert appears, the mandatory details from it belong in the advert, including the type of certificate, energy performance value, heating energy source and, for residential buildings, the year of construction (Section 87 GModG). The obligation to present it does not apply to listed buildings (Section 79 para. 4 GModG).

More on the details can be found in our guide Energy certificate and mandatory details.

Additionally for a freehold flat

Anyone buying a flat also buys a share in a community. Buyers and banks therefore want to see how the building is managed and what is coming up financially.

• Declaration of division with division plan. It divides the plot into co-ownership shares with separate ownership (Section 8 WEG) and sets out what belongs to the flat.
• Collection of resolutions and the minutes of the last two or three owners' meetings. The property manager keeps the collection (Section 24 paras. 7 and 8 WEG). It shows resolved special levies and renovations.
• Budget and last annual statement (Section 28 paras. 1 and 2 WEG). They show the monthly service charge.
• Asset report showing the balance of the maintenance reserve (Section 28 para. 4 WEG).
• Property manager's consent, if the declaration of division requires it for a sale. Without it, the purchase contract is provisionally invalid (Section 12 WEG). The notary usually obtains it.

You get these documents from the property manager. Every owner can demand to inspect the management documents (Section 18 para. 4 WEG).

Let, financed or inherited

Let. The buyer takes over the tenancy agreement (Section 566 BGB) and also the rent deposit (Section 566a BGB). So have all tenancy agreements with addenda, the latest rent increases, the service charge statements and proof of the deposit ready. More on this in the guide Selling a let flat.

A loan is still registered. A land charge is deleted from the land register if the bank consents to the deletion and you as owner agree (Sections 19, 27 GBO). Ask your bank early about the outstanding balance and whether it will grant consent to deletion against payment from the purchase price. The notary arranges the settlement in the purchase contract.

Inherited. You prove the succession to the land registry with a certificate of inheritance or a European Certificate of Succession; with a notarial will, this suffices together with the record of its opening (Section 35 GBO). Transferring the property into the heirs' names is free of charge if the application is received within two years of the death (no. 14110 of the GNotKG schedule of costs). If there are several heirs, the guide Property in a community of heirs will help.

ID. Estate agents and notaries must identify their contractual partners under the Money Laundering Act (Section 2 para. 1 nos. 10 and 14, Section 11 GwG). Have your ID card or passport ready, and for companies a current register extract.

Milieu protection. If the building is in a social preservation area, dividing it into freehold flats requires approval from the district (Section 172 BauGB). Our milieu protection map shows whether your address is affected.

Checklist with office and costs

Fees according to the State of Berlin and the GNotKG schedule of costs, accessed on 3 October 2026.

What this means for your sale

Start with the documents that take longest: building file, certificate of inheritance and, for freehold flats, the papers from the property manager. Obtain the land register extract and cadastral map last so that they are still current at the notary appointment.

With your written power of attorney, your estate agent can also request the land register extract, building encumbrance information, building file and the property manager's documents for you. The whole sales process is described in the guide Selling property in Berlin, the costs at the notary in the guide Notary appointment and land register.

Sources

• Section 12 Land Register Code (GBO), inspection and copies
• Section 35 GBO, proof of succession
• Sections 19, 27 GBO, consent and owner's agreement to deletion
• GNotKG schedule of costs, nos. 17000 and 17001 (printouts), no. 14110 with note (registration of heirs)
• Service Berlin: land register, copy, who gets the extract, fees
• Service Berlin: keeping the land register, electronic land register, retrieval only for notaries and authorities
• Court of Appeal: jurisdiction in land register matters, eight court locations (as of February 2024)
• Service Berlin: extract from the real estate cadastre, cadastral map, fees
• Service Berlin: register of building encumbrances, information, fees
• Service Berlin: building files archive, inspection of the building file
• Section 80 Building Modernisation Act (GModG), presentation and handover of the energy certificate
• Section 87 GModG, mandatory details in property adverts
• Section 79 GModG, exception for listed buildings
• Section 24 Residential Property Act (WEG), collection of resolutions
• Section 28 WEG, budget, annual statement, asset report
• Section 18 WEG, inspection of management documents
• Section 12 WEG, consent to disposal
• Section 1 Living Space Ordinance (WoFlV), scope
• Sections 566, 566a BGB, sale does not break a lease, rent deposit
• Section 11 Money Laundering Act (GwG), identification by estate agent and notary
• Senate Department for Urban Development: social preservation law, conversion approval

All sources accessed on 3 October 2026.