Guide
Selling an apartment building: process and documents
From first contact to handover: this is how the sale of an apartment building in Germany usually works – with a checklist of the documents.
The process in seven steps
- Gather the key data: location, units, floor areas, rents
- First assessment by the buyer and viewing
- The buyer reviews the documents
- Purchase offer and agreement on price and terms
- The notary drafts the purchase contract
- Notarisation; afterwards a priority notice of conveyance for the buyer is entered in the land register
- Payment of the purchase price, handover and transfer of title in the land register
Checklist: documents for the sale
Not everything has to be available at the start. A few details are enough for a first assessment; the other documents are needed in the course of the sale.
- Current land register extract
- Cadastral map
- Floor plans, sections and living space calculation
- Energy performance certificate (required by law when selling)
- Tenant list or rent schedule with floor areas and rents
- Leases and amendments
- Service charge statements
- Records of modernisation and maintenance
- Extract from the register of public easements (Baulastenverzeichnis)
- Building insurance and property tax assessment
- For condominiums: declaration of division, minutes of owners’ meetings, budget
Directly to a buyer or through an agent
If you sell directly to an investor, there is no need for an exposé, listings or viewings with many prospective buyers. How the two routes differ is explained in our guide “Sell directly or through an agent?”.
As of 8 November 2026. This guide gives a general overview and does not replace legal or tax advice.
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