Change of Ownership Without a Notary: When It Is Permitted

In Forchheim, notaries are regularly asked a question by property owners and heirs: Is a notary really always required when ownership of a property changes hands? The short answer: Always, in the case of a sale or a gift. In the case of inheritance: no-but the land register must still be updated. The more nuanced answer requires a look at the legal basis and the exceptions to the notarization requirement, which occur regularly in practice in the Forchheim district.

Legal Background: Notarization Requirement under Section 311b of the German Civil Code (BGB)

Section 311b(1), Sentence 1 of the German Civil Code (BGB) states: “A contract by which one party undertakes to transfer or acquire ownership of a piece of real property requires notarization.”

This provision is one of the most fundamental formal requirements of German private law. It serves to protect the parties from hasty decisions, to ensure legal clarity, and to enable state oversight of real estate transfers (real estate transfer tax, examination of preemptive rights, consumer protection).

A purchase agreement concluded without notarial certification is void under § 125 BGB-it has no legal effect. In such cases, the notary in the Mittelfranken notarial district is obligated to inform the parties of the nullity and to perform a proper notarization.

Advance payments made under a void purchase agreement can generally be reclaimed (law of unjust enrichment, §§ 812 ff. BGB). In practice, however, such situations lead to significant disputes, as the reversal of the transaction is complicated in cases involving transfer of possession and structural alterations.

The Forchheim Local Court (Land Registry Office) maintains the land registers for Forchheim and the municipalities of the Forchheim district. It does not transfer ownership if there has been no proper conveyance.

The Most Important Exception: Transfer of Ownership Through Inheritance

The only practically relevant case in which a change of ownership of a property occurs without notarization is statutory or voluntary succession:

According to Section 1922(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB), upon a person’s death, their entire estate passes to the heirs. This includes ownership of real property. This transfer occurs by operation of law-without a contract, without a notary, and without a land registry entry. At the moment of death, the heirs are already the owners.

However, the land register is a public register of title. It is intended to always identify the current owner. Since the inheritance is not automatically recorded in the land register, a correction to the land register is required under Section 82 of the Land Register Act (GBO): The land register must be corrected by entering the heirs in Section I.

For the correction, the Forchheim Land Registry Office requires the following documents:

Document	Content	Obtaining
Certificate of Inheritance	Certification of inheritance rights by the probate court	Forchheim Local Court (probate court), fee according to GNotKG based on estate value
Notarized Will + Opening Protocol	Alternative to the certificate of inheritance if the will is notarized	Probate court or notary archive
Holographic will	Not sufficient on its own; certificate of inheritance required	-
Joint will	Depending on form: certificate of inheritance may be required	Probate court reviews
Application for correction	Application by the heir for correction of the land register	To be submitted directly to the Land Registry Office or via a notary

Source: WEG Act (as of WEG Reform 2020 + 2026 amendments), BGB, GNotKG Table, Bavarian Justice Portal, Nuremberg/Fürth/Erlangen Land Registry Office, as of Q1/Q2 2026.

Free Correction: The Two-Year Period

Section 82(1) GBO stipulates: Correction of the land register due to succession is free of charge within two years of the opening of the succession. After this period expires, the land registry office charges the regular fees under the GNotKG (half the fee based on the transaction value = property value).

Property value	Half GNotKG fee	Free of charge until
€100,000	approx. €137	2 years after the opening of the succession
€200,000	approx. €218	2 years after the opening of the succession
€350,000	approx. €268	2 years after the opening of the estate
€500,000	approx. €468	2 years after the opening of the estate

Note: Costs for obtaining a certificate of inheritance (at the probate court: fee according to the GNotKG based on the estate’s value) and, if applicable, notary fees for assistance with the application for correction must be calculated separately. The certificate of inheritance is not a land registry fee but is applied for at the probate court (Forchheim Local Court).

Heirs should not let the two-year deadline pass. The fees for a late correction can be substantial for larger properties. In addition, a land register that has not been updated to reflect the heirs significantly complicates subsequent transactions-buyers and banks require a current land register showing the current owner at the time of purchase.

> If you, as an heir, wish to sell or keep the property in Forchheim, the valuation tool from leadmarkt.ch provides an initial overview of the current market value-as a basis for your decision.

Further Exceptions to the Notarization Requirement

In addition to inheritance, there are several other circumstances in which a change of ownership occurs without a notarized contract:

Award in a Foreclosure Auction (Section 90 ZVG): In a foreclosure auction, the highest bidder acquires ownership through the award by the enforcement court-without a purchase contract. The local court’s decision to award the property serves as the basis for the transfer of ownership in the land register.

Expropriation (Art. 14 GG, BayEG): State expropriation transfers ownership by virtue of a sovereign act. The transfer of ownership in the land register is based on the expropriation decision.

Reallocation under the BauGB (Sections 45 et seq. BauGB): In an urban reallocation, parcels of land are redistributed. The new owners acquire ownership through the reallocation plan, without a purchase agreement.

Involuntary Renunciation of Inheritance with Devolution to the Municipality: If all heirs renounce the inheritance, the property devolves to the next eligible persons or, if the line of succession is exhausted, to the Free State of Bavaria as the legal heir. Here, too, there is no purchase agreement.

Common Misconceptions: What Does Not Constitute a Change of Ownership Without a Notary

A common misconception: that a relative “just like that” receives a property simply because they have lived there for years. The acquisition of property by adverse possession under § 900 BGB requires that someone be registered as the owner in the land register for 30 years without actually being the owner-a very rare special case that practically never occurs in everyday life.

Another misconception: a verbal “handshake sale” or a privately written deed of transfer without a notary. Such transactions are void under Section 311b(1) of the German Civil Code (BGB). A notarized document (where only the signature is certified, not the content of the deed) is also insufficient-full notarization in accordance with §§ 6 ff. of the Notarization Act (BeurkG) is required.

In the Forchheim district, such errors primarily arise in older cases: purchase agreements from the 1950s and 1960s that were concluded in private form are legally void. The “buyer” from that era never became the owner-even if they used the property for decades. Such cases end up before the Forchheim Local Court and are often difficult to resolve.

Local Nuance: Forchheim and Anticipated Succession

In the Forchheim district-a rural area with stable family structures-anticipated succession is a frequent reason for notary appointments. Parents transfer land or houses to their children during their lifetime, often in exchange for usufruct or with a care obligation. These transfers must be notarized (Section 311b(1) of the German Civil Code [BGB] for the transfer obligation, Section 925 BGB for the conveyance).

In Forchheim and the municipalities of the district (Eggolsheim, Strullendorf, Hallerndorf), such intra-family transfers in exchange for support payments or combined with a reservation of usufruct are particularly common. Notaries in the Middle Franconia notarial district are familiar with these arrangements and provide advice on tax aspects: gift tax exemptions (renewable every 10 years under § 16 ErbStG), real estate transfer tax exemptions for lineal relatives under § 3 No. 6 GrEStG, and the income tax treatment of reservations of usufruct.

Its proximity to Franconian Switzerland and good transportation links to Nuremberg make Forchheim an attractive place to live, where real estate is often passed down within families. The Forchheim Appraisal Committee has projected purchase prices of €2,200-3,400 per square meter of living space for 2025-a range that demonstrates that such transfers can also be financially worthwhile.

Conclusion for Property Owners in Forchheim

In Germany, a change of ownership of land and real estate is almost without exception subject to notarization. The only practically significant exception is the transfer of ownership through inheritance, which occurs by operation of law. However, the land register must still be updated in such cases-and there is a two-year period during which this can be done free of charge.

Before you transfer a property in Forchheim or take it over as an heir, it’s worth using the valuation tool from leadmarkt.ch-it provides you with a well-founded estimate of the market value and helps you decide whether a sale, personal use, or transfer within the family is the best option.

Land Registry Correction Following Inheritance: Practice in Forchheim

Even if the transfer of ownership upon inheritance occurs without a notary and without a land registry entry, the land registry must subsequently be corrected (Section 82 GBO). As long as the land registry is in the name of the decedent, it reflects an incorrect legal status-which complicates the sale, encumbrance, and management of the property.

To correct the land register at the Forchheim Local Court, the heirs need one of the following proofs of inheritance:

A notarial certificate of inheritance (applied for at the Forchheim Probate Court, Local Court), a notarial will, or an inheritance contract with a notarial certificate of opening from the Probate Court, or-in the case of European inheritances with an international dimension-a European Certificate of Succession.

The two-year period for fee-free land registry correction begins upon the date of death. Anyone who fails to correct the entry by the end of this period must pay the full land registry fees under the GNotKG. These fees can amount to several hundred euros for a property valued at 400,000 euros.

In the practice of the Forchheim Local Court, it is advisable to submit all documents in full: certificate of inheritance or will + certificate of probate, application for correction of ownership, and, if applicable, a declaration of acceptance from the other co-heirs (in the case of a community of heirs). Incomplete submissions lead to follow-up inquiries and delays.

International Aspect: Inheritance Cases with Foreign Connections in Forchheim

Many property owners in the Forchheim district have an immigrant background or have family members living abroad. What happens if a decedent with real estate assets in Forchheim dies and the heirs live abroad?

Since the EU Succession Regulation (EuErbVO) of 2015, the following applies: The succession is generally governed by the law of the testator’s last habitual residence. Anyone who lived in Forchheim is subject to German inheritance law-even if the heirs live in Turkey, Greece, or another EU country.

For real estate in Germany, the law of the location (where the property is situated) applies to the transfer of title: The transfer of ownership at the Forchheim Land Registry is carried out in accordance with German land registry law, regardless of the applicable inheritance law. The Land Registry requires appropriate proof of inheritance (certificate of inheritance or European Certificate of Succession pursuant to Art. 62 of the EU Succession Regulation).

The European Certificate of Succession is particularly useful when heirs need to take action in multiple EU countries: It is applied for once and is recognized as official proof of inheritance in all EU member states. The Forchheim Probate Court (Local Court) issues the certificate and provides assistance in international inheritance cases.

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Prepared by the my-home.de editorial team in collaboration with regional real estate analysts. Data as of: Q1/Q2 2026.