How does buying a property in Austria work?

The essentials in brief

• Once accepted, a purchase offer is already the purchase contract. Conditions such as a financing proviso therefore have to be written into it before you sign, not afterwards.
• Escrow: the purchase price is usually handled via an escrow account (Treuhandkonto) and paid out only once the conditions agreed in the escrow instruction are met — in particular the buyer's entry in the land register and the release of encumbrances (Lastenfreistellung).
• You become the owner with the entry in the land register (Grundbuch), not when you sign and not when you receive the keys.
• Duration: usually four to eight weeks from the offer to the land register. Buyers from non-EU countries generally first need an official permit; how long the authority takes depends on the individual case and the documents. After that, allow another four to six weeks.
• Withdrawal is possible only in narrow cases — for instance under § 30a KSchG (the Austrian consumer protection act), if you signed on the day of the first viewing.
• Before you make an offer, you are entitled to a written overview of the purchase costs from the agent and to see a valid energy certificate (Energieausweis).

The eight steps at a glance

These durations are rules of thumb from practice. They depend above all on the bank, on whoever draws up the contract and on the land register court.

The eight steps in detail

1. Clarify the budget and the financing

Before you view anything, you should know how much you can spend. Allow around 10 % on top of the price for purchase costs, around 11 % with a loan — the breakdown is in our guide Additional costs when buying property. Approval in principle from your bank shows the seller that your offer is serious. How much equity banks currently expect is explained in the guide Property financing.

2. Inspect the property and check the documents

The viewing shows you the condition; the documents show you the risks. Before the offer, check at least the land register extract, the energy certificate and, for flats, the documents of the owners' association. The full list is in the checklist below.

Two obligations lie with the other side:

• The agent must hand you a written overview of all expected costs of the purchase including the commission before you make your offer (§ 30b KSchG).
• The seller must show you an energy certificate no more than ten years old in good time before your contractual declaration. After the contract is concluded, they must hand it over within 14 days. If no certificate is provided, the energy efficiency typical for a building of that age and type is deemed to have been agreed.

3. Make the purchase offer

The purchase offer (Kaufanbot) is your written offer to the seller. Once the seller accepts it, the purchase contract is concluded — even though the detailed contract is only signed later at the notary's or lawyer's office. That is why everything essential belongs in the offer:

• the price and any furnishings included in the sale
• how long you are bound by the offer
• the desired handover date
• who draws up the contract and handles the escrow
• conditions, above all a financing proviso: the offer only stands if a bank approves the loan by a given date
• for buyers from non-EU countries: the permit of the land transfer authority as a condition

The agent earns the commission once the purchase contract takes effect. If the contract is subject to a condition precedent, such as the financing, the claim only arises once that condition is met (§ 7 MaklerG).

4. Finalise the loan

Once the offer has been accepted, the bank issues the binding offer together with the European Standardised Information Sheet (ESIS). This offer must remain open for at least seven days — enough time to compare it with other banks. To register the mortgage in the land register, you sign a mortgage deed (Pfandurkunde). Keep an eye on the registered amount: the registration fee is 1.2 % of it.

5. Sign the purchase contract and pay the price into escrow

A notary or lawyer draws up the purchase contract. The signatures are certified — without the seller's certified signature, nothing can be entered in the land register. You then transfer the purchase price — and usually the property transfer tax and the registration fee as well — to the escrow account of whoever drew up the contract. If you are financing the purchase, the bank pays its share directly into that account.

The trustee only pays out once the conditions agreed in the contract are met. Additional protection comes from the note of priority for the intended sale (Anmerkung der Rangordnung): for one year it secures the priority of your entry, so that any encumbrances the seller creates later cannot rank ahead of you.

6. Obtain the permit — only for buyers from non-EU countries

Whether a foreign buyer needs a permit depends on the federal province and on their personal status. In Vienna, EU and EEA nationals are in principle exempt from the permit requirement. Third-country nationals generally require a permit; statutory exceptions and exceptions under international treaties have to be checked in each individual case. The permit is issued in Vienna by the MA 35, in Lower Austria by the provincial government. Until it is granted, the contract does not take effect and the money stays in escrow. The requirements, fees and documents are explained in the guide Buying property in Austria as a foreigner.

7. Handover of the property

The contract determines when you get the keys. Often this is as soon as the full purchase price is held in escrow, i.e. before the land register entry. Record the handover in a handover report:

• meter readings for electricity, gas, water and heating
• the number of keys
• visible defects and the furnishings handed over

Afterwards, transfer the energy and internet contracts into your name, notify the building management and take out insurance. If you move in, you must register your residence with the registration authority within three days.

8. Land register entry and payout to the seller

Whoever drew up the contract applies for your ownership and the bank's mortgage to be entered. With that entry, you legally become the owner. The trustee pays the purchase price out to the seller once the conditions agreed in the escrow instruction are met — in particular the buyer's entry in the land register and the release of encumbrances. For developer projects, the special payment rules of the Bauträgervertragsgesetz (developer contracts act) apply. The seller's existing loans are paid off from the purchase price and deleted from the land register. How long the entry takes depends on the district court — usually a few weeks. Finally, you receive a land register extract showing you as the owner and the statement of the escrow account.

How long does buying a property take?

Without an official permit, we allow four to eight weeks from the accepted offer to the land register entry. If the buyer needs a permit as a non-EU national, the authority's procedure comes first. How long the authority takes depends on the individual case and the documents; the city does not commit to a specific duration. The statutory duty to decide is governed in principle by § 73 AVG. Once the permit is granted, allow another four to six weeks. It also takes longer if the loan comes through late or the seller has to clear encumbrances first. In new-build projects, payments follow construction progress and handover follows completion.

How long does the land register entry take?

There is no statutory deadline by which the land register court must make the entry. The entry is made by the locally competent district court (Bezirksgericht); the official portal oesterreich.gv.at only notes that processing the application at court can take some time. The application can only be filed once the conditions are met — usually the release of encumbrances, payment of the real estate transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer) and any required official permits. From filing, our experience is two to four weeks depending on the court; this is a practical guide, not an official commitment. You only become the owner once the entry has been made.

Can you withdraw from a purchase offer?

As a rule, no: an accepted offer binds both sides. The law does, however, provide exceptions for consumers:

• § 30a KSchG — signing on the day of the first viewing. It applies to a flat, a single-family house or a building plot for such a house, where the purchase is meant to meet an urgent housing need of your own or of close relatives. You can withdraw in writing within one week. The period only starts once you have received a copy of your declaration and information on the right of withdrawal. The right expires one month after the first viewing at the latest.
• § 3a KSchG — promised circumstances do not materialise. If a business, for instance a developer, described a loan, a subsidy or a tax advantage as likely during the negotiations and it then fails to materialise through no fault of yours, you can withdraw within one week of learning about it. This does not apply when buying from a private individual.

More reliable than any statutory right of withdrawal is a clearly worded condition in the offer itself.

Who pays what?

Whoever drew up the contract calculates the property income tax and pays it out of the purchase price. For you as the buyer, this means no additional payment.

Checklist: documents before the purchase offer

• ☐ current land register extract: owner, mortgage liens, rights of residence and pre-emption rights
• ☐ energy certificate, no more than ten years old
• ☐ for flats: the condominium contract (Wohnungseigentumsvertrag) and the utility value report (Nutzwertgutachten)
• ☐ minutes of the last owners' meetings and planned refurbishments
• ☐ the level of the reserve fund (Rücklage) and the current monthly charge
• ☐ the latest operating cost statement
• ☐ for an attic conversion, extension or house: building permit, completion notice or occupancy permit, zoning
• ☐ for let properties: tenancy agreement, deposit, whether the Tenancy Act (Mietrechtsgesetz, MRG) applies
• ☐ the agent's written overview of the purchase costs
• ☐ the financing confirmation from your bank
• ☐ if you are not an EU or EEA national: the permit question resolved

Selling? → How selling a property works

How ImmoLöwin accompanies you

We check the documents before you make your offer and word the conditions together with you. For the purchase contract and the escrow we recommend notaries and lawyers we work with regularly and whose quality, speed and fees we know. We coordinate appointments with the bank and whoever draws up the contract right through to the handover, in German, Russian, English and Ukrainian. View current properties or book a consultation.