Land register entry in Austria – how long it takes and what it costs

Key points

• You become the owner only with the entry in the land register, not with the purchase contract (§ 431 ABGB).
• Before the entry: self-assessment of the transfer tax, notification to the tax office, application by the contract drafter to the land register court.
• Registration fee: 1.1% of the value for ownership, 1.2% for a mortgage (TP 9 lit. b GGG), plus a fixed application fee of €61 when filed electronically (€85 without electronic legal communication).
• The temporary fee exemption for owner-occupied homes (§§ 25a–25c GGG) expired on 30 June 2026.
• A priority notice secures the buyer's rank for one year (§ 53 GBG).
• There is no statutory deadline; in our practice in Vienna and Lower Austria it usually takes 2 to 6 weeks from a complete application.

What is the Grundbuch?

The Grundbuch is the public register in which ownership, encumbrances (such as mortgages) and other rights over land in Austria are recorded. It is kept by the district courts and is generally open to inspection; anyone who relies in good faith on its entries is legally protected. Every property has its own folio number (Einlagezahl) with an A sheet (land data), a B sheet (ownership) and a C sheet (encumbrances such as mortgages, easements and restraints on charging or sale).

From signature to entry

1. Sign the purchase contract. A notary or lawyer drafts the contract, usually with certified signatures (see Property purchase contract in Austria).
2. Self-assess the transfer tax. The contract drafter usually calculates the real estate transfer tax (3.5% of the assessment basis, graduated in certain cases) and submits it electronically to the tax office.
3. Notification to the court. The entry can only be applied for once the tax is paid; with self-assessment, an electronic notification replaces the tax clearance certificate.
4. Application to the land register court. The contract drafter files the application to register ownership electronically with the competent district court.
5. Court decision. The court checks the application and documents and approves the entry by decision – or asks for corrections.
6. Land register extract. After the entry, the buyer is shown as owner on the B sheet; a current extract can be obtained online.

How long does the land register entry take?

There is no statutory deadline for the land register court. The time depends on the court's workload, on complete documents and on whether tax and fees were paid before the application. From ImmoLöwin's practice in Vienna and Lower Austria: usually 2 to 6 weeks from a complete application. The faster the tax self-assessment and the documents are ready, the sooner the application can be filed – the court's own processing time afterwards is the part you can influence least.

Costs of the land register entry

The amounts are index-linked; the basis is the version of the Court Fees Act in RIS (checked on 30 October 2026). In practice the contract drafter files electronically, so €61 is usually payable.

Important: from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026 there was a temporary exemption from the registration fee for buying a home for one's own urgent housing needs (§§ 25a–25c GGG): fully up to €500,000 assessment basis, between €500,000 and €2,000,000 only for the first €500,000, and not at all above €2,000,000. The exemption expired on 30 June 2026: it applies only to applications received by the court by that date. Later applications pay the full 1.1% and 1.2%. All purchase costs together are in Additional costs when buying property.

Priority notice

The priority notice for an intended sale (§ 53 GBG) secures the buyer a fixed rank in the land register for one year from approval, before the final entry. It protects against the seller charging or selling the property again in the meantime: an entry within the year takes effect as if made on the day the notice was approved. This matters especially when time passes between the purchase offer and signing the contract.

Escrow

In practice the purchase price almost always goes through an escrow account (Treuhandkonto) with a notary or lawyer. The escrow agent pays the seller only once the buyer's unencumbered entry is secured – after the actual entry, or once all documents needed for it, including the priority notice, are available.

What the buyer may do before the entry

With a signed contract, the price secured in escrow and an agreed handover, the property can usually already be handed over and used, even though the entry is still pending. Full ownership with all rights against third parties – for example to sell or charge the property – only comes with the entry.

Land register extract online

Through JustizOnline you can obtain a current extract for any property in Austria: full extract €4.89, partial extract (A, B or C sheet only) €2.60. Since 1 October 2026, owners can retrieve the extract for their own property free of charge. Certified extracts for authorities are available from a notary.