Handing over a house after a sale: payment, keys and the handover record

Understand the four different milestones

Signing the purchase contract is a major step, but it does not mean that you should immediately hand over the keys. In a German house sale, the signing before a notary, the date payment becomes due, the transfer of possession and registration of ownership are separate events. They often occur on different dates. Your moving arrangements need to follow the actual contract, rather than an assumption that everything happens together.

Possession means practical control of the property, commonly achieved through handing over the keys. Ownership in an ordinary property purchase requires the relevant agreement and entry in the German land register, the Grundbuch. Section 873 BGB, together with the formal agreement called Auflassung under section 925 BGB, provides the legal framework. Signing a handover record does not replace registration.

The contract may refer to Besitz, Nutzen und Lasten: possession, benefits and burdens. This describes the economic transfer, including use of the house, entitlement to income and responsibility for the agreed running costs. The risk of accidental damage also needs an agreed starting point. Section 446 BGB supplies the statutory starting rule; the wording of your contract determines how your particular sale is organised.

Highlight the clauses covering payment, vacant possession, handover and risk. Turn them into a short practical checklist. A calendar entry saying “end of the month” is insufficient if handover also depends on full payment. Our house sale checklist covers the wider transaction. The task here is narrower: make sure the final exchange of control, evidence and information works as agreed.

Verify payment rather than a promise to pay

The notary's Fälligkeitsmitteilung is a notice that payment is due under the relevant arrangements. Typical prerequisites include protection of the buyer's acquisition, necessary approvals and documents allowing existing charges to be released. Other contractual conditions, such as the seller moving out, may also matter. The German Federal Chamber of Notaries explains payment becoming due. The notice does not confirm that any money has arrived.

Check receipt against bank records. A buyer's screenshot may show a transfer instruction without proving a credit to the intended recipient. Mortgage approval is also different from payment. Compare the amount and recipient with the agreed instructions. If an entry is unclear, ask your bank or the notary what evidence is needed before making a statement that payment is complete.

Consider a fictional sale for €480,000. The payment instructions require €90,000 to go directly to the seller's existing lender and €390,000 to the seller. Receiving €390,000 therefore does not automatically mean that the buyer has underpaid. However, that credit alone does not prove that the lender received its €90,000. Agree how the lender's receipt will be verified; all required parts of the payment must be accounted for.

Cash is not a solution for an outstanding portion of the house price. Section 16a GwG prohibits settling the consideration for a German property purchase with cash and certain other assets. The parties generally also need to demonstrate the permitted payment to the notary. Ask which bank documents are required, and provide the relevant evidence without disclosing unrelated personal account activity.

Coordinate the appointment with moving out and access

Work backwards from the proposed handover. Establish when your belongings will be removed, when any agreed clearance can be checked and when receipt of payment can reliably be confirmed. Allow enough time to inspect the house and its outbuildings, read the meters and explain the equipment. A rushed appointment between removal van journeys makes it harder to notice missing information.

Confirm who will attend and who has authority to act for each party. An estate agent or family member can help with organisation, but their presence alone does not authorise them to agree compensation or additional obligations. If someone represents you, clarify their role in advance. Receiving a set of keys and settling a disputed damage claim involve different responsibilities.

A buyer wanting to measure rooms before handover may be able to do so during an accompanied visit. Giving them permanent keys, permitting storage or allowing building work goes further. The Federal Chamber of Notaries addresses safeguards for early possession. Discuss permitted access, works, liability, insurance and what happens if the transaction does not proceed before agreeing to such arrangements.

The same care is needed if you want to remain in the house after the planned economic transfer. Even a short extension can affect the buyer's move, contractors and the allocation of costs. Raise delays promptly and have their contractual consequences clarified. A removal booking does not override the contract, and a nearly complete purchase payment is not the same as fulfilment of all agreed handover conditions.

Walk through the property in a consistent order

Choose a route covering the grounds, garage, cellar, living areas and safely accessible roof spaces. Compare the condition with what the contract requires. An older house is not expected to become a new building at handover. Equally, its age does not explain away fresh damage or the removal of something expressly included in the sale.

Separate clearance from the transfer of agreed contents. A kitchen included in the purchase is different from abandoned furniture or paint tins in the shed. Use the existing inventory and check each relevant item. Avoid improvising new price allocations at the door. If an item is to be collected later, identify it precisely and agree who will collect it and when.

Describe observations clearly without turning them into unsupported diagnoses. “Damp patch beside the cellar window” is more useful than “cellar defective”. Take dated photographs that show both the issue and its location. Keep the observed condition, each party's explanation and any promised action separate. This makes the record easier to understand if there is later disagreement about what was actually acknowledged.

Do not hide a known significant issue behind a general statement that the buyer inspected everything. Under section 444 BGB, a seller cannot rely on an exclusion of defect rights where the defect was fraudulently concealed or a relevant guarantee was given. A surveyor can investigate technical causes; a lawyer can assess disputed claims. The handover visit itself does not provide either a comprehensive building survey or a legal determination.

Count keys and transfer technical access

Sort keys by purpose before the appointment: entrance, side door, cellar, letterbox, garage, garden gate and any separate rooms or window locks. Test unidentified keys together. “One bunch of keys” gives little useful evidence. Record actual quantities, for example four front door keys, two letterbox keys and two garage remote controls, if those are the items physically delivered.

Remember spare keys held by relatives, neighbours or anyone who previously helped manage the house. Retrieve them in advance where possible. If a key is missing, record that fact and agree the next step. If the total number of historic copies is unknown, say so. Neither party should sign an unverified statement that every copy has been returned. The buyer can then decide how to manage access and whether to replace cylinders.

Digital locks, alarms and connected heating systems also have access rights. Follow the manufacturer's process for transferring property equipment to the buyer's account. Your personal account, private passwords and unrelated home network information should not simply change hands with the building. Check that the buyer can operate the equipment and that previous remote access can be removed when the transfer is complete.

Show the buyer the main water shut-off, electrical distribution board, heating controls and other relevant operating points. Leave equipment in its agreed safe condition. Explain ordinary operation, but use qualified contractors for work on electrical, gas or other safety-sensitive installations. Where equipment could not be tested during the visit, record that limitation. An unchecked system should not acquire a blanket statement that it works perfectly merely because the keys were handed over.

Record meters and separate the different cost arrangements

For each relevant meter, note its location, identification number, date, time, reading and unit. Photographs should make it possible to match the reading to the correct device. Multiple electricity registers, a separate heat pump meter or a generation meter may require several entries. Do not substitute a figure from an old bill when the current reading can be taken on site.

The record supports allocation of consumption but does not automatically change any supply contract. Decide who will report moving out, moving in and the readings to the relevant organisations. The buyer should arrange their chosen electricity contract before taking electricity. The Federal Network Agency explains switching supplier and moving home. A faster technical switching process does not cancel existing contractual notice requirements.

Distinguish the cost split between buyer and seller from the identity of the person billed by an authority or supplier. An agreement that the buyer bears certain costs from possession does not automatically amend every external contract or assessment. Keep later invoices and apply the agreed allocation method. Annual charges should not simply be treated as though they were daily metered consumption.

Building insurance also needs separate attention. Section 95 VVG connects the purchaser's entry into the insurance relationship with ownership, while section 97 VVG requires prompt notification of the sale. Ask the insurer how cover is maintained between handover and the ownership change. Do not cancel the policy merely because you have moved out and no longer hold the keys.

Make the documents and written record specific

Prepare an organised property file containing available plans, permissions, floor area records, maintenance evidence, manuals and relevant invoices. State what is delivered, whether it is an original or copy, and what remains missing. “All documents received” is not very informative if nobody has identified the documents concerned. Personal tax files and unrelated financial records should not be included indiscriminately.

The energy performance certificate is not something that can routinely be withheld until handover. Where the obligation applies, the statutory rules on energy certificates require presentation during the sale process and delivery of the certificate or a copy without undue delay after the purchase contract is concluded. At handover, check and record whether this earlier obligation has already been met.

The written record should identify the property, parties, any representatives, date and time. Include condition, clearance, keys, meters and documents, with clearly labelled photographic or inventory attachments. Give each outstanding task a responsible person and an agreed date. “The heating manual will be supplied by the seller on the agreed date” is more useful when the particular manual and date are actually specified.

Read the record before signing. A broad waiver or declaration that all claims are settled may go beyond documenting the visit. Changes to the purchase price, handover obligations or liability arrangements should be discussed with the notary beforehand; disputed interests may require your own lawyer. Both parties should receive the same complete version, including attachments and visible corrections. A useful record makes open issues understandable rather than concealing them behind a signature.

Finish the follow-up and plan the sale around your needs

After handover, review the remaining actions: evidence to the notary, supplier notifications, insurance arrangements, promised documents and later invoices. Store confirmations with the purchase contract. Signing the handover record does not automatically complete every contractual or administrative task. Equally, a missing manual should have a clear follow-up instead of disappearing into an indefinite list of “miscellaneous matters”.

A tenanted house requires a different approach from an empty property. Selling residential premises does not simply end the tenancy: section 566 BGB governs continuity within its statutory scope. The transfer therefore also involves organised landlord records and responsibilities. Coordinate tenancy documents and accounting dates separately. An ordinary ownership change does not require tenants to vacate their home or surrender all their keys.

If you are still preparing your sale, include the future handover in your timing and pricing discussions. A sound property valuation supports the financial plan, while our guide to selling a property explains the earlier stages. Tell potential advisers about a later move or a linked purchase before promising a date that your own arrangements cannot support.

Use the sales enquiry form for RICHTER Immobilien-Transaktionen to describe the location, property type, current occupation and preferred handover period. Mention whether a purchase contract already exists or is still being prepared. These details help focus the discussion on your actual sale. Contract interpretation, disputed legal claims and insurance cover remain matters for the appropriate notary, lawyer or insurer.

If the money is missing before handover, our guide to a buyer who has not paid the purchase price explains how to check the payment position and prepare your next steps.