Austria: Deadline for the Land Register Fee Exemption Approaching

An important deadline is approaching for clients planning to purchase property or apply for a mortgage in Austria: under the current regulation (§ 25a Gerichtsgebührengesetz / "Temporäre Gebührenbefreiung bei dringendem Wohnbedürfnis"), the exemption from the 1.1% land register registration fee and the 1.2% mortgage registration fee remains available until 30 June 2026, provided that the statutory conditions are fulfilled.

As Austrian real estate transactions involve several interconnected legal and banking processes — and as additional documentation is required for the fee exemption — proper timing is currently of particular importance.

About the Procedure

In Austria, the purchase of real estate and the establishment of a mortgage are not completed solely by signing the contracts. In practice, ownership rights and the bank's mortgage rights become fully legally effective only upon registration in the Austrian land register (Grundbuch).

The required applications must be submitted to the competent district court acting as the land register court (Bezirksgericht als Grundbuchsgericht), typically through the attorney's electronic filing system.

Therefore, regarding eligibility for the current fee exemption, not only the date of signing the contracts is relevant, but also whether all required land register applications and supporting documents can be submitted in due time.

Which Steps Are Required Before Submission?

In Austrian practice, the land register filing is generally preceded by several preparatory steps, including:

• signing the purchase agreement,
• preparation of the loan and mortgage documentation,
• completion of the required tax notifications,
• obtaining the so-called Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung,
• transfer of the buyer's equity contribution and the loan amount to the attorney's escrow account (Treuhandkonto),
• as well as legal measures required to secure the land register priority ranking.

Several of these processes may be time-consuming from the banking, governmental and legal side alike, particularly due to the currently increased transaction volume.

Proper Timing

Based on practical experience, bank-side credit assessments are generally relatively fast: property valuation and compliance review usually take approximately 1–5 business days, while preparation of the loan agreements often depends on submission of the purchase agreement for review and may typically require an additional 2–3 business days.

Thereafter, the following steps are still required:

• execution of the contracts,
• completion of the loan disbursement,
• escrow settlement procedures,
• and preparation of the complete land register documentation package.

According to feedback from our cooperating law firms, financing and contractual processes should ideally reach the stage of financial settlement and land register preparation by mid-June at the latest in order to meet the end-of-June deadline with sufficient certainty.

Taking the preceding preparation period into account, prospective buyers who are currently considering a purchase are therefore advised to submit their mortgage applications preferably within the coming week. In addition, following handover of the property, tenants should terminate their existing rental agreements without delay and register their primary residence at the newly acquired property as soon as possible. Within this timeframe, there is still a strong possibility of qualifying for the fee exemption period.

Important Notice

The timeframe outlined above represents an experience-based guideline and may vary depending on the complexity of the individual transaction. Nevertheless, we take all necessary steps in the interest of our clients and support them in achieving the fastest possible processing and completion of their transactions.

Please feel free to share this information with friends and acquaintances - depending on the transaction size, the potential savings may range from several thousand up to tens of thousands of euros.

Further information regarding mortgage financing requirements, procedural details and application processes can be found in the following menu: