Real estate and construction law

From the purchase of the land to the completion of your project.

Whenever you deal with real estate, you face the question “How do I get it right?”. Sound legal advice is already very important at this stage. True to the motto “better safe than sorry”, our experts support you in all matters of real estate law. From the purchase of a plot of land and the development of the project through to its completion, we assist you with all questions of contract negotiation, drafting and performance.

Whether you are a general contractor, investor, subcontractor, architect or private builder: at our firm you are advised by specialist lawyers for construction and architectural law, for banking and capital markets law, for tenancy and commonhold law and for tax law. Where the project requires it, they work together so that every aspect of your property is covered.

We will be happy to assist you in drafting all common types of agreements relating to the purchase of land and the construction of a building, such as land purchase, property development, subcontractor, architect, engineer and GMP agreements. Whether general terms and conditions or individually negotiated agreements: we advise you and draft your agreement with you, taking into account all the particular features of your project.

Even after your construction project has been completed, or if you already own an existing property, our team of specialist lawyers for tenancy and commonhold law will support you in the ongoing management of your property. Our specialists have many years of experience in drafting and reviewing commercial and residential leases as well as declarations of division, and use it to develop tailored solutions with you for your individual needs.

For comprehensive multidisciplinary advice, our specialist lawyers for company law and inheritance law are also available to you where needed, so that all aspects of the real estate and construction industry can be taken into account. Whether short-term individual questions or ongoing legal support for your project: we are a reliable point of contact for you.

Our advisory fields

Construction financing

Good advice on construction and property development financing requires extensive knowledge of and experience in real estate and construction law. You benefit from the fact that our construction financing specialists have many years of experience not only in banking and capital markets law but also in real estate law and construction law.

Purchase of land

Our specialists have many years of experience in real estate law. Reviewing and drafting land purchase agreements for properties of every type and size is part of our day-to-day business, as is asserting or defending claims arising from such purchase agreements. We stand up for your rights both out of court and in court.

Project development

We support project developments from the acquisition of the land to the sale of the completed units. Among other things, we advise on due diligence reviews, land acquisitions, obtaining planning permission, project structuring and property development and general contractor agreements.

Public building law

Planning law and building regulations law must be observed when realising projects of any kind. Areas of conflict arise here, for example, in connection with the granting or refusal of building permits or with the drawing up of building development plans. Sound advice is therefore essential for builders and investors to realise their projects. We provide comprehensive advice on this. Negotiating with authorities is a matter of course for us, as is advising in planning approval procedures, enforcing your claims with regard to the building permit or having building development plans reviewed in judicial review proceedings.

Property development agreement

Under a property development agreement, the purchaser acquires a property that has not yet been completed. Because of the considerable financial risks for everyone involved, this type of agreement is subject to special statutory requirements.

In addition to the protective mechanisms of the Ordinance for Brokers and Property Developers (MaBV), the rules of property development contract law in Sections 650u et seq. of the German Civil Code (BGB) in particular must be observed today. Errors in drafting the agreement, in performing it or in securing purchasers' funds can have serious financial consequences and lead to protracted legal disputes.

We advise and represent purchasers, property developers, investors and financing banks in all matters of property development law. This includes in particular:

• drafting and reviewing property development agreements,
• questions concerning when purchasers' instalments fall due,
• securing purchasers' funds in accordance with the MaBV,
• disputes over security arrangements under Sections 2 et seq. MaBV,
• calling on guarantees under Section 7 MaBV,
• asserting and defending claims under completion, warranty and other securities,
• special requests and change orders during construction,
• acceptance of separate property and common property,
• claims for defects and warranty claims of purchasers and commonhold associations,
• claims for damages due to construction delays, construction defects or breaches of duty by parties involved in the project.

We support our clients from contract negotiations and the construction phase through to asserting or defending claims after the project has been completed. With many years of experience, we advise and represent both purchasers and property developers and know the interests and legal challenges on both sides.

Construction delay and disruption

Time is a major source of disputes and costs, particularly when a construction project is being carried out. If construction is delayed, this can quickly result in financial claims on a scale that threatens the existence of the parties and jeopardises the completion of the entire project. We advise on the resulting claims and support you in asserting or defending them, drawing on the many years of experience of our specialist lawyers for construction and architectural law.

Change orders

As soon as anything changes in the originally agreed scope of work, conflicts often arise as to whether this affects the contractor's remuneration. Our experts also have many years of experience in assessing the potential for change orders under global fixed-price, detailed fixed-price and unit pricing agreements. We will be happy to advise you on reviewing and managing change orders.

Rights in respect of defects and warranty

Not every property or new building always fully meets expectations. If, after the purchase or during construction, the property deviates from the agreed or expected condition, the question arises as to whether there are defects. This is an area in which extensive and protracted disputes between the parties often arise. It is crucial to take the right measures at the right time to avoid losing rights. Whether advising the building contractor on avoiding reimbursement claims by the purchaser or enforcing claims for defects: our real estate and construction law team supports you with many years of experience in warranty matters from the perspective of both contracting parties. From the outset, we have regarded asserting warranty rights out of court and in court, and defending against unjustified claims, as one of our core competencies.

Architectural and engineering law

Planning also plays a major role in construction support. Our team of specialists also assists you in drafting architect and engineering agreements, paying particular attention in your interest to the entire law on architects' and engineers' fees. With many years of experience, defending against or asserting liability claims is also part of our expertise.

Commonhold law

Commonhold law has undergone fundamental changes as a result of the reform of the German Commonhold Act (WEMoG). Since then, the commonhold association has had full legal capacity and, as a legal entity in its own right, holds numerous rights and obligations relating to the community. The WEG administrator has also been given extended rights and obligations. Not least since the reform of the Commonhold Act, both commonhold associations (WEG) and WEG administrators have faced new challenges in passing resolutions and in matters of liability.

We advise and represent commonhold associations, administrators, advisory boards and individual unit owners in all matters of WEG law. This concerns in particular:

• actions to challenge resolutions and actions to substitute resolutions,
• structural alterations and modernisation measures,
• energy-efficient refurbishment,
• charging infrastructure for electric vehicles,
• warranty claims of the association against property developers and construction companies,
• administrator liability,
• claims for owners' monthly contributions and advance payments,
• drafting and interpreting community regulations and declarations of division.

With many years of litigation experience, we represent our clients both out of court and in court. As there are no longer any separate admission requirements for the individual instances, we can represent you comprehensively before all local courts, regional courts and higher regional courts.

ESG, sustainability and energy

The regulatory requirements for real estate continue to evolve. Energy-efficiency refurbishment obligations, sustainability requirements and questions of decarbonisation are becoming increasingly important for owners, project developers and investors.

We advise in particular on:

• the Building Energy Act (GEG),
• energy-efficient modernisation,
• photovoltaic systems,
• charging infrastructure for electric vehicles,
• heat pump and district heating projects,
• implementing ESG strategies in property portfolios,
• the effects of refurbishment measures under tenancy law and WEG law.

Conciliation and arbitration proceedings

Of course, we also support you in litigation in all matters of real estate law. However, a judge does not always have to decide. In some cases, conciliation and arbitration proceedings offer the parties a way of resolving tensions much more quickly than through the ordinary civil courts. We therefore also advise and represent clients in conciliation and arbitration proceedings, on both the client side and the contractor side. If the parties do not reach a satisfactory result, we will of course not shy away from subsequently enforcing your claims in court, drawing on our many years of litigation experience.