When do I have to pay after the award?

The cash bid must be credited to the court cashier's account before the distribution hearing, and the proof must be available at that hearing (§ 49 (3) ZVG). Depending on the court, it takes place about four weeks to three months after the award. The notice of the hearing must reach you at least two weeks before it (§ 105 (4) ZVG). Interest of 4% a year runs from the award.

Which costs come on top of the bid after the award?

On top come interest on the cash bid, property transfer tax of 3.5% to 6.5% depending on the federal state, a 0.5 fee for the award and a full fee for your entry in the land register. You also take on any rights that remain in place. No notary or estate agent fees apply to acquiring ownership, but a land charge for your bank does cost notary fees.

After the award: payment, interest and taxes

The award (Zuschlag) has been granted and you are the owner. From here, things quickly become concrete: payment, taxes and a few risks you should know about before you bid. A worked example shows what falls due and when for a cash bid of €150,000.

What happens after the award, and in what order?

When the award is pronounced you become the owner (§§ 89, 90 ZVG). Risk, benefits and charges pass to you (§ 56 ZVG).
The court serves you with the award order (§ 88 ZVG), and the time limit for a complaint runs.
The court sets the distribution hearing (§ 105 (1) ZVG) and reports the acquisition to the tax office.
You transfer the cash bid plus interest to the court cashier, less any security you transferred.
The tax office assesses the property transfer tax. After payment it issues the tax clearance certificate (Unbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung, § 22 GrEStG).
Once the distribution plan has been carried out and the award is final, the court asks the land registry to enter you (§ 130 (1) ZVG). You do not need a notary for this.

The tax clearance certificate is a precondition for the entry. The land registry can register a land charge for your bank only after your own entry (§ 130 (3) ZVG). So clarify beforehand how the bank secures its payout until then.

Can the award still be set aside?

Yes, but only in complaint proceedings (§ 90 (1) ZVG). The parties, you yourself and a bidder whose bid has not lapsed can file a complaint (§ 97 (1) ZVG). The time limit is two weeks (§ 569 (1) ZPO). For parties present at the hearing it starts when the award is pronounced, for all others usually when it is served (§ 98 ZVG). The grounds are narrow: the complaint must rest on a breach of §§ 81, 83 to 85a ZVG, or on the award having been granted under conditions other than those the auction was based on (§ 100 (1) ZVG).

There is no withdrawal because you have changed your mind or the property has defects. Even so, hold off on building work until the award is final. If a complaint is pending, you can apply for the distribution plan not to be carried out until the award is final (§ 116 ZVG).

By when do you have to pay the cash bid?

The cash bid is the amount you bid at the hearing. It must be credited to the court cashier's account before the distribution hearing, and proof must be available at that hearing (§ 49 (1) and (3) ZVG). A security you transferred is set off (§ 107 (3) ZVG), so you pay only the difference. The local court of Dorsten treats a cashed cheque the same way. A bank guarantee, by contrast, is no part payment.

The court sets the date of the distribution hearing, and the courts' statements differ: the local courts of Lingen and Merseburg name about four to eight weeks after the award, Ludwigshafen six to eight weeks after the auction, Braunschweig six to ten weeks, Essen mostly about two months and Dorsten two to three months. The notice of the hearing must reach you at least two weeks before it (§ 105 (4) ZVG). If you are funding the purchase through a bank, you should arrange the financing before the auction hearing; see Financing a compulsory auction.

How much interest is due, and how do you stop it?

From the award, the cash bid bears interest (§ 49 (2) ZVG). That provision names no rate, so the statutory rate of 4% a year applies (§ 246 BGB), which the courts also state in their notes for bidders. The local courts of Lingen, Merseburg and Dorsten calculate up to the day before the distribution hearing.

The interest obligation ends earlier if you deposit the amount at the local court, waiving the right to take it back, and prove this at the distribution hearing (§ 49 (4) ZVG). This is an option if the money is available early. The court will tell you the exact procedure.

What do you pay on top of the bid?

Property transfer tax. The assessment basis is the highest bid including the surviving rights (§ 9 (1) no. 4 GrEStG). The tax rate depends on the federal state (3.5%–6.5%). The tax falls due one month after the assessment notice is issued (§ 15 GrEStG).
Court costs for the award. You bear the costs of the order (§ 58 ZVG). This is a 0.5 fee (no. 2214 of the GKG schedule of costs), calculated on the bid including the value of the surviving rights (§ 54 (2) GKG).
Land-register costs for your registration. This is a full fee under table B (no. 14110 of the GNotKG schedule of costs).

No notary or estate agent fees apply to acquiring ownership. Notary fees do arise, however, if you have a land charge registered for your bank or had a bidding authorisation certified.

What falls due and when for a cash bid of €150,000?

An invented example, the same as in the guide on the auction hearing: the market value is €200,000, you bid €150,000 and transferred the security of €20,000. No rights remain in place. The distribution hearing is six weeks after the award, and the tax rate in this example is 5%.

Item	Calculation	Amount	When
Cash bid	your bid at the hearing	€150,000.00
minus the security you transferred	10% of €200,000	€20,000.00	paid before the auction hearing
Balance to the court cashier	€150,000 minus €20,000	€130,000.00	credited before the distribution hearing
Interest	4% on €150,000 for 42 days	€690.41	with the balance
Property transfer tax	5% of €150,000	€7,500.00	one month after the assessment notice
To pay after the award	balance, interest, tax	€138,190.41

We calculate the interest cautiously on the whole cash bid, as the cost overview of the local court of Dorsten does. The court will tell you the exact amount. Each day costs €16.44 here. If the distribution hearing is three months after the award, 90 days come to €1,479.45 instead of €690.41.

Court and land-register costs are deliberately not in the total, because the value for the land register is not settled in advance. Under the table of the Court Fees Act (GKG), the award fee on €150,000 is €809. The entry costs €354 if the land registry works from €150,000. The local courts of Dorsten and Lingen name the market value or a higher bid as the value, and at €200,000 it would be €435. So plan at least €1,163. Expenses can come on top. The cost calculator works out the property transfer tax for your own bid.

What happens if you do not pay?

If you do not pay in time, the court transfers the claim against you to the entitled parties (§ 118 ZVG) and has judicial mortgages registered on the property for them (§ 128 ZVG). They can enforce against the property from these, even before you are in the land register (§§ 132, 133 ZVG). Regardless of any default, a party expecting satisfaction from the cash bid can apply, as early as at the auction hearing, for the property to be placed under court administration at your expense until you pay (§ 94 ZVG). Under the conditions of § 94a ZVG, the municipality can do so too. What this means for the rest of your assets is covered in the guide on financing.

From when do you bear the risk and the costs of the property?

From the award. The risk of accidental loss, the benefits and the charges then pass to you. For items auctioned with the property, the risk passes as early as the close of the auction (§ 56 sentence 1 ZVG). The court is not liable for material or legal defects: „Ein Anspruch auf Gewährleistung findet nicht statt“, no claim for warranty arises (§ 56 ZVG). A viewing of the interior is generally not enforceable, so you buy with residual uncertainty about the condition. The best time to check these risks is before you bid: first using the risk class for the shortlist, then with the property check in detail.

Clarify the insurance at once. If a building insurance policy exists, you enter into the contract (§§ 95, 99 VVG). You or the former owner must report the acquisition to the insurer without delay (§ 97 VVG). You can terminate the contract within one month (§ 96 (2) VVG). Before the hearing, you often do not know whether there is any insurance at all. The local court of Essen advises taking out fire insurance at once if in doubt.

May tenants stay, and can you give notice?

If the property is let, the tenancies continue (sale does not break a lease, § 57 ZVG and § 566 BGB). The award order is an eviction title against the debtor and other possessors without a continuing right, not against tenants (§ 93 (1) ZVG). You owe a tenant's deposit at the end of the tenancy even if the previous owner never handed it to you (§ 566a BGB, notes of the local court of Ludwigshafen). You do, however, have a special right of termination (§ 57a ZVG): you may give notice, observing the statutory notice period, but only for the first permissible date. If you miss it, the special right of termination lapses. For residential space you still need a legitimate interest, such as personal use (§ 573d (1), § 573 BGB). In a partition auction, § 57a ZVG does not apply (§ 183 ZVG).

Which rights remain in place, and which lapse?

With the award, all rights to the property that do not remain in place under the auction conditions generally lapse (§ 91 (1) ZVG). What survives, by contrast, are the rights taken into account in the lowest bid and not to be covered by payment (§ 52 (1) ZVG), for example a right of residence or an easement in section II of the land register. You must take on such encumbrances. Individual rights can also survive without being taken into account in the lowest bid, for example a registered Altenteil under state law (§ 52 (2) ZVG, § 9 EGZVG). So read the auction conditions carefully. The guide on the lowest bid and rights that remain in place shows what such a right costs economically.

Do you have to pay service-charge arrears on a condominium?

§ 10(1) no. 2 ZVG gives certain service-charge claims priority in the distribution of auction proceeds, capped at 5% of market value. This does not create an automatic additional obligation for you to pay the previous owner's arrears.

Check ongoing service charges, resolutions and the due dates of possible special assessments against the WEG documents, with qualified help where needed. These questions are separate from historical arrears. See the property review before bidding for more.

In brief

Ownership arises when the award is pronounced. There is no withdrawal, and the time limit for a complaint is two weeks.
The cash bid must be credited before the distribution hearing, about four weeks to three months after the award depending on the court. 4% interest runs from the award, and a deposit ends it.
On top come property transfer tax and land-register and court costs.
No warranty, condition at your own risk. Clarify the insurance at once.
Tenants stay (§ 57a: first deadline only), and rights of residence and easements may survive.
Condominium: establish specific service-charge and special-assessment obligations, and do not automatically add historical arrears to your bid.

Note: General orientation, not legal advice. Particularly with surviving rights and let properties, expert advice in the individual case is worthwhile. Statutes checked on 31 October 2026.

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What happens after the award? Payment, interest, taxes and the risks you take on

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