Own-use notice after buying a let flat
“It is let, but we will give notice for own use” is the assumption that most often wrecks the numbers on a tenanted German flat. Buying starts two clocks, one after the other: first the blocking period of § 577a BGB, then the notice period of § 573c BGB, which grows with how long the tenant has lived there. Four years can pass between the land register and an empty flat – without anyone doing anything wrong. Eigenbedarf is the German term for terminating a residential tenancy because the landlord needs the flat for themselves or their family.
Step 0: you buy the tenancy agreement with it
Under § 566 (1) BGB, a buyer to whom let residential space is sold after handover to the tenant “assumes the rights and obligations arising from the lease during the period of his ownership, in place of the landlord”. The contract carries over unchanged: same rent, same length of tenancy, same side agreements – and with it the deposit, which you owe even if it was never transferred at completion, as the article on the rental deposit shows.
For the deadline arithmetic that means: the length of the tenancy starts with the handover to the tenant, not with your purchase.
Clock 1: the blocking period of § 577a BGB
§ 577a (1) BGB bites when two things coincide: condominium ownership was created in let residential space after it was handed over to the tenant, and that condominium ownership was then sold. In that case a buyer “may not rely on legitimate interests within the meaning of § 573 (2) no. 2 or 3 until three years have elapsed since the sale” – so neither on own use nor on the commercial realisation ground.
The decisive sequence is in the wording: conversion after the tenancy began. If the building was already split before the tenant moved in, subsection 1 does not apply – and § 577a (1a) sentence 2 BGB carves that case out of its constellation too.
| Constellation | Blocking period under § 577a BGB |
|---|---|
| Conversion to condominium ownership after handover, then sale | 3 years since the sale (sub. 1) |
| Same, but in an area designated by state ordinance | up to 10 years (sub. 2) |
| Sale to a partnership or to several buyers | applies accordingly (sub. 1a sent. 1 no. 1) |
| Encumbrance in favour of those buyers depriving the tenant of contractual use | applies accordingly (sub. 1a sent. 1 no. 2) |
| The buyers belong to the same family or household | sub. 1a sent. 1 does not apply (sub. 1a sent. 2) |
Subsection 1a is the anti-circumvention bolt: buying through a partnership or as a group of buyers triggers the same restriction, even without a prior conversion. If condominium ownership is only created afterwards, the period under § 577a (2a) BGB already starts with that sale or encumbrance – the conversion does not restart the clock.
Clock 2: the notice period of § 573c BGB
Once the blocking period has run, the second clock starts. § 573c (1) sentence 1 BGB requires the notice to arrive “no later than the third working day of a calendar month, to take effect at the end of the month after next” – the basic period of three months. Sentence 2 adds: “The notice period for the landlord is extended by three months each after five and after eight years since the residential space was handed over.” Again what counts is the handover to the tenant, not your acquisition.
| Length of tenancy since handover | Notice period | Notice in May takes effect on |
|---|---|---|
| up to 5 years | 3 months | 31 July |
| after 5 years | 6 months | 31 October |
| after 8 years | 9 months | 31 January of the following year |
The third working day is a hard edge: if the notice only arrives on the fourth, it slips a whole month.
Both clocks in one example
- The tenant moves in on 1 March 2016 – that is the handover.
- In 2024 the building is split into flats, i.e. after the handover.
- You buy the flat; the sale is dated 15 April 2026.
- § 577a (1) BGB: you may not invoke own use until three years have elapsed since the sale – so from mid-April 2029 at the earliest.
- Notice served by the third working day of May 2029. The tenant has then lived there for 13 years, so both extensions under § 573c (1) sentence 2 BGB apply: 3 + 3 + 3 = 9 months.
- Basic period to 31 July 2029, plus six months: the tenancy ends on 31 January 2030.
That is roughly three years and nine and a half months from purchase to the earliest possible move-out – with no designated area, no objection and no dispute. If the flat sits in an area under § 577a (2) BGB, the first clock alone can stretch to ten years. Own use is therefore no lever for emptying a let flat quickly – the period belongs realistically in the cash flow calculation.
What § 573 BGB expressly does not allow
Own use exists under § 573 (2) no. 2 BGB where “the landlord needs the premises as a dwelling for himself, members of his family or members of his household”. Two neighbouring routes are closed by the same section:
- Notice in order to raise the rent – excluded by § 573 (1) sentence 2 BGB. For the permitted route, see the article on the rent increase and the capping limit.
- Notice in order to sell better – § 573 (2) no. 3 BGB does permit termination for commercial realisation, but expressly rules out relying on the fact “that he wishes to sell the rented premises in connection with an intended creation of condominium ownership, or one effected after handover to the tenant”. The prospect of a higher rent from letting elsewhere is likewise disregarded.
Formally, § 573 (3) BGB also applies: the grounds must be stated in the notice letter; grounds added later count only in so far as they arose subsequently.
Two points that push the date back further
The tenant's right of first refusal, § 577 BGB
Where let residential space in which condominium ownership has been or is to be created after the handover is sold to a third party, the tenant is entitled to pre-emption under § 577 (1) sentence 1 BGB; a sale to a family member or a member of the household is excluded. So the very constellation that triggers the blocking period also activates the right of first refusal.
The tenant's objection, § 574 BGB
A valid notice does not necessarily end the tenancy on the calculated date. Under § 574 (1) BGB the tenant may object and demand continuation where ending the tenancy would be a hardship for them or their household that is not justifiable even weighing your legitimate interests – and under subsection 2 a hardship also exists where suitable replacement accommodation cannot be obtained on reasonable terms. Subsection 3 ties this to form: only the grounds stated in the notice letter under § 573 (3) BGB are weighed.
Tenancy start, deadlines and purchase dates per unit in one place
RenoDiary keeps tenancy start, purchase date, documents and deadlines together per property and unit – so tenancy length and deadlines sit where you do the maths.
Try it for freeWhat the courts have decided
How far the blocking period reaches when a flat does not pass to an outside buyer but into a family-owned partnership was only settled by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) in 2026.
BGH, judgment of 21 January 2026 – VIII ZR 247/24
A sole owner contributed his let flat — converted into condominium ownership only after the tenant had moved in — to a civil-law partnership (GbR) he formed with his wife and their children; the partnership then gave notice for the daughter's own use. The BGH held that even this purely intra-family transfer counts as a "disposal" (Veräußerung) within the meaning of § 577a BGB and triggers the blocking period under subsection 1. The family exception in § 577a (1a) sentence 2 BGB applies only to the scenario that provision actually regulates — a partnership or group of buyers acquiring flats that were already condominium property — and cannot be applied directly or by analogy to subsection 1 where the conversion happened only after the tenant moved in. For landlords, that means: routing a purchase through your own family partnership does not shorten the blocking period — it still runs in full, regardless of who ends up holding the shares.
Frequently asked questions
Does the blocking period apply if the flat was already converted before the tenant moved in?
§ 577a (1) BGB is tied to condominium ownership being created “after the handover to the tenant”; if the conversion happened earlier, that requirement is missing. The period under § 573c BGB applies regardless.
When exactly do the three years start?
The statute says “since the sale” and does not define that moment further. Whether the notarial appointment or the entry in the land register is decisive is not answered by § 577a BGB – that is a point to clarify with a lawyer before serving notice. For an acquisition calculation, assume the later of the two dates.
Can the blocking period be contracted out in the purchase agreement?
No. § 577a (3) BGB renders any agreement deviating to the tenant's detriment ineffective; the same applies under § 573 (4) BGB to the conditions for termination.
What if I want to sell the flat once it is vacant?
Then the second calculation is a tax one: there is a period between acquisition and disposal within which the gain is taxable, and own use changes the picture. The details are in the article on capital gains tax on a property sale.
Sources
- § 566 BGB (sale does not override lease) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- § 573 BGB (ordinary termination by the landlord) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- § 573c BGB (notice periods for ordinary termination) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- § 574 BGB (tenant's objection to the termination) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- § 577 BGB (tenant's right of first refusal) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- § 577a BGB (restriction on termination after conversion) — Gesetze im Internet (retrieved on 20 August 2026)
- BGH, judgment of 21 January 2026 – VIII ZR 247/24 (contribution to a family partnership as a disposal, no family exception under subsection 1) — Federal Court of Justice (retrieved on 25 August 2026)
This article provides general orientation and does not replace individual tax or legal advice within the meaning of § 3 StBerG. Whether a notice is valid in a specific tenancy remains a question of the particular case. Quotations from the German statutes are working translations; the German wording is authoritative.