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Correction of the owner in the land register after inheritance

If you have become the owner of a property through inheritance, you must have the land register corrected by registering yourself.

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Detailed description

In the event of an inheritance, ownership of a property automatically passes to the heir or heirs. Acceptance of the inheritance does not have to be explicitly declared or a certificate of inheritance applied for. This means that the land register becomes incorrect upon the death of the owner and must be corrected.

Since the accuracy of the land register as an official register is in the public interest, the heirs are obliged to apply to the land registry office for the correction of the land register and to obtain all documents to prove the succession. If this obligation is not fulfilled voluntarily, the land registry office can also enforce it by imposing a penalty.

If a community of heirs becomes the owner of the property, each of the co-heirs can apply for a correction in the land register. In principle, all members of the community of heirs will then be entered in the land register.

Eligible to apply are:

  • The sole heir
  • One or more co-heirs of a community of heirs
  • The executor, if execution of the will has been ordered in a will or inheritance contract.

 

Information

Prerequisites

After an inheritance, a property is part of the estate.

Documents required

  • Written, signed application for correction of the land register.

To correct the land register due to an inheritance, you also need one of the following documents to prove the succession:

  • Certificate of inheritance (a copy is not sufficient)

or

  • certified copy of a European Certificate of Succession whose validity period (= 6 months from the date of issue) has not yet expired

or

  • clear, notarized will or notarized inheritance contract with the opening minutes of the probate court – both in certified copies

or

  • You can refer to the probate files if the competent probate court belongs to the same local court as the competent land registry office

A handwritten will is not sufficient for correction in the land register; in this case, a certificate of inheritance must be applied for at the probate court.

Please note

Legal advice is not available at the district court. Please contact the persons authorized to provide legal advice. These are lawyers or notaries.
The Public Legal Advice Service (ÖRA) offers low-cost legal advice for people with low incomes.

Deadlines

Within 2 years of the inheritance occurring, the transfer is free of charge.

Procedure

  • Submit the application for correction of the land register to the land registry office responsible for you.
  • Attach the necessary evidence to correct the land register in the required form.
  • The land registry office checks your documents and requests any missing documents.
  • The land registry office corrects the land register and registers the heirs as new owners.
  • You will receive a message that the registration has been completed.

Processing time

individually, depending on the workload of the responsible land registry office and the time when all required documents are submitted to the land registry office in the correct form

Fees

A full fee is charged for registering a new owner in the land register. The amount of the fee depends on the value of the property, which is requested when the application is submitted.


However, if the application for correction of the land register is submitted to the land registry office within two years of the inheritance, the transfer of ownership is free of charge.

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Keywords: correct the land register Enter heirs in the land register land register incorrect inheritance

Last updated: 05.02.2025