Building Charge and Easement: Difference, Registers and Purchase Check
A building charge and an easement both restrict the use of a plot but have fundamentally different legal effects. This guide explains both terms, the difference between the building charge register and the land register, and typical cases such as a right of way and a right of way for utility lines. With a purchase-check checklist and a note on Bavaria and Brandenburg.
Right of way, setback areas, right of utility line — when buying a plot you quickly come across terms such as building encumbrance (Baulast) and easement (Grunddienstbarkeit). Both restrict the use of a plot in favour of another plot or the authority, but work quite differently in legal terms. Anyone who knows the difference between a building encumbrance and an easement checks the right registers before buying and experiences no nasty surprise later. This guide explains both terms clearly, shows where they are recorded, sheds light on typical cases and provides a checklist for the plot purchase — including the important note that Bavaria and Brandenburg keep no building encumbrance register.
Building encumbrance and easement: the central difference
Short answer: The decisive difference lies in the legal nature: a building encumbrance (Baulast) is a public-law obligation towards the building authority, whereas an easement (Grunddienstbarkeit) is a private-law right in favour of another plot. With the building encumbrance, a plot owner undertakes towards the authority to do, tolerate or refrain from something — for instance to keep a path open for the neighbouring plot. The easement, by contrast, secures a right between two private parties that is recorded in the land register (Grundbuch). Both can concern the same matter, such as a right of way, but are addressed to different parties and appear in different registers. That is why you must check both before buying.
In practice, both often exist side by side: a right of way can be recorded as an easement in the land register and additionally be secured as a building encumbrance so that the authority recognises the development of the rear plot. Anyone who only looks at the land register overlooks the building encumbrance; anyone who only checks the encumbrance register overlooks the easement. For a safe plot purchase, both registers therefore always belong on the test bench. Basic pointers on selecting a plot are given by the guide to plot valuation.
Encumbrance register and land register: two separate registers
Short answer: Building encumbrances are recorded in the building encumbrance register (Baulastenverzeichnis), easements in the land register (Grundbuch) — these are two separate registers with different responsibilities. The land register is kept by the local court (Amtsgericht); in Section II it notes the charges and restrictions such as easements, rights of way and utility line, or usufruct. The encumbrance register is kept by the building supervisory authority — usually at the municipality or district — and documents the public-law building encumbrances. An entry in one register does not automatically mean an entry in the other. For a complete check you must therefore obtain both a current land register extract and a statement from the encumbrance register.
Building encumbrance vs. easement compared
| Feature | Building encumbrance | Easement |
|---|---|---|
| Legal nature | public-law | private-law |
| Register | encumbrance register | land register (Section II) |
| Obligated towards | building authority | benefited plot |
| Kept by | building supervisory authority | local court (land registry) |
| Deletion | by the authority | by consent/land registry |
Bavaria and Brandenburg without an encumbrance register
In Bavaria and Brandenburg there is no building encumbrance register. There, the corresponding securities are mapped exclusively via private-law easements in the land register. Anyone buying in these federal states therefore examines the land register especially carefully — an encumbrance register in which something might be missing simply does not exist there. In case of doubt, clarify with the building authority how a site development or setback area is secured.
Typical cases: right of way, setback areas, right of utility line
Short answer: In practice you will encounter three constellations above all: the right of way, the setback-area encumbrance and the right of utility line. The right of way allows the owner of a rear plot to reach their house across another plot. The setback-area encumbrance ensures that the legally prescribed setback areas of a building may partly lie on the neighbouring plot, provided that this neighbour keeps the area clear. The right of utility line secures the laying and maintenance of water, wastewater or electricity lines across someone else's plot. Each of these restrictions can considerably affect the value and buildability of a plot.
Two perspectives are important for you as a buyer: if an easement or building encumbrance burdens your future plot, it restricts your use — for instance because you have to keep a strip clear for the neighbour's path. If, by contrast, it benefits your plot, it can even be indispensable, for instance if only a recorded right of way secures the access. Setback areas are a frequent point of dispute between neighbours; in-depth pointers are given by the neighbour law guide. A general overview of the easement is provided by the definition of the easement.
Check the plot safely before building
Building encumbrances and easements help decide whether your dream house fits the plot. Compare the offers of several prefab manufacturers free of charge — experienced providers take rights of way, setback areas and rights of utility line into account in the planning.
What consequences building encumbrance and easement have for homebuyers
Short answer: Building encumbrances and easements can directly affect your building plans. A building encumbrance reserving part of your plot for the neighbour's setback area may shrink your own building envelope. A right of way across your plot permanently binds a strip and prevents an extension or garage there. Conversely, a missing but necessary building encumbrance can mean that your own project is not approved at all — for instance if the site development is only possible across someone else's plot. You should therefore know exactly, before concluding the contract, which rights burden the plot and which benefit it. This knowledge feeds directly into the floor-plan planning.
In concrete terms this means: before buying, have both the land register extract and the encumbrance statement presented to you and classify every entry. Clarify whether a burden can be deleted or exists permanently, and whether a building encumbrance needed for your project is already recorded or still has to be established. This check is part of due diligence when buying a plot and complements the review of the building contract described by the building contract guide. Also take possible follow-on costs into account in your ancillary construction costs.
Purchase review: checklist for building encumbrance and land register
Short answer: Before buying a plot, you should systematically check both registers and understand every entry. Request a current land register extract and read above all Section II with the charges and restrictions. Except in Bavaria and Brandenburg, additionally obtain a statement from the building encumbrance register at the building supervisory authority. For each entry, clarify whether it burdens or benefits your plot, whether it exists permanently and how it affects your building project. Have unclear entries checked by a professional and include open points in the purchase contract. That way you take on no incalculable risk.
- Request a current land register extract and read Section II thoroughly.
- Obtain an encumbrance statement from the building supervisory authority (not in BY/BB).
- Classify every entry as burdening or benefiting.
- Check necessary building encumbrances (e.g. site development) for existence.
- Transfer the right of way, setback area and right of utility line onto your own planning.
- Have unclear rights checked professionally and secured in the purchase contract.
Establishing and deleting a building encumbrance and easement
Short answer: Building encumbrances and easements come into being and cease to exist in different ways. An easement is established by the agreement of the parties and the entry in the land register, and can only be deleted again with the consent of the beneficiary via the land registry. A building encumbrance arises through a declaration by the owner towards the authority and is recorded in the encumbrance register; it is deleted by the authority as soon as the public interest lapses. Both processes are formal and should not be handled casually. Anyone wanting to get rid of a burden or newly establish one should plan time, costs and the cooperation of the parties.
Bear in mind that a building encumbrance and an easement do not cancel each other out: even if you have a private-law right of way deleted from the land register, a parallel building encumbrance towards the authority remains effective until the authority also deletes it. Anyone wanting to buy a plot with unwanted burdens should, where possible, agree the deletion as a condition even before the purchase. Check the land register and the encumbrance register together with a professional — that way the complex topic becomes a solid basis for your safe plot purchase. Once the plot is clarified, the prefab house overview gives you the entry point into the suitable construction method.
Build safely on a checked plot
Once the land register and building encumbrances are clarified, house planning can start. We will connect you free of charge and without obligation with suitable prefab manufacturers offering transparent fixed prices who take rights of way, setback areas and rights of utility line into account from the start.
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Compare house prices nowImportant questions briefly explained
The most common price questions around Building Charge and Easement – answered concisely by the Prefabricated House editorial team (as of 2026).
