Owner-Occupation Notice After Conversion into a Family Partnership (GbR) – Does the Ten-Year Blocking Period Still Apply?

Anyone who transfers a converted rental flat to a family partnership (GbR) in order to give notice for owner-occupation must, on the wording of section 577a BGB, still expect a blocking period of up to ten years.

Have you converted your apartment block into individual condominium units and are now thinking of transferring one flat to a family partnership (a German civil-law partnership, or GbR) – perhaps so that you or one of your children can move in later? Or are you a tenant who has just learned that “your” flat suddenly belongs to a partnership made up of the landlord’s relatives, and are worried about receiving notice? In both situations everything turns on the same question: does the blocking period on notice continue to run despite the family arrangement – or does that arrangement get around it?

In short

Yes – on the prevailing view, the blocking period continues to apply. The wording of section 577a(1) BGB ties the restriction on giving notice to any sale of the let residential unit following conversion – regardless of whether the buyer is an individual or a partnership such as a GbR. The blocking period – up to ten years in areas with a tight housing market – therefore, in principle, also starts to run afresh when an already-converted flat is transferred to a family partnership. On this view, the privilege for family members in section 577a(1a) sentence 2 BGB does not change this: on its wording, that provision merely reverses the extension to several buyers or partnerships set out in subsection (1a); it does not touch the basic rule in subsection (1). There is as yet no definitive ruling from the highest courts on this point; whether it is to be assessed in this way in a specific case should be checked in advance.

How I can help

• Checking whether and when the blocking period began to run in your case
• Calculating the exact end date of the period on the basis of the relevant state regulation
• Assessing whether a planned transfer to a family partnership will actually achieve the intended aim at all
• Representation in owner-occupation notice matters – for landlords who wish to give notice, and for tenants who wish to defend themselves
• Reviewing alternative structuring options where a transfer within the family is to be carried out with legal certainty

How the blocking period under section 577a BGB works

Where let residential accommodation is converted into condominium ownership after having been made available to the tenant, and the individual flat is then sold to a new owner, that buyer may under section 577a(1) BGB rely on a legitimate interest in giving notice – above all owner-occupation under section 573(2) no. 2 BGB, or termination for economic exploitation – only after three years have elapsed since the sale. The key point is this: the mere conversion into condominium ownership (the declaration of division) does not yet trigger the period. It is only the subsequent change of ownership – the “sale” – that starts the clock.

In areas of increased housing demand, state governments may, by statutory regulation under section 577a(2) BGB, designate areas in which this period is extended to up to ten years. This typically affects conurbations with a strained rental market. Whether a particular municipality in the Ebersberg district or in the Rosenheim/Wasserburg area is covered by such a regulation depends on the regulation currently in force – I will check this for you on the basis of the applicable Bavarian rules in your individual case.

Why a family partnership does not defeat the blocking period

Section 577a(1a) BGB expressly extends the blocking period to cases in which the flat is sold not to a single person but to a partnership (such as a GbR) or to several buyers – the legislature wanted to prevent landlords from circumventing tenant protection through clever buyer structures. Sentence 2 of that provision creates an exception: where the partners or buyers belong to the same family or household, this tightening does not apply.

An obvious – but on closer inspection premature – conclusion drawn from the wording of sentence 2 is this: that a transfer to a purely family partnership falls entirely outside the scope of section 577a BGB, with the result that the family members could give notice for owner-occupation immediately after the transfer. On the wording, however, that conclusion does not hold: in terms of its scheme, the exception in sentence 2 relates exclusively to the extension to partnerships and multiple buyers set out in sentence 1. It does not override the basic rule in subsection (1), under which any sale of the converted flat – including a transfer to a GbR set up by the family – can set the blocking period running afresh. Transferring ownership to a GbR is, in legal terms, a sale; the partnership itself becomes the (co-)owner. On this interpretation, a landlord who first brings a converted flat into a family partnership and then wishes to give notice should, as a precaution, wait out the full blocking period from the date of that contribution. There is as yet no definitive decision from the highest courts on this distinction, so the specific arrangement should be examined on a case-by-case basis.

What this means for transfers already made or planned

For landlords who have already implemented such a structure or are planning one, this means: on this view, the date of transfer to the GbR is the decisive reference date for the start of the period – not the original acquisition of the building, and not the conversion into condominium ownership. Where the flat was already let before conversion, there is a further point: section 577a BGB applies at all only if the tenant was already living in the flat at the time of conversion. In the case of a new letting after conversion, this special protection does not exist. For tenants, this assessment means the reverse: a notice for owner-occupation based on a transfer to a family partnership that took place shortly beforehand may, on this view, be invalid for as long as the relevant blocking period is still running.

A typical case

An owner in the area around Rosenheim divides his apartment block – in which a tenant family has lived for years – into condominium units. Two years later, as part of anticipated succession, he transfers one of the flats to a GbR whose partners are himself, his wife and the son who wishes to move in. Shortly afterwards, the GbR gives notice for owner-occupation in favour of the son. Because, on this view, the blocking period began to run afresh on the transfer to the GbR and – depending on the area – still has several years to run, the notice is likely to be premature and invalid, even if the son’s own need for the flat is genuine in itself.

Common mistakes

Landlords frequently confuse the start of the blocking period with the date of the declaration of division rather than the actual change of ownership. It is also often overlooked that a transfer “within the family” is nonetheless, in law, a sale – the family privilege is wrongly misunderstood as a free pass to immediate owner-occupation. Tenants, for their part, sometimes do not respond to a notice at all, even though it is formally defective, because they are simply unaware of the blocking period and let the deadline for objecting pass unused.

Frequently asked questions

Does the blocking period start again if the flat is passed on more than once within the family?

Yes – in principle, each further sale, including one within the family, triggers a fresh assessment of when the period begins, provided it amounts in law to a change of ownership. Whether a particular transfer is actually to be regarded as a “sale” in this sense depends on the circumstances of the individual case.

Does the blocking period also apply if only a co-ownership share in the GbR is transferred?

That has to be examined on a case-by-case basis. What matters is whether the transfer brings about a material change in how ownership is allocated. Take advice on this before the transfer, rather than risking an invalid notice after the event.

How long, specifically, is the blocking period in Munich or the Ebersberg district?

That depends on the statutory regulation of the Free State of Bavaria currently in force, which designates areas with a tight housing market. In such areas the period can be up to ten years; outside them, it remains three years. I will check for you which period applies at your specific location.

What happens if notice is given before the blocking period has expired?

Such a notice is invalid and does not end the tenancy. The tenant may remain in the flat, but as a rule must object to the notice or take timely legal steps against it, rather than accepting it without challenge.

Can I, as a landlord, get around the blocking period by using a different type of company?

On the wording of section 577a BGB, that is not readily possible, because what matters is the actual change of ownership and not the legal form chosen. There is as yet no definitive ruling from the highest courts on this point – before you set up a transfer structure, you should have its effect on your options for giving notice clarified by a lawyer.

Your next step

Whether you are a landlord planning a transfer and want to know from what point an owner-occupation notice is actually possible, or a tenant who has received a notice based on a family partnership: the precise calculation of the period decides whether the notice is valid or invalid. I will examine your case on the basis of the conversion and transfer dates as well as the applicable area regulation, and show you which periods and courses of action you genuinely have. You can also find further information on tenancy and condominium law at /en/topics/real-estate-law. Arrange an initial consultation so that we can clarify your situation promptly.

This article provides general information and does not constitute legal advice. It cannot replace individual advice on your specific case.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-07-20.

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