Real Estate
Building Legal Certainty for Real Assets
Practice Areas | Real Estate
Our Real Estate Practice advises Austrian and international clients on all aspects of real estate law. We combine real estate know-how with experience in M&A, corporate, financing and tax matters and advise on acquisitions and disposals of individual properties and portfolios, on equity and debt investments in property owners and joint ventures, on project development and construction, on the letting and management of assets and on real estate disputes.
We regularly advise real estate funds, private equity investors, developers and corporate clients on acquisitions and disposals of individual properties, property portfolios and property-holding companies, by way of asset and share deals. Together with our corporate and tax practice, we develop the transaction structure, and we handle land transfer (Grundverkehr) approvals, merger control and foreign investment control filings as well as real estate joint ventures.
We advise lenders and borrowers on acquisition financing, secured lending and project and development finance, including the creation and enforcement of mortgages, pledges and assignments by way of security. We also advise on refinancings, restructurings and distressed real estate debt work-outs, on the acquisition of individual and portfolio loans by debt funds and on the real estate aspects of insolvency proceedings.
We support our clients throughout the life cycle of a development project, from site acquisition and zoning to handover: building permits and public law requirements, construction and architect contracts, general contractor and FIDIC-based agreements, claims for defects and delay, and residential development under the Austrian Developer Contracts Act (BTVG), including subdivision, the creation of condominium ownership and the sale of units.
We represent our clients in real estate related disputes before the Austrian courts, before the municipal conciliation boards (Schlichtungsstellen) and in arbitration: warranty and damages claims arising from property transactions, construction and defect claims, disputes concerning leases and condominium ownership, neighbour and easement matters and the enforcement of security. Where appropriate, we seek to settle disputes in order to keep projects on schedule.
We advise owners, investors and tenants on the letting and management of office, retail, logistics and residential properties: lease agreements and portfolio lettings, rent reviews and service charge structures, the requirements of the Austrian Tenancy Act (MRG), condominium and building management under the Austrian Condominium Act (WEG), easements and land register matters as well as sale-and-lease-back structures.
