Handover when buying a flat:
fixed date or only after the purchase price is paid?
Your co-pilot in real estate law
Mag. Nevena Shotekova-Zöchling
Attorney in Vienna · 16 years of legal practice · Real estate law & purchase contracts
You keep the controls and make the decisions. We sit next to you in the cockpit, know the route and the instruments – and when it gets turbulent, we take over.
The purchase contract is signed – but when do you get the keys? The handover clause is one of the most important practical points in the contract.
Why not simply a fixed date?
A fixed date gives planning certainty for moving and giving notice on your old flat. The risk: if the purchase price has not reached the escrow agent by that day – for example because of bank delays – the seller would have to hand over without being secured. That is why sellers usually reject pure fixed dates.
The proven solution: handover after payment into escrow
Common and balanced: handover within a set period (e.g. five working days) after the entire purchase price including costs has arrived in the escrow account – but no later than a fixed date. The seller is secured because the money is held by the escrow agent; the buyer is secured because the escrow agent only pays out after the buyer is registered in the land register.
What passes with the handover
- Risk: from handover the buyer bears the risk of damage to the flat.
- Charges and income: operating costs, reserve fund contributions and – for let flats – rents are settled from the handover date.
- Meter readings for electricity, gas and water are taken.
Handover protocol – always in writing
Record the date, number of keys, meter readings, condition of the flat, furniture sold with it and visible defects. Take photos. The protocol is later the most important evidence in disputes about defects or missing items.
How it works
Frequently asked questions
May I move in before I am registered in the land register?
Yes, if the contract provides for handover beforehand – which is the rule. You are protected by the escrow arrangement.
What if the seller does not move out on time?
Agree a contractual penalty per day of delay. Without it you have to prove the actual damage.
Who pays the operating costs in the handover month?
Usually they are split to the day from the handover date; the annual statement is settled between buyer and seller.
Mag. Nevena Shotekova-Zöchling, attorney and insolvency administrator in Vienna. As of October 2026. General information – not legal advice for your individual case.
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