Author
Germany and Netherlands Analyst
Lukas covers Germany and the Netherlands for AiMYNDi: Grundsteuer after the reform, Grunderwerbsteuer by federal state, overdrachtsbelasting, and the erfpacht clauses that turn a clean Dutch purchase into a long conversation. Valuation work in Düsseldorf and Amsterdam came first, and is where the interest in municipal small print started.
Britain adds 5% for a second home and 2% for non-residents. Germany adds neither: Grunderwerbsteuer runs 3.5% to 6.5%, set by the state, never the buyer.
Utrecht stopped selling the ground under leasehold homes in September 2025. What a buyer inherits, how the 2017 buy off scheme prices the canon, the exceptions.
The Hague sells the ground under a perpetual leasehold for a fixed sum by WOZ band once the canon is bought off. Which contracts qualify and the 15 year trap.
Declaration of division, community rules, floor plan and resolution record decide what you own and pay in a German flat. What each is by law, where it sits.
Germany's building energy law has a new name. What a buyer must insulate within two years, when the duty lapses, and what the energy certificate rules require.
NHG requires a survey when urgent repairs exceed 10 percent of the market value. What the report must show, how it becomes a contract condition, when to order.
Hausgeld is the monthly charge a German condominium owner pays. What the law puts in it, the one official yardstick for the reserve, and the papers behind it.
Amsterdam's ground lease comes in two systems. What the deed must tell you, how the switch to eeuwigdurende erfpacht is priced, and where to find the figures.
Duisburg dropped its split Grundsteuer rates on 24 February 2026 for a single 1,169% multiplier, lifting residential bills 32% and cutting business ones 20.4%.
From 1 January 2026 the Dutch overdrachtsbelasting on a home you will not live in is 8%, down from 10.4%. The starter exemption still stops at 555,000 euro.
Around 425,000 Dutch buildings face foundation damage by 2035, the Rli advises. What a QuickScan and a full funderingsonderzoek cost, and where the state helps.
A Finnish flat is shares in a housing company. A German flat is Wohnungseigentum, governed by a Teilungserklärung, and the transfer tax at least doubles.
In Norway an accepted bid is binding. In Germany nothing binds until a Notar reads the Kaufvertrag aloud, and the transfer tax is set by the Bundesland.
A Dutch buyer gets three days to dissolve the purchase. In Germany the notary reads the contract aloud and the signature binds you on the spot.
Denmark decides who may own a Danish holiday home. Germany applies no nationality test at all, but transfer tax jumps from 0.6% to at least 3.5%.
Sweden concludes a sale on a document the parties sign themselves, at 1.5% stamp duty. Germany voids it without a Notar, and charges at least 3.5%.
7 editors and analysts contribute to the AiMYNDi newsroom across European markets.