Partition auction in a community of heirs: application, procedure, costs and what co-heirs can do

A German community of heirs comes into being without anyone choosing it: several heirs, one house, and nobody able to act alone. As long as everyone agrees, the house can be sold or transferred to one heir. The moment one of them blocks, the others have a single instrument they can enforce without consent: the partition auction, in German Teilungsversteigerung. For the applicant it is leverage, for the remaining co-heirs a risk, and for outside bidders an opportunity. This article explains who may apply, how the procedure runs, what it costs, how co-heirs can stop or delay it, and when bidding yourself is worth it.

When can a co-heir apply for a partition auction?

Every co-heir may demand the partition of the estate at any time (section 2042 (1) BGB, the German Civil Code). If the estate includes a property and the heirs cannot agree, any one of them may apply for a partition auction, without the consent of the others and without an enforceable title (section 181 (1) ZVG, the Forced Sale Act). The size of the inheritance share is irrelevant. The applicant only has to prove that they are an heir of the registered owner.

What the applicant must produce

The auction may be ordered only if the applicant is registered as owner in the land register or is an heir of the registered owner (section 181 (2) ZVG). Proof is by public documents (section 17 (3) in conjunction with section 181 (4) ZVG), in practice a certificate of inheritance or a notarial will together with the probate court's opening record. A handwritten will is not enough; that requires a certificate of inheritance. The land register does not have to be corrected to show the community of heirs beforehand.

When an auction is excluded

Three blocks occur in practice. The deceased may exclude partition in the will for up to 30 years (section 2044 BGB). The co-heirs may exclude or postpone it by agreement. And a partition instruction by the deceased (section 2048 BGB), for instance that a particular heir shall receive the house, takes precedence over an auction. Without one of these blocks the auction is admissible, even if a co-heir lives in the house and even if the applicant holds only a twentieth. Courts find an abuse of rights only in exceptional cases.

Selling the inheritance share instead of auctioning

Anyone wanting to leave the community has a second route besides the auction: selling their share of the estate to a third party (section 2033 BGB). The contract must be notarised, and the remaining co-heirs have a right of first refusal they can exercise within two months (section 2034 BGB). In a partition auction that right does not exist. Co-heirs who want to keep the house have to bid at the hearing like anyone else.

How does a partition auction in a community of heirs proceed?

The procedure follows a foreclosure auction: application with proof of succession to the local court, order with an auction notice in the land register, service on all co-heirs, appraisal report, public notice, auction hearing with a bidding period, award and distribution hearing. The proceeds take the place of the property and belong to the community of heirs until it divides them after deducting the estate's debts.

1. Obtain proof of succession. Without a notarial will, apply for a certificate of inheritance at the probate court. Depending on the court this takes weeks to months and costs a fee based on the value of the estate, plus a second fee for the affidavit.
2. File the application. In writing to the local court in whose district the property lies, with a land register extract and proof of succession. A lawyer is not required. The court requests an advance on costs.
3. Order and service. The court orders the auction, has the auction notice entered in section II and serves the decision on all co-heirs. If co-heirs are unknown or untraceable, an estate curator must be appointed first (sections 1960, 1961 BGB) to represent them in the procedure.
4. Suspension application. Any co-heir may apply for a temporary suspension within two weeks of service (section 180 (2) in conjunction with section 30b ZVG). The court weighs the interests and suspends for at most six months, repeatable once. The special protection for children under section 180 (3) ZVG applies only between spouses and registered partners, not between co-heirs.
5. Appraisal and value setting. The expert determines the market value and the court sets it by decision (section 74a (5) ZVG). How the value comes about and where it can be challenged is explained in The appraised market value in the report.
6. Hearing. Public notice at least six weeks in advance (section 43 (1) ZVG). At the hearing the minimum bid is read out, in which all registered land charges survive (section 182 ZVG). The bidding period of at least 30 minutes follows.
7. Award. The value limits apply: below 5/10 of the appraised value the award is refused at the first hearing (section 85a ZVG), and between 5/10 and 7/10 a party may have it refused (section 74a ZVG). Ownership passes with the award.
8. Proceeds and partition. Procedural costs and registered creditors are paid first out of the proceeds. The remainder belongs to the community of heirs as part of the estate (section 2041 BGB). It is distributed only after the estate's liabilities have been settled (section 2046 BGB) and then by inheritance quotas. If the heirs cannot agree, the court deposits the amount.

In the current partition auctions, a median of 553 days lies between the land register notice and the hearing. The full procedure with all deadlines and the difference from a creditor-driven foreclosure is described in Partition auction: procedure and differences.

What does a partition auction cost the community of heirs?

The costs consist of the proof of succession, court fees and the expert's report. The applicant advances them; they are paid out of the proceeds and therefore borne by all co-heirs in proportion (section 109 ZVG). At an appraised value of 300,000 euros the court fees add up to around 5,900 euros, with the report costing a four-figure amount on top. A co-heir who buys at the auction saves the real estate transfer tax.

The exemption under section 3 no. 3 GrEStG is the most important economic difference between a co-heir and an outside bidder. It covers the acquisition of an estate property by co-heirs to partition the estate, and partition by auction is such a partition. On an award of 300,000 euros in North Rhine-Westphalia that is 19,500 euros a co-heir does not pay. The states' rates are listed in Real estate transfer tax at a foreclosure auction.

A second tax affects all heirs together. The auction proceeds are subject to income tax if fewer than ten years lie between acquisition and sale (section 23 EStG). For an inherited property, the acquisition by the deceased counts, so the period keeps running for the heirs (section 23 (1) sentence 3 EStG). If the deceased owned the house for more than ten years or lived in it, no tax arises.

How can co-heirs prevent or delay a partition auction?

Permanently, a partition auction can only be prevented by agreement: paying the applicant out, a joint private sale, or one heir taking over the house. It can be delayed by up to twelve months through the suspension application under section 180 (2) ZVG. Anyone who wants to keep the house has to bid in the end, because there is no right of first refusal at an auction.

Withdrawal is in practice the fastest route when only one heir wants out. The departing heir receives a settlement, their share accrues to the remaining co-heirs, and the land register stays unchanged until the remaining heirs have it corrected. Anyone aiming for agreement should use the appraised value from the report as the basis once it is available, because it is the only figure everyone involved knows.

Bidding yourself: when it pays off for a co-heir

A co-heir who wants to keep the house has three advantages over outside bidders: part of the bid flows back through their inheritance quota, they pay no real estate transfer tax, and they know the property. Against that stand the land charges that survive under section 182 ZVG, the security deposit and the risk of being outbid by a stranger.

The co-heir can therefore bid considerably higher than a stranger and still pay less. That is exactly why many partition auctions end with the award going to one of the parties. Three points should be settled beforehand:

• Land charges. In a partition auction all registered land charges survive and become part of the price, including repaid ones. Ask the bank about the remaining debt before the hearing and secure the cancellation consent. What that means in detail is covered in Land charges at a foreclosure auction.
• Security deposit. Any party may demand a deposit of 10 percent of the appraised value from a bidder (sections 67, 68 ZVG). The exception in section 184 ZVG applies only to co-owners holding their own mortgage right, which is rare among heirs. The deposit must be a bank guarantee, a crossed cheque or a prior transfer to the court's account; cash is excluded by section 69 (1) ZVG.
• Value limits. A co-heir too gets no award below 5/10 of the appraised value at the first hearing, and between 5/10 and 7/10 the other heirs can apply for refusal. How the limits work is explained in The minimum bid at a foreclosure auction.

What the current proceedings show

Klaava is a German platform for forced-sale auction dates and evaluates the documents of current proceedings in a structured way. On 05.09.2026, 193 partition auctions had a scheduled hearing. In 26 of them the appraisal or the public notice names a community of heirs explicitly, and in 45 there are references to spouses or a separation. The remaining documents are silent on the trigger.

Across all 1,077 evaluated reports, the word community of heirs appears in 37, or 3.4 percent. That figure understates the real share, because many experts do not mention the background of the procedure. Three findings from the 193 partition auctions matter equally to heirs and bidders:

• The properties are worth more. The median appraised value is 292,200 euros against 192,000 euros for creditor-driven foreclosures. Single-family houses form the largest group with 61 properties, at a median of 394,000 euros.
• One in five plots is undeveloped. 24 plots of land and 15 agricultural or forestry areas, together 20.2 percent. Inherited fields and building plots that nobody wants to use end up at auction particularly often.
• The appraisals are more reliable. In 124 of 190 cases with a statement, the expert saw the building from the inside, or 65.3 percent. For creditor-driven foreclosures the figure is 49.0 percent.

Which properties are coming up for auction and which reports have been evaluated is shown in the property overview.

Frequently asked questions

Can a single co-heir apply for a partition auction? Yes. Every co-heir may demand partition at any time (section 2042 (1) BGB) and apply for the auction of the estate property, without the others' consent and without a title (section 181 (1) ZVG). The size of the share is irrelevant. The only blocks are an exclusion by the deceased, an agreement among the heirs, or a partition instruction.

Do you need a certificate of inheritance for a partition auction? The applicant must prove the succession with public documents (section 181 (2) ZVG). A certificate of inheritance works, as does a notarial will together with the probate court's opening record. A handwritten will is not enough. The land register does not need to be corrected to show the community of heirs beforehand.

Do co-heirs have a right of first refusal at a partition auction? No. The right of first refusal under section 2034 BGB applies only when a co-heir sells their share of the estate to a third party. At an auction the award goes to the highest bidder. Co-heirs who want to keep the house have to bid, but benefit from the transfer tax exemption and the return through their own quota.

Who bears the costs of a partition auction? The applicant advances the court costs and the expert's fee. In the end the procedural costs are taken off the top of the proceeds (section 109 ZVG), so all co-heirs bear them in proportion to their quota. The award fee is paid by the buyer alone (section 26 GKG).

What happens to the proceeds? They take the place of the property and belong to the community of heirs (section 2041 BGB). After deducting procedural costs and registered creditors, they are distributed only once the estate's liabilities have been settled (section 2046 BGB) and then by inheritance quotas. If the heirs cannot agree, the court deposits the amount.

Is real estate transfer tax due if a co-heir buys the house? No. The acquisition of an estate property by a co-heir to partition the estate is exempt under section 3 no. 3 GrEStG, including where the partition takes place by auction. An outside buyer pays their state's rate of 3.5 to 6.5 percent.

How long does a partition auction in a community of heirs take? In the current cases, a median of 553 days lies between the land register notice and the hearing (as of 05.09.2026). Before that comes the time for the certificate of inheritance, and afterwards the dispute over the proceeds. A suspension application under section 180 (2) ZVG can add up to twelve months.

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The procedure and the differences from a creditor-driven foreclosure are explained in Partition auction: procedure and differences. What a cancelled hearing means for bidders is covered in Suspension of the procedure.

This article is for general information only. It does not replace legal advice from a qualified lawyer.