When buying a house in Germany the selling party suggests handing over part of the purchase price in cash. The remainder could be transferred as planned. Perhaps a receipt would suffice or the partial amount might not appear in the same documents at all. Have this change clarified at the instructed notary before payment: actual handover of money and effective fulfilment of the purchase price are not the same thing here.
The prohibited means are explicitly named
§ 16a Absatz 1 GwG concerns consideration in the purchase or exchange of domestic real estate. The owed consideration cannot be effected with cash, crypto-assets, gold, platinum or gemstones. The statutory framework also covers the acquisition of company shares with domestic real estate assets as specified there. [GESETZ]
For the German house purchase discussed here neither a private handover nor a digital crypto transfer is therefore an ordinary alternative purchase price payment. That the recipient agrees or offers a receipt does not remove this statutory limit. The article does not describe an Austrian or any other foreign real estate transaction.
A small sum is not a blanket way out
Paragraph 5 contains reliefs regarding the evidential and verification duties, among other things for the amount thresholds specified there. These relate to paragraphs 2 to 4. They do not make the payment prohibition of paragraph 1 a ban only above a certain cash sum. [GESETZ]
Our editorial recommendation: If someone argues with an alleged “small permitted remainder”, expressly distinguish whether payment means or merely the scope and verification of evidence are being discussed. Such ambiguity should be resolved before the handover. The article does not provide a scheme to circumvent evidential requirements and does not authorise a separate side agreement.
An imaginary purchase with an apparently simple shortcut
In the fictional case the agreed house purchase price is 160.000 euro. Shortly before payment Jana is to receive 5.000 euro in cash and the remaining amount by bank transfer. The sellers’ side states that with so little cash there is no obligation to provide evidence and a receipt would be sufficient.
Jana does not implement this proposal. She presents it to the notary and has the permissible payment method including the actual allocation of the purchase price clarified. The supposed evidence threshold is not to be confused with permission to pay in cash. The figures are a fictional learning example; they do not assert a usual purchase price or an actual demand by a vendor.
Prepare payment flow and evidence together
§ 16a Absatz 2 requires in the case described evidence to be provided to the submitting notary; the provision names in particular payment confirmations from the involved credit institutions as suitable. Paragraph 3 regulates the consistency check and further procedure in connection with the registration application. Special courses are additionally regulated. [GESETZ]
Ask early which documents are required for your specific process. If own funds and loans come from different accounts, the overall flow must remain traceable. A mere transfer authorisation shown on a screen does not yet reliably prove that the payment in question was actually executed.
Submit required documents by the agreed route. Do not black out important evidential details on your own so as to make them unusable, but also do not distribute complete private account movements to all parties involved in the purchase. If recipient, amount or payment time are changed, the actual contractual and processing basis will first be clarified.
If cash has already been paid
§ 16a Absatz 1 contains a restitution rule for prohibited payments. [GESETZ] A handover that has already taken place does not thereby simply become proper fulfilment. Secure any existing evidence and obtain immediate individual legal and notarial assistance before you pay again on your own, set off claims or sign new declarations.
Your usable outcome is a permissible and documentable payment route for the actual consideration. A pleasant tone in conversation, a small partial amount or a signed till receipt do not replace this clarification. Movement of money, fulfilment and transfer of ownership must fit together in the concrete purchase process.