Real Estate Law
Experts in real estate & property law with specialised industry & local market knowledge
Dedicated & experienced real estate lawyers in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe
Local knowledge means everything in real estate. Our network of experts throughout the CEE/SEE region combine this knowledge with experience in the property cycle to provide your business with advice customised for your success. From sale and purchase to planning and zoning, design, construction and development, leases, facility and asset management, finance, litigation and tax, we’ve got you covered. You can rely on our hands-on experience in local markets and track record of handling large-scale, cross-border transactions, including some of the most significant property developments in this part of the world in recent years.
Key Contacts
Areas of specialisation
Real estate transactions
You can’t control risk if you don’t know how to look for it. Speed and accuracy are essential to the success of any large real estate acquisition.
For your project, we will form a team of lawyers experienced in who efficiently and thoroughly assess existing legal risks and their possible impacts as well as ways to minimise them. We present the information to you, enabling you to make a well-founded, researched decision with awareness of all perceptible risks.
Leasing
The old days of short and simple lease agreements are gone. Today, they are highly complex legal instruments, the drafting and understanding of which requires a thorough understanding of the business and the relevant sector of rental property law.
Our philosophy is simple: we want to create and negotiate successful leases for your business. This means that we take both the interests of the landlord and the tenant into account to craft a functional lease that works for all parties.
Project development
Every real estate project begins with an idea, and every idea brings with it a question or two. While you’re busy with the creative questions, let us handle the legal ones.
We will advise you on purchasing or acquiring an option to purchase real estate, environmental impact assessment proceedings, planning and zoning issues, obtaining all permits necessary under public law, partitioning and joining of real estate, dealing with construction issues, understanding commercial property law, architect contracts, general planning and financing agreements.
Real estate finance
We make it our business to understand yours. Domestic and foreign banks as well as project development companies and their sponsors regularly turn to us for advice in real estate project financing.
We can help you with financial engineering, examining the regulatory environment behind the granting or receipt of a credit or loan, as well as drafting and negotiating financing agreements and related security packages. Learn more about our Banking & Finance Practice.
ESG
Sustainability in real estate has shifted from a “nice to have” feature to a “must have” requirement. The importance of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) compliance in maintaining property value, attracting tenants, and meeting market demand is paramount. The integration of ESG principles into real estate investment and management strategies is proven to enhance return on investment and ensure long-term sustainability. EU taxonomy regulations and sustainability criteria are already incorporated into new construction projects, but existing buildings must now also be assessed in terms of compliance and be potentially refurbished. Sustainable investments are gaining prominence in real estate purchasing, while institutional investors are establishing sustainable funds. Environmental impact, energy efficiency, resource-saving materials, and social considerations are crucial factors in determining investment portfolios. Non-compliant buildings are increasingly challenging to trade and are often excluded as investment options. The Delegated Regulation to the EU Taxonomy Regulation defines which buildings meet the criteria. Wolf Theiss offers comprehensive support in ESG compliance, leveraging our expertise in real estate law and market knowledge. ESG due diligence is deemed essential in real estate transactions, including considerations related to zoning, contamination, energy certificates, permits, and EU regulations. ESG criteria for target companies are carefully examined in share deals. Contractual arrangements must also incorporate sustainability criteria, with “green” clauses becoming essential in various contracts, such as purchase, lease, architect, general contractor, FM (facility management), and PM (property management) contracts.
Planning & construction
You can rely on our experience in all types of planning and construction agreements; from architects’ contracts to plain construction contracts, from build-and-design agreements to total contractor agreements, from FIDIC contracts to joint venture agreements. From short and condensed contracts for tasks that are simpler, to long and detailed agreements for large scale projects. We cover them all.
If necessary, we represent you in enforcing and defending claims before courts as well as before arbitral tribunals or dispute adjudication boards. Learn more about our Construction Law & Engineering Practice.
Dispute resolution
Resolving disputes in real estate matters requires a high degree of knowledge and specialisation. Legal systems vary considerably from country to country with respect to real estate law, property law and real estate related rights. In addition to the law, there is always the tricky question of precedent and how courts actually apply the law.
Our regional teams are prepared to advise you on all types of real estate conflicts, in particular regarding tenancy law, vacation claims, distressed assets, interim injunctions and shareholder disputes.
Real estate restructuring
Both healthy and troubled institutions sometimes struggle with their portfolios of non-performing loans and other real estate owned assets (OREO); trying to find solutions for effective NPA management and disposition.
Our Real Estate lawyers in CEE and SEE are specialised in particular in cross-border real estate restructuring, property financing restructuring and real estate work-outs, as well as in the distressed sale and acquisition of real estate. We can also help with drafting creditor stand-still agreements, assisting with the shut-down of properties as well as with the sale of real estate or leasing portfolios, and the granting and enforcement of securities.
Real estate tax planning
Tax planning plays a substantial role in many real estate transactions. With our expertise in real estate related tax structuring we can assist you in finding the most tax-efficient manner to carry out your deal. In addition, we perform tax due diligences, review agreements from a tax perspective, issue tax opinions, advise on stamp duty and real estate transfer tax issues, collaborate with your tax accountants as well as prepare requests for tax rulings.
Facility management & property administration
Proper facility management is not only a quality element, but also a key cost factor of any real estate development. From knowing the industry and the needs of up to date building management and administration, we can advise you on how to optimise all related agreements by establishing appropriate service levels to minimise risks in the interest of all parties involved and to maximise the building value.
Leading the legal field
Our lawyers are involved in key transactions and matters across the region, bringing their industry expertise and specialised business knowledge to add value to our clients’ work.
Handled all legal aspects of complex sale of Polish shopping centres
€1.2 billion infrastructure transaction for wireless telecommunications company
Advised on purchase of tallest tower in Austria
Assisted real estate public AIF in first Austrian market investment
Tailored advice on all matters, including commercial real estate law, residential real estate law and real estate finance
Wireless infrastructure transaction
Cellnex, Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures, also relied on our know-how for its largest ever transaction in 2020. As part of a multi-jurisdictional deal-team, we advised Cellnex on the acquisition of about 4,500 sites across Austria; the transaction volume attributable to Austria was almost EUR 1.2 billion.
The acquisition was part of a pan-European transaction and the first of its kind in Austria: fully integrated mobile network operators outsource their passive infrastructure (cell towers/masts), sell them to infrastructure investors and lease them back for the placement of their active infrastructure (transmitters/receivers).
The seller in this transaction was CK Hutchison. The transaction marks the beginning of a trend that will enable the established mobile network operators to develop sources of finance for the upcoming and investment-intensive expansion of the 5G network.
Thanks to the experience of our real estate team working hand-in-glove with our corporate, administrative and environmental law, competition and tax experts, to name a few, we succeeded in bringing this spectacular transaction across the finish line within a few months.
Large shopping centres transaction in Poland
Tesco’s decision to retract from the Polish market involved selling a portfolio of shopping centres to Leroy Merlin. Several attractive locations in major Polish cities, like Warsaw, Łódź, Poznań and Gdynia passed hands. The plans to implement the transaction originated in pre- or early COVID times and not only the pandemic but also serious legal events affected our client’s efforts, such as the sudden expropriation of a major part of the land to allow the development of national roads and an underground metro line.
Tesco had built their malls in the late 1990’s and the new owners will completely redevelop them so that they will re-emerge as a new type of commercial facilities. We supported Tesco in all stages of the transaction and took care of every legal aspect as and when it arose.
Wolf Theiss advises URW on sale of 45% stake in Shopping City Süd to Crédit Agricole Assurances.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (“URW”), the world’s leading developer and operator of premier retail assets, sold a 45% stake of Austria’s largest shopping center, Shopping City Süd (“SCS”), to Crédit Agricole Assurances. The net offer price for the entire property was EUR 1.065 billion. At the same time, a joint venture agreement was signed, on the basis of which URW is to be entrusted with the long-term continuation of property and asset management.
An interdisciplinary team of lawyers worked on the structuring and implementation of the extraordinarily complex cross-border transaction. The real estate law team carried out a vendor due diligence, created a “legal factbook” and took care of the streamlining of the real estate portfolio the center comprises.
Wolf Theiss advises ZBI on acquisition of residential development project in Smart City Graz.
ZBI Zentral Boden Immobilien Group, one of the leading specialists in German residential real estate, relied on the legal expertise of Wolf Theiss’ real estate team regarding the acquisition of a residential construction project in Graz’s “Smart City”. The team was responsible for the due diligence review, the negotiation of the purchase agreement as well as the after-sales support. The project comprises around 4,800 m2 of usable space (of which approx. 2,800 m2 is residential and approx. 1,300 m2 is commercial).
The property is environmentally sustainable, as the building received the “Klima:aktiv-Gold” certification for its innovative energy concept. It is largely self-sufficient in terms of energy thanks to the use of groundwater and a photovoltaic system. The Wolf Theiss real estate team previously advised ZBI Zentral Boden Immobilien Group on its entry into the Austrian market in the summer of 2020, specifically with the acquisition of almost 700 rental flats in Vienna’s 11th district, followed by the acquisition of more than 250 flats in Vienna’s 23rd district in the fall of 2020 – both in forward deals.
Get in touch
Whether you need an international team with extensive experience, Wolf Theiss can support your business goals through our profound legal practice.
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