• The legal situation makes the introduction of such a platform complicated – in Sweden as in Germany
• Experts can imagine an interim solution for the near future
Platform from Sweden: Digitized processes could save 100 million euros annually
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Buying a house via the blockchain in just a few days instead of several months – this is made possible by a project started in Sweden in 2017: Swedes can buy and sell real estate in a very short time using a specially created platform based on a private blockchain. The platform enables all entities involved to control the process. According to the information portal GodmodeTrader, defined users such as banks or the Swedish land registry office Lantmäteriet can easily approve the transactions. The forecast for savings through the digitized processes is around 100 million euros per year. Could such a blockchain solution also be interesting for Germany?
Digital land register is a good idea – but the legal situation is a hurdle
The experts say: In theory, a blockchain-based land register is not a bad idea – but in highly regulated Germany it is difficult to make it legally possible. It is conceivable to create land register entries in NFT form, but the legal situation has not even been clarified for art NFTs. So before entire houses can be acquired as NFTs, it is imperative to close the ownership gaps, according to GodmodeTrader. Apart from that, it is firmly anchored in the law that a notary’s office must be involved in real estate transactions for the certification (section 311b BGB) – buyers are also given detailed advice in the notary’s office and informed about possible disadvantages arising from the transaction. Timothy Becker from the Berlin tech agency Turbine Kreuzberg told Haufe that it is not so easy to do without this in Germany.
Due to the legal situation, the digital land register was hardly used in Sweden either and “never integrated into the production system of the land register”, a spokesman for the Swedish authority confirmed to GodmodeTrader. It should be emphasized that the problem was not with the technology, but with the legal situation.
Experts see no way of excluding going to the notary’s office
According to Becker, a blockchain-based land register could work as follows: “For each property, a unique entry in the form of an NFT (non-fungible token) is created on the blockchain. Whoever holds the token is the owner of the property. If a token is assigned to a transferred to other owners, then the ownership structure is changed in a verifiable way.” Haufe writes that properties with a large number of individual conditions are particularly predestined for a decentralized land register. As well as Professor Dr. Maximilian Zimmer, notary and honorary professor of business law at the Harz University of Applied Sciences in Wernigerode, he believes that an interim solution is best in Germany given the legal situation. That means: Blockchain yes, but not without a notary.
However, as long as the legal situation surrounding the subject of NFTs remains unclear, an interim solution will remain a thing of the future.
Blockchain-based real estate tokens already exist
However, what already exists are investment tokens (also: real estate tokens), which can be used to invest in the financing of buildings and then receive regular dividends. In addition, the law on the introduction of electronic securities (eWpG) was passed in 2021, which represents a further step towards the integration of blockchain in various investment areas.
Editorial office finanzen.net
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