What is meant by the term parcel of land?

A parcel of land is a part of the Earth's surface that has been officially surveyed and geometrically defined. Each parcel is separated from other parcels by precise parcel boundaries. All parcels are listed in the statewide real estate cadastre. Parcels are considered the smallest booking unit and generally have only a single ownership structure. Every property is also a parcel (FlSt.). If an owner owns multiple parcels, they can together form a larger property. Each parcel has a unique parcel number in the cadastre.

The complex web of relationships between cadastral district, parcel, and plot of land

In Germany, plots of land and their associated municipal boundaries are recorded and documented in various units. Both the soil and the land are listed. The largest relevant unit for these purposes is represented by the respective municipalities. In official terminology, the contiguous area of a municipality is referred to as a Gemarkung (cadastral district).

Several cadastral districts form a municipality. Cadastral district is the term for the entire usable area of a settlement. Therefore, a specific cadastral district is assigned to each settlement. Cadastral districts, in turn, are subdivided into individual parcels. These represent the smallest subdivision.

The various parcels of land are also located within a district. In this subdivision, an individual piece of land represents a plot. In this way, every piece of land is assigned to a specific district.

Every plot of land that has an owner constitutes its own parcel. It can happen that an owner owns multiple parcels. If they acquire an adjacent plot of land to expand their own property, their enlarged property consists of two parcels.

This means that a single plot of land can be made up of various parcels. Conversely, however, a parcel of land is never located on two different plots.

A single property can consist of multiple parcels of land that are not located directly next to each other. Spatial proximity is not required to form a property. However, all parcels of land must be located within the same cadastral district in order to be managed as a single property.

Parcel: What does the parcel number mean?

For identification purposes, each parcel of land within the cadastre is assigned a unique parcel number. As a rule, the individual parcels within a district are designated by a sequential numbering system. This can be a pure number, a combination of two numbers, or a combination of a number and a letter, such as 349/3.

How are new parcel boundaries set?

The exact boundaries of each parcel of land are defined and monitored by cadastral surveying.

If a new parcel of land has to be created, a new cadastral survey may therefore become necessary. In Germany, this type of survey may only be carried out by certain institutions. These include cadastral authorities, land consolidation authorities, publicly appointed surveyors, or other surveying agencies.

Such surveys are either original surveys, resurveys, or update surveys. If a cadastre has to be established for the first time, it is referred to as an original survey. Original surveys may also become necessary when land consolidation is required or new boundaries are determined in the course of a subdivision survey. During an original survey, individual property boundaries are marked.

However, if larger areas of the cadastre, such as multiple parcels, need to be adjusted, this is referred to as a resurvey. If the cadastre is updated, it is a cadastral updating survey. In this process, the cadastre is expanded to include new parcels and properties. A cadastral survey may be necessary if a property division is to be carried out in the land register. If a property consisting of only a single parcel is divided, the corresponding parcel must also be split into two individual parcels.

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Where can I get a cadastral map for my plot of land?

There are various ways to view one's own land parcel. On the one hand, this can be done via the respective cadastral map extract. The so-called Floor plan is a part of the real estate cadastre. It depicts all real estate properties (plots, parcels, and buildings) true to scale.

A free preview of the relevant cadastral map extract is possible online, for example. The federal states have set up their own geoportals to serve this purpose. There is also a cross-state database called the Official Cadastral Information System (ALKIS).

Using these systems, buyers and sellers in many regions of Germany can obtain information about individual parcels of land. The real estate cadastre for Bavaria can be accessed at www.ldbv.bayern.de/index.html and there under the menus Surveying, Cadastre, and then under Real Estate Cadastre, can be found.

Another way to get information about a plot of land for free is to call the responsible cadastral office. In this way, it is possible to obtain information about changes to the location description, type of use, or merging of plots through verbal information.

However, for processing changes relevant to the land register, such as a property sale, an official cadastral map extract is required. An application must be submitted to the cadastral office in order to obtain this. The issuance of such a cadastral map extract involves a fee, the amount of which varies depending on the federal state. As a rule, costs of between 12 and 50 EUR can be expected.

In some cases, it may also be possible to obtain an extract from the cadastral map very conveniently online. While this also involves costs, providing the extract as a PDF download eliminates the usual waiting time of several days to several weeks.

Land Parcels: The Importance for Property Owners

Plots of land and the respective cadastral maps on which they are drawn play an important role primarily in the sale of real estate and land. They represent an important proof in the valuation of the respective property. On the one hand, they provide information about the location of the property. For real estate valuation, the location often represents a decisive factor.

Furthermore, the boundaries of each property are precisely defined by the respective parcel boundaries. Buyers need this information to know exactly what the characteristics of the property are that they intend to purchase.

For property owners, it is also relevant whether their property consists of one or more parcels of land. Under certain conditions, the existence of multiple parcels within a single property can lead to increased bureaucratic effort and higher costs.

This is the case, for example, when a building permit procedure is sought across plot boundaries. The surveying costs of the cadastre depend on the affected plot boundaries, which can lead to additional costs. For property owners, it can therefore be worthwhile to merge various plots on their land into a single plot.

Tips for sellers

Obtaining information on the cadastral map from the competent authorities is straightforward and involves minor costs. If you want to sell your property or land, which consists of one or more parcels, you should obtain your map and add it to your records. Also, check whether the boundaries with your neighbors match the map.

For further questions regarding the plot of land, Rogers Immobilien is gladly at your disposal.