pre-emption right
noun · Vorkaufsrecht
Vorkaufsrecht, a right to step into a sale the owner makes to a third party. Whether it binds that third party depends on the kind: a dingliches Vorkaufsrecht registered in the Grundbuch, § 1094 BGB, does; a merely contractual, schuldrechtliches one, § 463 BGB, gives only a claim against the seller. There are statutory ones too.
Which translation, when
Why
Pre-emption right is Vorkaufsrecht, and the word alone hides the point that decides cases: whether the right binds a third-party buyer. A dingliches Vorkaufsrecht, § 1094 BGB, is a real right registered in the Grundbuch; against third parties it has the effect of a Vormerkung, § 1098 Abs. 2 BGB, so a sale that ignores it is relatively ineffective and the holder can still require the land to be transferred to them. A schuldrechtliches Vorkaufsrecht, §§ 463 ff. BGB, is only a personal right against the obligated owner; it lacks the real transfer-block, so if the owner sells to a third party the holder is left with a damages claim against the seller and cannot reach the buyer. The two are triggered the same way, once the owner concludes a sale with a third party, but their reach is entirely different. Alongside these agreed rights stand statutory ones, the gesetzliches Vorkaufsrecht, chiefly the municipality’s under §§ 24 ff. BauGB in aid of urban planning and the tenant’s under § 577 BGB where a rented flat is turned into a condominium and sold. So Vorkaufsrecht is the right word throughout, but a translation that does not fix the kind leaves open whether the right is good only against the seller or against all the world.
Typical mistakes
- A dingliches Vorkaufsrecht, § 1094 BGB, is registered and binds third parties through the effect of a Vormerkung, § 1098 Abs. 2 BGB, while a schuldrechtliches one, § 463 BGB, binds only the seller; rendering both as a bare Vorkaufsrecht hides whether the buyer is reached.
- A merely contractual pre-emption gives a damages claim against the seller, not a right against the third-party buyer, so treating it as reaching the land overstates it.
- Some pre-emption rights are statutory, § 24 ff. BauGB or § 577 BGB, so assuming every Vorkaufsrecht is privately agreed is wrong.
What matters
Rendering a pre-emption right, the translation should use Vorkaufsrecht but fix the kind: a dingliches, § 1094 BGB, registered and binding third parties, or a schuldrechtliches, § 463 BGB, binding only the seller, and flag any statutory right under § 24 ff. BauGB or § 577 BGB. Leaving the kind open hides whether the right reaches the third-party buyer.
What the machine misses
Machine output renders pre-emption right as Vorkaufsrecht but leaves the kind open. It loses that a dingliches Vorkaufsrecht, § 1094 BGB, is registered and binds third parties as a Vormerkung would, § 1098 Abs. 2 BGB, whereas a schuldrechtliches one, § 463 BGB, binds only the seller and yields a mere damages claim, and that statutory pre-emption rights exist under the BauGB and § 577 BGB. The rendering hides whether the right reaches the buyer.
Examples
| a registered pre-emption right | ein dingliches Vorkaufsrecht |
| a contractual pre-emption right | ein schuldrechtliches Vorkaufsrecht |
| to exercise the pre-emption right | das Vorkaufsrecht ausüben |
| the municipality’s statutory pre-emption right | das gesetzliche Vorkaufsrecht der Gemeinde |