Delayed completion: budget for Bereitstellungszinsen before the first rent arrives

When an off-plan apartment is finished late, you pay for the delay before any rent arrives. The developer is paid in stages, so part of your loan stays undrawn. Once the lender's commitment-free period ends, it charges commitment interest (Bereitstellungszinsen) on that undrawn part, typically 0.25 per cent a month. Meanwhile, interest continues on the amounts already drawn, and the first rent moves back month by month. In our fictional example, a six-month delay costs the household about €3,700 and a twelve-month delay about €7,500, driven mainly by lost rent. Budget for that from your own money, not from compensation you hope to claim.

A developer (Bauträger) may take the price in up to seven instalments as construction progresses (§ 3(2) MaBV), and the lender pays out each instalment as a partial disbursement (Teilauszahlung). At any point in construction, your loan therefore has two parts, with two different charges:

• Drawn amounts carry the agreed loan interest from the first payout. Repayment usually begins only once the loan is fully paid out, so during construction you normally pay interest only (Dr. Klein).
• Undrawn amounts carry Bereitstellungszinsen once the commitment-free period (bereitstellungszinsfreie Zeit) ends. The charge applies only to the part not yet drawn (Interhyp). The Federal Court of Justice has held that a bank need not keep a loan available free of charge until it is drawn (BGH, III ZR 207/83, as summarised by the Verbraucherzentrale).

Keep the two apart in your planning. A delay does not make drawn money more expensive; it postpones it. What it adds is commitment interest on money you cannot yet use, and months without rent.

These terms are typical, not universal. Your loan offer is what counts.

• Rate. Most lenders have charged 0.25 per cent a month, or 3 per cent a year, for decades (Stiftung Warentest, November 2025).
• Free period. Banks usually start charging after 3 to 12 months (Verbraucherzentrale). In Stiftung Warentest's survey, more than half of banks offered 12 free months and just over one in ten offered 24.
• Start date. The free period generally starts when the loan agreement is signed, at some banks in the following month (Dr. Klein), not when construction starts.
• Price of a longer period. Extending the free period typically means a higher interest rate (Sparkasse).
• KfW loans have their own terms. Under the current 297/298 product sheet, KfW charges 0.15 per cent a month on undrawn amounts from the 13th month after its commitment (KfW Merkblatt 297/298, valid from 30 July 2026/PDF-Dokumente/6000005051_M_297_298.pdf)).

Construction delays are the most common reason buyers end up paying commitment interest (Interhyp).

The undrawn amount falls only when the next instalment is due. Under the MaBV, the developer may take the first 30 per cent after earthworks begin and the remainder in fixed shares for later construction stages (§ 3(2) MaBV). If work stalls after the shell, the later instalments stay undrawn, and Bereitstellungszinsen run on all of them. How the instalments and their evidence work is covered in Bauträger payment plans.

Illustrative example. Fictional figures and contract terms, not an offer or forecast. Apartment B from our new-build versus existing comparison: Leipzig, 50 m², bought off-plan for €250,000. Loan €225,000 (90 per cent of the price) at an assumed 3.7 per cent nominal, with 2 per cent initial repayment (€1,068.75 a month) starting the month after full payout; interest only on drawn amounts until then. €25,000 of own funds goes into the first instalment. Month 0 is the signing of the purchase contract and the loan agreement. Assumed commitment-free period: 12 months from the loan agreement; then 0.25 per cent a month on the undrawn amount. No fee for partial disbursements. Each instalment is drawn at the start of its month. Expected cold rent €825 a month from the second month after handover. In both delay cases, the delay begins after the shell: every later stage moves back by six or twelve months. Before tax.

To compare like with like, the next table covers the same 36 months in all three cases, from signing to the last instalment in the twelve-month case. After month 36, all three cost the same each month; the delayed loans simply finish later.

Extra to fund = change in drawn-loan interest + change in Bereitstellungszinsen + rent foregone − running costs not yet due. Running costs are the owner's €90 a month of non-recoverable service charge (Hausgeld) and €35 of management once let; repair and vacancy allowances are left out. Repayment is also left out: by month 36, €4,577 of the loan is repaid on time, €2,267 with a six-month delay and nothing with twelve. That cash stays in your account, but the debt is higher by the same amount, so it is not a saving.

Three things stand out:

• Drawn-loan interest falls in the delayed cases, because you pay the developer later and borrow later.
• Bereitstellungszinsen rise from €814 to €2,153 and €3,728. After the shell, €105,000 stays undrawn, costing €262.50 a month once the free period has ended.
• Lost rent is the largest item. Each month of delay removes €825 of income.

The free period is worth negotiating. With 18 months free instead of 12, the six-month delay's Bereitstellungszinsen fall from €2,153 to €814; with 24, the twelve-month delay's also fall to €814. Compare that with the rate surcharge the lender asks for the longer period.

The delay months are paid from income and savings. In the six-month case, months 22 to 27 cost about €673 to €689 a month in interest and Bereitstellungszinsen, with no rent against them. On time, the €825 rent would already be arriving in those months.

Measured as cash out before the first rent (own funds, purchase costs, the kitchen, loan costs and one empty month of Hausgeld, as in our comparison), Apartment B needs €58,140 on time, €61,699 with a six-month delay and €65,494 with twelve. Hold that buffer separately from your household reserve, and run the full cash-flow test once the rent is real (rental property cash flow). Our job loss and refinancing stress test covers risks after completion; this one ends at the first rent.

Interest and Bereitstellungszinsen on a loan for a property you intend to let can generally be claimed as income-related expenses (Werbungskosten) before the first rent (§ 9(1) sentence 3 no. 1 EStG). The relief arrives with your tax assessment at your marginal rate; it does not cover the cash in the months you pay. A tax adviser (Steuerberater) should confirm the treatment.

Some delay costs may be recoverable. Whether they are depends on the contract and the cause.

• Completion date. A developer contract must state a binding completion date or construction period. If it does not, the information in the pre-contract building description applies (§ 650k(3) BGB; developer contracts exclude only paragraph 1 of that section, § 650u(2) BGB).
• Default. The developer is in default (Verzug) after a reminder following the due date, or without one if the date is fixed by the calendar (§ 286(1), (2) no. 1 BGB). There is no default while the delay results from a circumstance the developer is not responsible for (§ 286(4) BGB).
• Damages for delay. Once in default, the developer owes damages for the delay (§ 280(1), (2) BGB). These can include lost profit such as rent (§ 252 BGB), and Stiftung Warentest counts Bereitstellungszinsen among the damage a builder at fault must cover.
• Contractual penalty (Vertragsstrafe): only if the contract contains one (§ 339 BGB). If you accept performance, you can claim a penalty for lateness only if you reserve the right at that point (§ 341(3) BGB); see acceptance of a new build.

Keep any of this out of the base case. The developer may dispute responsibility, the contract may extend the date for specified events, a claim can take a long time, and an insolvent developer may pay little or nothing. A lawyer should assess a claim before you act, including before withholding any instalment.

Before signing either contract, check:

• the free period against the developer's schedule, with a buffer;
• when the free period starts, the monthly rate and the base it applies to;
• the final drawdown date, and what the lender charges if part of the loan is never drawn (Nichtabnahmeentschädigung) (Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken);
• whether partial disbursements carry a fee, when repayment starts and when the fixed-rate period begins;
• the developer's completion clause: a calendar date or a period, any penalty, and which events extend it.

Alpha Minoris's Buyer's Agent service coordinates lender and developer updates during a purchase in Berlin, Dresden or Leipzig. It passes the developer's revised dates and stage invoices to the lender, asks the lender early about the free period, and keeps you informed. You need not live in the city. Coordination does not remove delay risk: the lender decides on its terms, a surveyor judges construction progress, and a lawyer assesses claims.

Before you sign for an off-plan apartment, put the payment plan, the loan's free period and a delay case side by side. Discuss your first rental property with Alpha Minoris.