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BGH Extends ‘Purchase Button’ Rule to Online Real‑Estate Brokers, Invalid Deals Enable Commission Refunds

A year-end deadline looms for 2022 claims due to scarce use of compliant purchase buttons.

Overview

  • Germany’s top court held that §312j BGB applies to digitally concluded broker agreements, requiring the acceptance control to clearly signal a payment obligation.
  • A button labeled only “Senden” is insufficient, rendering the broker contract definitively void and eliminating any commission claim even if services were used.
  • Analyses from the Interessengemeinschaft Widerruf indicate that relatively few agents deploy a compliant “Zahlungspflichtig bestellen” button.
  • Reports say a market‑leading platform provider recently acknowledged in court that it has not offered a legally compliant payment button.
  • Consumers can challenge agreements from January 2022 onward, but claims from 2022 lapse at the end of 2025 under the three‑year statute of limitations.