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The closest equivalent to the German Reallast in the United States is a real covenant or an affirmative covenant that "runs with the land." [1]
While German law treats the Reallast as a specific "real right" (dingliches Recht), U.S. common law achieves similar results through contract-based obligations that become tied to the property title. [1, 2]
Key Similarities and Differences
Key Similarities and Differences
Definition: In Germany, a Reallast is an encumbrance where the property owner is obligated to provide recurring acts of performance (money, goods, or services) to a specific person or the owner of another property.
U.S. Equivalent (Affirmative Covenant): This is a promise in a deed to do something for the benefit of another party (e.g., maintaining a shared driveway or paying HOA fees). For it to function like a Reallast, it must "run with the land," meaning the obligation automatically transfers to any future owner.
Scope of Performance:
Reallast: Can involve non-monetary services, such as providing heating to a neighboring flat or providing agricultural produce.
U.S. Covenant: Frequently used for monetary payments (like maintenance fees) but can also cover active duties. However, U.S. courts are sometimes more reluctant to enforce "affirmative" duties (active steps) compared to "negative" ones (restrictions), whereas the Reallast is specifically designed for active performance. [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
In some contexts, such as an old-fashioned obligation to pay a recurring sum of money from the land's profits, it might also be compared to a ground rent or rentcharge, though these are less common in modern U.S. practice outside of specific states like Maryland.
[3] https://www.justanswer.com
[6] https://www.heid-immobilienbewertung.de
[8] https://www.immoverkauf24.de
Gemini AI generated answer to question: What would be the equivalent of the German "Reallast" in U. S. terms? March 13, 2026.
Link to Amtsblatt for published Reallast: https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/search?query=manifestation_id%3A%22ZDB%7C3861-1%7C%22&sortField=date&sortOrder=asc/
https://www.digitale-sammlungen.de/en/view/bsb11313281?q=Reallast&page=118,119/
Grundlasten (Reallasten)
A. Different Views on Real Encumbrances and Critiques of Them 1) Real encumbrances, considered in general, appear at first glance to have two characteristic features which, although consisting of quite different components, nevertheless combine to constitute their essence. The one feature, which is most obvious, is a person's obligation to perform an action or give something, and thus has the character of a bond, while the other feature consists in the fact that this performance is always tied to a specific piece of land and is incumbent upon every owner of that land, and thus appears to fall within the category of real rights. These two components of the institution make it possible to consider its essence from two different, completely opposing viewpoints, a view which is indeed found represented in legal writings These different views on the nature of real burdens, which are based on the idea that either the obligatory or the material element is predominant, or that both are fused in a peculiar way, can be reduced to two main views.
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