GENERAL TERMS
AND CONDITIONS

1. Scope and Application

1.1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to all activities, including judicial, administrative, and extrajudicial representation, carried out during an existing contractual relationship between the notary and the client, excluding the role as court commissioner. The General Terms and Conditions also apply to the preparation of public deeds and the safekeeping of third-party property.

1.2. The General Terms and Conditions apply to all current and future mandates.

1.3. The provisions of the General Terms and Conditions also apply to the successor of the law firm, substitutes, and notarial candidates of the notary.

 

2. Order and Authorization

The notary is authorized and obligated to provide her services and represent the client to the extent necessary and appropriate for fulfilling the assigned task. In the event of changes in legislation and/or legal precedents after the completion of the assignment, the notary is not obligated to notify the client of any changes or resulting consequences. This also applies to completed parts of an assignment. Except for otherwise expressly agreed in written form, advising and informing on economic matters and tax law does not fall within the scope of the notary’s assignment.

 

3. Principles of Performance Fulfillment

The notary is obliged to act in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice when fulfilling the agreed-upon service. They are authorized to employ suitable employees to carry out the assignment.

The client acknowledges that any necessary electronic archiving of documents (for companies and land registry) will only stored for a period of seven years, and after this duration, a renewed archiving is required. A longer archiving period is possible but will only be done upon explicit request from the client. The costs associated with the electronic archiving of documents are to be borne by the client as cash expenditure.

 

4. Client’s Obligations to Provide Information; Declaration of Completeness

4.1. After the assignment has been given, the client is obligated to promptly inform the notary of any information and facts that may be relevant to the execution of the assignment, even without a specific request, and make all necessary documents accessible. The notary is entitled to assume the accuracy and completeness of the information, facts, deeds, and documents unless their inaccuracy is obvious. During the execution of the assignment, the client is obliged to promptly inform the notary of any changed or newly arising circumstances that may be relevant to the execution of the assignment as soon as they become known.

 

4.2. The client must confirm in writing to the notary the completeness of the submitted documents, as well as the provided information and statements, upon request.

4.3. If the assignment includes the preparation of a contract, the client is obliged to provide the notary with all necessary information required for the self-calculation of property transfer tax, registration fee, and real estate capital gains tax.

If the notary carries out self-calculation based on the information provided by the client, the notary is exempt from any liability towards the client. However, the client is obligated to indemnify and hold the notary fully indemnified in case of financial losses resulting from inaccuracies in the client’s information.

 

5. Protection of the Notary’s Intellectual Property

5.1. The client must ensure that the public deeds and private documents, submissions to authorities and courts, expert opinions, presentations, drafts, calculations, and similar materials prepared by the notary within the scope of the assignment are only used for the purposes of the assignment. The disclosure of professional statements by the notary to a third party for use requires the written consent of the notary.

5.2. The use of the notary’s professional statements for advertising purposes is prohibited.

5.3. The copyright of the notary’s services remains with the notary. The granting of permissions for the use of works requires the written consent of the notary.

 

6. Confidentiality Obligation, Exceptions

6.1. The notary and the personnel employed by her are obligated to maintain confidentiality in accordance with the provisions of the Notary Regulations.

6.2. The notary is exempt from the obligation of confidentiality to the extent necessary for the pursuit of her claims (in particular, claims for fees from the notary) or for the defense against claims against the notary (in particular, claims for damages from the client or third parties against the notary). The client is aware that the notary, due to legal provisions, may be required to provide information or reports to authorities without obtaining the client’s consent, especially with regard to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations, as well as tax law provisions (e.g., Register of Accounts and Account Inspection Act, GMSG, etc.).

6.3. The notary is required, in certain cases as stipulated by law, to provide information or reports to authorities without the need to obtain the client’s consent. The client is aware of this.

6.4. The notary may be represented by a notary candidate or substitute authorized by law, who is employed by her, or by another notary, lawyer, or their authorized trainee within the legally permissible scope of work (sub-authorization). The notary may also delegate the assignment or specific tasks to professional representatives (substitution).

 

 

7. Foreign Law

The notary is only liable for knowledge of foreign law if agreed upon in writing.

 

8. Termination

8.1. The assignment can be terminated at any time with immediate effect by the notary or the client. The notary’s entitlement to fees for services already rendered remains unaffected. In the case of a flat fee agreement, the services already provided will be invoiced in the absence of an agreement according to the respective provisions of the Notarial Fees Act and, subsidiarily, according to the Lawyers’ Fees Act. However, the notary’s claim for reimbursement of expenses is limited to the flat fee.

8.2. Termination of the assignment is not possible if it has been agreed upon in writing or if it is not legally possible for compelling reasons (especially in the case of trusteeships) or requires consent. If the notary has already commenced notarial activities, the termination of the corresponding assignment for the preparation of a public deed requires the notary’s consent.

 

9. Entitlement to Fees

9.1. The notary’s fee entitlement is governed by the respective provisions of the Notarial Fees Act, Lawyers’ Fees Act, General Civil Code, or an agreement.

9.2. If a flat fee has been agreed upon and is based on an agreed hourly rate (fee for one hour of work) rather than the Notarial Fees Act or the Lawyers’ Fees Act, the notary’s hourly rate, as well as the rate used by notarial candidates, substitutes, and assistants currently amounts to €350 (three hundred and fifty euros) net, plus 20% VAT and cash expenditure. This also includes a time frame of 2 hours of service after each signing for each of the two parties to the contract. If this 2-hour limit is exceeded, the hourly rate fee of €350 (net), plus 20% VAT and cash expenditure, will apply again. Similar to the Lawyers’ Fees Act, services are recorded in units of time of less than 10 minutes, half an hour, and full hours. If the time spent on the matter is not caused by the parties themselves but by communication with courts, authorities, banks, brokers, informants, or third parties, this time will be attributed to the party concerned without prejudice to the joint liability of all contracting parties for the notary’s fee according to § 12 of the Notarial Fees Act, which is also agreed upon for an hourly rate fee. To avoid a lack of cost transparency, the notary must inform the client of any exceeding the included time frame and subsequently submit an invoice for the additional work at the latest at the end of each quarter. However, the advantage of capping the agreed flat hourly rate fee is lost if the fee is not actually paid in a timely manner after invoicing.

9.3. In addition to the fee entitlement of the notary, the value-added tax, necessary incidental expenses (travel expenses, communication, copies, translations, registration fees, etc.), and cash expenses paid on behalf of the client must be added. The client must be informed about this before the contract unless it is evident to the notary that the client is already aware of this circumstance or it is otherwise apparent from the circumstances.

9.4. Insurance premiums for special liability insurance requirements are considered incidental expenses.

9.5. In the absence of other agreements, fees, and advances are due immediately upon written demand. If fee payments are made more than 7 days after the due date, statutory default interest may be charged.

9.6. The notary is entitled to submit fee invoices and request fee advances at any time but at the end of each month at the latest.

9.7. If the client is a business owner, a fee invoice provided

 

10. Liability

10.1. The notary’s liability, as well as that of all persons acting on her behalf, is excluded for slight negligence and, in all other cases, is limited to the amount of the liability insurance coverage available for the specific damage. The notary currently has a liability insurance coverage of €10,000,000.00 (ten million euros). Any liability beyond the maximum amount of the mentioned insurance coverage is expressly excluded, except in cases of intent. This also applies to any liability towards third parties arising from a contract with protective effects for third parties. Liability for damages by other partners of the law firm who are not involved in handling the respective case is, in any case, excluded. This limitation of liability applies to both gross and slight negligence; however, in the case of a client who is a consumer, it applies only in the event of slight negligence. The notary, as well as all persons acting on her behalf, are not liable for lost profits, consequential damages, incidental damages, or similar damages.

10.2. In the presence of two or more competing claimants (clients), the maximum amount shall be reduced for each individual claimant in proportion to the amount of their claims.

10.3. If the client is a consumer as defined by the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG), liability beyond the available liability insurance coverage is excluded only in the event of slight negligence.

10.4. If the notary engages external third parties for the provision of services with the client’s knowledge (e.g., external experts, tax advisors), the notary is liable only in the event of a selection fault.

10.5. The notary is only liable to the client and, in any case, not to third parties. If third parties come into contact with the notary’s services due to the client’s involvement, the client must expressly inform them of this circumstance (exclusion of the notary’s liability towards third parties). To the extent that such liability exclusion is not legally permissible, the liability limitations in sections 10 and 11 also apply to third parties. The client shall hold the notary fully indemnified against any claims arising from the disclosure of professional statements to third parties.

 

11. Limitation period

Unless a shorter or mandatory different limitation or preclusion period is provided by law, all claims against the notary can only be asserted within six months from the time the client becomes aware of the damage, the person responsible for the damage, or the event giving rise to the claim, but no later than within five years after the damaging or claim-generating behavior. If the client is a consumer, a one-year expiration period applies, and for the enforcement of warranty claims, the statutory two-year period applies.

12. Choice of law, place of performance, and jurisdiction

12.1. The General Terms of Engagement and the contractual relationship governed by them are subject to Austrian law. The place of performance is the notary’s office.

12.2. For legal disputes arising from or in connection with the contractual relationship governed by the terms of engagement, including disputes concerning its validity, the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent court at the notary’s place of business is agreed unless mandatory law provides otherwise. However, the notary is also entitled to bring claims against the client before any other court in Austria or abroad within the jurisdiction of the client’s domicile, residence, branch, or assets. The jurisdiction provision of Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to clients who are consumers within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act.

 

13. Final Provisions

13.1. Unless the client is a consumer within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG), amendments or additions to these General Terms and Conditions require a written form to be valid.

13.2. Declarations by the notary to the client shall be deemed received in any case if they are sent to the address provided by the client upon placing the order or subsequently communicated in writing. Unless otherwise agreed, the notary may communicate with the client in any suitable manner. However, unless otherwise instructed in writing by the client, the notary is authorized to conduct email correspondence with the client without encryption. The client acknowledges and accepts the associated risks (particularly regarding access, confidentiality, and alteration of messages during transmission) and is aware that email communication is not conducted in encrypted form.

13.3. The client expressly agrees that the notary processes, transfers, or transmits the personal data relating to the client and/or their company to the extent necessary and appropriate for the fulfillment of tasks entrusted to the notary by the client or as required by legal or professional obligations of the notary (e.g., participation in electronic legal transactions, etc.), in accordance with data protection laws. The invalidity of one or more provisions of these terms and conditions or the contractual relationship governed by the terms and conditions shall not affect the validity of the remaining agreement. The contracting parties undertake to replace the invalid provision(s) with a provision that comes as close as possible to achieving the intended economic result.