A component of the house, meaning anything that cannot be separated without impairing it, passes to the buyer automatically. Appurtenances are a separate thing, so list them expressly in the purchase agreement, and the same goes for kitchen units, appliances and furniture. A shed or garage recorded in the Land Register is a separate property and must be identified in the agreement as the Land Register records it, that is by its house number, if it has one, and by the plot on which it stands.
At the viewing the house was furnished, panels were gleaming on the roof and a tool shed stood in the garden. When the keys are handed over, it turns out that the seller never assumed everything would stay. A dispute can be resolved under the law, but the outcome may not be the one you expected. It is therefore better to resolve it in advance, in the agreement. The Civil Code distinguishes a component of a thing, its appurtenances and separate things, and each category behaves differently on a sale.
A component always goes with the house
A component of a thing is everything that belongs to it according to its nature and cannot be separated without thereby impairing the thing.
— Section 120(1) of the Civil Code (unofficial English translation)
The roof, windows, doors and built-in installations are components of the house and pass with it without the agreement listing them. The seller may not dismantle them before handover. With technology such as solar panels, a heat pump or a heat-recovery system, however, the answer depends on how they are connected to the building and on whether their removal would impair the house. This is litigated, so the agreement should contain an express sentence that these installations form part of the sale. Check, too, that they belong to the seller. Equipment on lease or owned by the supplier cannot be transferred by the seller, and the agreement should determine who settles the remaining obligations.
Appurtenances must be listed
Appurtenances of a thing are things belonging to the owner of the principal thing which the owner has designated to be used permanently with the principal thing.
— Section 121(1) of the Civil Code (unofficial English translation)
Unlike a component, appurtenances are a separate thing. The Civil Code does not expressly provide that they pass together with the principal thing on a transfer, and older case law, to which the commentaries also refer, requires the agreement transferring immovable property to state and properly identify them alongside the principal thing. Items where it is uncertain whether they are a component or appurtenances, such as fencing, a pump in a well or a car charging point, should therefore be listed, even where it seems obvious that they belong to the house.
Fittings and movable items
Kitchen units, fitted wardrobes, appliances, light fittings and furniture are the most frequent subject of disputes on handover. With built-in items one can argue that they are a component; with free-standing ones one cannot. The safest course is to attach to the agreement a list of the items that are to remain and to record their condition in a handover protocol. State just as expressly what the seller will take and by when it must be removed.
A shed and a garage are separate properties
Structures are not components of land (Section 120(2)). A detached garage or a shed recorded in the Land Register is therefore a property in its own right, and the agreement must identify it by its house number, where one has been assigned, and by the parcel number of the land on which it stands (Section 42(2)(c) of the Land Register Act). If it is missing from the agreement, the seller remains its owner, even though it stands on land you are buying. If the garage or shed does not appear on the title sheet at all, we describe the procedure in the question on structures missing from the title sheet on a sale. For a flat, the same question is answered differently; we explain this in the question on what you are buying together with a flat.
How to avoid a dispute
Go through the subject of the sale before signing: the plots and structures as recorded on the title sheet, the technology and appurtenances, and a list of the fittings that are to remain. How to identify structures and plots correctly is examined in the article on a purchase agreement for a house and land. Within our purchase agreement for a house service, we describe the subject of the transfer so that there is nothing left to discuss on handover.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 12 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
