Fixed-rate period (Sollzinsbindung) on a German mortgage

What the law means by “fixed”

Section 489(5) BGB defines the terms. The Sollzinssatz is the periodic annual percentage applied to the amount drawn. It is gebunden (fixed) when one or several rates, each expressed as a fixed percentage, are agreed for the whole term of the contract. If no fixing covers the whole term, the rate counts as fixed only for those periods where a set percentage applies.

So a loan with a ten-year fixing and a repayment date of thirty years has a fixed rate for ten years, and the remaining twenty years are open until the lender and you agree a new rate. The contract must state the term and the rate; a written contract with the mandatory particulars is required for consumer loans (section 492 BGB), and a repayment schedule can be requested while a repayment date is set.

When the borrower can terminate

Section 489 BGB gives three routes.

For the first row, if the rate is adjusted at intervals of up to one year, you may terminate only at the end of the day on which each fixing ends. For the second row, if you and the lender later agree a new repayment date or a new rate, the date of that agreement replaces the date of receipt, so the ten years start again.

Two further rules protect the right. A termination is treated as not having been made if you do not repay the amount owed within two weeks after it takes effect (section 489(3)). And the right in paragraphs 1 and 2 cannot be excluded or made harder by contract (section 489(4)), except for loans to public bodies.

The ten-year route is not a general escape from a short fixing. Within the fixing period, early repayment is a separate question governed by sections 490(2), 500 and 502 BGB; see the guide on early repayment and the ten-year right.

What the Bundesbank shows by fixing band

The Bundesbank publishes the average effective interest rate on new housing loans to households, volume-weighted, by band of initial fixing. For August 2026 the series show:

Read this as a statistical average of loans concluded in the month, not as an offer. The lowest figure is the 5-to-10-year band; the longest band is slightly higher. A year earlier, in August 2025, the 5-to-10-year band stood at 3.56%. How the series is built is explained in the guide on Bundesbank mortgage rates.

Choosing a length

The statute does not tell you which fixing to choose; it only fixes your exit rights. Three consequences follow from the text:

• A fixing shorter than ten years means a new rate negotiation when it ends, and a right to leave at that point (section 489(1) no. 1).
• A fixing longer than ten years can be left after ten years with six months’ notice.
• Under a variable rate you can leave at any time on three months’ notice (section 489(2)).

State-backed loans have their own terms. The KfW home-ownership loan (programme 124), for example, offers a fixing of 5 or 10 years within terms of up to 35 years, according to the KfW’s product page.

Which professional to consult

A mortgage broker can compare offers across fixing lengths (see the mortgage-broker page). A notary prepares and certifies land-charge documents (see the notary page). Use the mortgage calculator to test instalments.