Our CMS Real Estate Group offers you access to over 130 partners and 250 lawyers to support your business globally. We provide you expertise in China, throughout Europe and in key emerging markets.

At CMS we have a successful international track record of providing legal expertise to a wide variety of clients, including developers, constructors, financiers, investors and end users (as well as public authorities) on all aspects of the law relating to the sector. We are highly experienced in advising real estate funds as to their establishment, operation and exit strategies. CMS offers you the deep expertise of our dedicated hotels group experts, who are well respected in the industry. 

Our specialized lawyers have a command of all facets of this extensive material from project management of large property projects to marketing and utilization. They regard property, construction and environment as a uniform area of commerce and life, which is not seen as being inappropriately split into traditional legal areas but as integral and inclusive. This way of looking at things makes it easier for complex tasks to be handled by a team. This team not only includes experts in building and architectural law but also for example lawyers from our firm who work in administrative and environmental law or in competition law. In the case of international projects we advise our clients jointly with our international partners in CMS offices.

Our clients include national and international market leaders in the construction industry, small and medium-sized construction companies, builders and property developers, architects, engineers and project managers, public corporations, banks, savings banks and insurance companies, institutional investors, property administrators and facility managers, wholesale and retail operations and industrial enterprises.

Main Focus

Our activities in the area of property, building and environment are mainly focused on

• legal project management of property projects

• property acquisition and development

o advice in the purchase of real property
o drafting and negotiating the necessary contracts such as financing contracts, operator agreements.
o advice on marketing properties from agency, tenancy and competition aspects
o advising local authorities on the development of building land and resettlement for major projects.
o handling the evolution of development areas from technical, legal and financial aspects

• designing contracts for architects and engineers

o drafting and negotiating project management contracts

• contract-awarding law

o ongoing advice on preparing, designing and implementing tender procedures
o advising bidders participating in tender procedures
o representing the company in verification procedures

• marketing and letting

o drafting and negotiating contracts of sale and tenancy agreements
o legal crisis management for needy projects

• construction comprehensive ongoing advice

o drafting expert reports
o enforcing or warding off claims
o claim management
o structuring agreements regarding construction delays

Key Qualities

Every day, CMS lawyers advise clients around the world on a wide range of projects and disputes related to real estate. Our CMS Real Estate Group has a number of key qualities which differentiate us from the competition, including:

• Specific local China knowledge and extensive coverage throughout Europe
• Multidisciplinary advice – including corporate, tax, banking and insolvency
• The ability to develop strong teams with clients
• Detailed knowledge and experience within all areas of law
• Proactive and business-oriented approach