Buying a flat in Germany: how the WEG system works

What you actually own

Section 1 of the WEG defines the right in one sentence: Wohnungseigentum is the special ownership of a flat combined with the co-ownership share of the common property to which it belongs. Rooms that are not residential, such as a shop or an office, are Teileigentum (part ownership) and follow the same rules.

Section 5 draws the line between the two layers. The unit itself, meaning the rooms and the fittings you can alter or remove without harming the structure or the facade, is yours alone. Parts needed for the stability or safety of the building, and installations that serve everyone, are common property even when they run through your flat. Car parking spaces can be special ownership (§ 3), and a garden or terrace can be too if the division plan fixes it by measurements.

Expect these documents to define your unit:

• the division plan (Aufteilungsplan), a drawing approved by the building authority that numbers every room belonging to each unit (§ 7(4) WEG);
• the declaration of division or deed that creates the units, which usually also holds the house rules of the community;
• the land register sheet of the flat (Wohnungsgrundbuch), opened for each co-ownership share (§ 7(1)). See the guide on the land register extract.

Who runs the building

The owners together form the community (Gemeinschaft der Wohnungseigentümer). Under § 18 WEG the community manages the common property, and each owner may demand management and use that match the interest of all owners (ordnungsmäßige Verwaltung). Section 19(2) lists what proper management includes, among it keeping the common property in good repair, adequate insurance at replacement value and building up a suitable maintenance reserve (Erhaltungsrücklage).

An administrator (Verwalter) calls the meeting at least once a year, in text form and normally at least three weeks ahead (§ 24 WEG). The meeting votes on the annual business plan and the annual statement (§ 28), and a resolution is valid only if its subject was named in the invitation (§ 23(2)). The administrator keeps a collection of resolutions (Beschluss-Sammlung) containing the wording of the decisions and court rulings since 1 July 2007 (§ 24(7)).

Costs of the community are shared by the ratio of the co-ownership shares entered in the land register, unless the owners validly decide another key for particular costs (§ 16(2)). The monthly advance toward those costs is the subject of the guide on owners’ association fees.

Rules that can follow you into the flat

Two provisions matter before you sign.

A sale can require consent. Under § 12 WEG the owners may agree, as part of the special ownership, that a sale needs the consent of the other owners or of a third person such as the administrator. Consent may be refused only for an important reason, and until it is given the sale and the obligation to sell are ineffective. Such a restriction must be entered expressly in the land register (§ 7(3)), so it shows on the sheet.

Not every rule is in the register. Section 10(3) says agreements that amend the Act bind a later buyer only if they are entered in the register as content of the special ownership. Ordinary resolutions, by contrast, bind a buyer without an entry. A resolution taken last year to renovate the roof is therefore your concern even though no register shows it, and the collection of resolutions is where you find it. Until a court declares it invalid, a resolution stays valid (§ 23(4)); a challenge is brought against the community (§ 44).

What to ask the seller for

Because a prospective buyer is not yet an owner, the right of inspection in § 18(4) WEG belongs to the seller, who can request copies. In practice ask the seller for:

1. the declaration of division, the division plan and the house rules;
2. the minutes of the last meetings and the collection of resolutions;
3. the current business plan, the last annual statement and the wealth report (Vermögensbericht) that the administrator must draw up after each calendar year, showing the reserves and the main community assets (§ 28(4));
4. any pending court case against the community, which appears in the collection of resolutions;
5. the energy certificate (see the guide on the energy certificate).

Which professional to consult

The notary drafts the deed and explains it; see the notary page and the guide on buying step by step. A building surveyor or architect can read the minutes and the condition of the common parts, and a property valuer can assess the price. A mortgage lender will want the division documents too.