Hausgeld: monthly fees in a German condominium

What Hausgeld pays for

Section 16(2) WEG says the costs of the association, “in particular of administration and of the shared use of the common property”, are borne by each owner according to their share. The monthly sum therefore covers the community’s running costs, the cost of administration and a contribution to the maintenance reserve; which running costs apply (heating, lift, caretaker and so on) depends on the building.

Section 19(2) lists what proper administration includes: a house rules document, proper maintenance of the common property, adequate insurance of the common property at its replacement value together with liability cover, building up an adequate maintenance reserve (Erhaltungsrücklage), and setting the advance payments. It also requires a certified administrator (zertifizierter Verwalter), unless the community has fewer than nine units, an owner is the administrator and fewer than a third of owners ask for a certified one.

How the budget works

Section 28 describes the cycle:

1. The administrator draws up an economic plan (Wirtschaftsplan) for each calendar year with expected income and expenses (section 28(1)).
2. The owners vote on the advance payments and on the reserves.
3. After the year ends, the administrator draws up the annual account (Jahresabrechnung). The owners then decide on any additional payments or on adjusting the advances (section 28(2)).
4. The administrator also prepares an asset report (Vermögensbericht) showing the state of the reserves and the community’s main assets, which must be made available to every owner (section 28(4)).

The owners may decide when claims fall due and how they are to be met (section 28(3)). So the due date of your monthly payment is set by the community’s decision, not by a fixed date in the Act.

How your share is set

Section 16(1) ties each owner’s share to the proportion of co-ownership shares registered in the land register (Grundbuch) under section 47 of the Land Register Code. Section 16(2) lets the owners resolve a different split for particular costs or types of cost, for example by consumption. A split different from the registered shares therefore needs a decision. Your share appears as a fraction (for instance, a number of “thousandths”) in the declaration of division, a document you can ask for before buying.

As a formula, with S for your co-ownership share, C for the total cost of an item and P for your payment: P = S × C. A flat is not charged by floor area unless the owners have agreed otherwise.

Structural changes and who pays

Section 20 lets the owners decide on changes that go beyond ordinary maintenance. Section 20(2) gives every owner a right to demand reasonable changes for disabled access, charging electric vehicles, burglary protection, a very-high-capacity telecommunications connection and plug-in solar devices. Section 21 then assigns the cost: the owner who requested or was permitted the change pays and keeps the benefits, except where a change was passed by more than two thirds of the votes cast and half of all co-ownership shares (unless costs are disproportionate), or pays for itself within a reasonable time. In that case all owners share the cost by their registered shares.

Voting and meetings

Section 24 requires the administrator to convene an owners’ meeting at least once a year, in text form and normally at least three weeks in advance. Section 25 decides by a majority of votes cast, with one vote per owner; if several people own one flat, they vote as one. A proxy needs text form.

You are also entitled to inspect the administrative documents, under section 18(4).

Challenging a decision

Section 45 sets very short limits: an action to set aside a decision must be filed within one month of the decision and its grounds supplied within two months. Missing the month usually means the decision stands. If you think a decision on Hausgeld or the reserve is wrong, take advice immediately.

Hausgeld is not the same as a tenant’s service charge

If you let the flat, only part of Hausgeld can be passed on to the tenant. The Betriebskostenverordnung (BetrKV, Service Charges Ordinance) lists the recoverable operating costs in section 2, which includes land tax and water, heating and similar running costs. Section 1(2) excludes administration costs and maintenance and repair costs from operating costs. The administrator’s fee and the reserve contribution therefore stay with the owner, and your statement should separate them.

Which professional to consult

A notary explains the declaration of division when you buy; a property valuer or an architect can assess the state of the building, which drives the reserve. For the purchase budget see the purchase costs calculator and for the buying process the condominium guide.