Owners’ association: what buyers should know

Moe Afonso · 2026-10-14

You buy a flat. Your name is then entered in the land register. Many people only realise when the managing agent’s first letter arrives that they have bought not just a flat, but also a place in an association with all the other owners in the building.

This association makes decisions about the roof, façade and heating system. It sets the service charge (Hausgeld) you pay. And it can pass resolutions that outvote you. For a property investor, this is no mere formality. It helps determine how much of the rent you keep.

01What an owners’ association is

A building with individually owned flats is legally divided. Your flat is your individually owned property. The roof, stairwell, façade, pipes and cables, and the land are common property. You own a fractional share of these: the co-ownership share specified in the declaration of division.

Since the WEG reform, the association itself has been a legal entity in its own right. It can enter into contracts, hold accounts, sue and be sued (§ 9a Abs. 1 WEG). It comes into existence as soon as the land registry creates the individual flats’ land registers.

You become a member when you are entered in the land register. A special rule applies to new builds. Anyone with a registered priority notice to secure their acquisition, whose flat has already been handed over by the developer, is already treated as an owner in relation to the association (§ 8 Abs. 3 WEG). You then pay the service charge from handover and are entitled to vote, even if registration of the transfer of ownership is still pending.

02Who decides: the meeting, managing agent and advisory board

Three bodies share the work. Their respective roles are set out in law.

The managing agent is the most important person in your day-to-day life as a landlord. They collect the service charge, commission tradespeople to work on the common property and provide the accounts you need to prepare your tenant’s annual operating cost statement. The minutes from recent years show how well they do their job. Our guide to owners’ meeting minutes before buying explains how to read them.

03How voting works in the owners’ association

Resolutions are passed at the meeting or in writing by circulating a resolution. Buyers should know three rules.

A simple majority of votes cast. This is sufficient for most resolutions (§ 25 Abs. 1 WEG). Abstentions do not count.

One vote per owner. This is the per-head principle (§ 25 Abs. 2 WEG). The owner of a small flat has just as much voting power as the owner of the penthouse. If one owner owns several flats, the statutory rule still gives them only one vote. The association’s rules may provide otherwise, for example one vote per flat or voting in proportion to co-ownership shares. Check this before buying, particularly if a developer or a major owner holds many flats.

Every meeting is quorate. Since 1 December 2020, there has no longer been a minimum attendance requirement (Wohnungseigentumsmodernisierungsgesetz, BGBl. 2020 I S. 2187). If you do not attend or grant a proxy in text form (§ 25 Abs. 3 WEG), you simply have no say in important decisions.

What rules apply to alterations?

A simple majority is also sufficient for alterations (§ 20 Abs. 1 WEG). Every owner can even demand certain measures, such as a charging point, accessibility improvements, protection against break-ins or a high-speed internet connection (§ 20 Abs. 2 WEG). In principle, the person requesting the measure then bears the costs.

Everyone contributes if more than two-thirds of the votes cast and more than half of the co-ownership shares approve, or if the costs pay for themselves within a reasonable period (§ 21 Abs. 2 WEG). This is precisely where you can be outvoted and still have to pay.

Can I challenge a resolution?

Yes, by bringing an action to challenge it before the local court (Amtsgericht). The deadline is short. The action must be brought within one month of the resolution and the grounds submitted within two months (§ 45 WEG). After that, the resolution applies, including to subsequent buyers. If you only read the minutes weeks later, it is easy to miss the deadline.

04Worked example: what the association costs you each month

Take Jana. She is considering buying a tenanted two-room flat in a building with 20 flats. Her co-ownership share under the declaration of division is 48/1,000. The association’s annual budget provides for €78,000 for the coming year. The name is fictional, and the figures are a worked example, not a forecast.

Jana transfers €312 to the association each month. Of this, she recovers €187.20 through her tenant’s advance operating cost payment. She bears the remaining €124.80 herself unless the association resolves otherwise.

The €96 reserve contribution is not money lost. It builds up a cushion for the roof, façade or heating system. For tax purposes, however, it only counts as an income-related expense when the association actually spends the money on maintenance (BFH, Urteil vom 14.01.2025, IX R 19/24). So factor this amount into your cash flow, not your first tax refund. Find out more in our guide to service charges for individually owned flats.

05Liability: what you are responsible for as an owner

If the association owes a tradesperson money and cannot pay, they may pursue the individual owners. However, each owner is liable only in proportion to their co-ownership share (§ 9a Abs. 4 WEG). You are not liable to creditors for debts that arose and fell due before you became an owner.

For example, the association in Jana’s building has an outstanding bill of €30,000 for roof repairs. Because some owners are not paying their service charges, there is not enough money in the account. The roofer can demand no more than €30,000 × 48/1,000 = €1,440 from Jana.

The indirect route is more common than direct liability. If other owners do not pay, the association is short of funds. The meeting then resolves to impose a special levy or higher advance payments, and all those who are paying have to step in. Service charge arrears recorded in the minutes are therefore a warning sign.

06What the association means for landlords

As a landlord, you sit between two contracts. The association settles its accounts with you, and you settle yours with your tenant. Three rules help these fit together.

As a landlord, attend the meeting or appoint a proxy. Resolutions on modernisation, a change of managing agent or the allocation of costs directly affect your figures.

07Who a flat within an owners’ association suits

08Risks and limitations

• Being outvoted. Majority resolutions are binding on you too. Expensive modernisation can be approved without your consent.
• Maintenance. Older buildings need work on roofs, windows, pipes and cables. If the reserve is insufficient, special levies or higher service charges follow, which your tenant does not bear.
• Other owners’ payment defaults. If individual owners do not pay, the others temporarily help cover the shortfall.
• Your own financial plan. Rising service charges affect you alongside other risks: a void period if the tenant moves out, and higher interest rates after the fixed-interest period ends. Check whether your calculations can withstand all three.
• Quality of the managing agent. A poor managing agent costs time and money. Replacing them requires a majority resolution.

09Further reading

• Reading owners’ meeting minutes before buying
• Service charges for individually owned flats
• Buying a tenanted, individually owned flat
• Declaration of division in the glossary
• Owners’ meeting in the glossary
• Special levy in the glossary

10Sources

All sources accessed on 14 October 2026.

• § 8 WEG (prospective owner), § 9a WEG (association, liability)
• § 16 WEG (allocation of costs), § 20 WEG, § 21 WEG (alterations)
• § 24 WEG (meeting), § 25 WEG (passing resolutions, voting rights), § 26 WEG (managing agent), § 29 WEG (advisory board)
• § 45 WEG (deadline for challenging resolutions)
• § 556 BGB, § 556a BGB (operating costs, allocation basis for individually owned flats)
• Wohnungseigentumsmodernisierungsgesetz (WEMoG) vom 16.10.2020, BGBl. 2020 I S. 2187, in force since 1 December 2020
• BFH, Urteil vom 14.01.2025, IX R 19/24 (maintenance reserve as an income-related expense)
• Worked example: our own calculation, as at 14 October 2026

Note: This guide provides general information and is not a substitute for legal or tax advice. All figures are illustrative calculations with disclosed assumptions, as at 14 October 2026.