Hausverwaltung or Sondereigentumsverwaltung: who manages your rental apartment?

If you own a rented flat in a German apartment building, two managers can be involved, and they answer to different clients. The building administrator (WEG-Verwalter, often simply called the Hausverwaltung) is appointed by the owners' association and looks after the common property. A Sondereigentumsverwalter is someone you hire to manage your own unit and your tenancy. The first is usually in place when you buy. The second is optional; without one, the tenant, repairs inside the flat and the operating-cost statement are yours to handle.

Sondereigentumsverwaltung explained in one line: the building administrator looks after the building for all the owners; a Sondereigentumsverwalter looks after your apartment and your tenant for you. For the wider picture of what stays with you as a landlord, see landlord responsibilities in Germany.

The WEG-Verwalter works for the association. The owners appoint the administrator by resolution for at most five years, or three for the first administrator after the condominium is created, and can dismiss it at any time (§ 26 WEG). Managing the common property is the association's task (§ 18(1) WEG), and the administrator represents the association, not you (§ 9b(1) WEG).

The Sondereigentumsverwalter works for you. You choose the provider, set the scope in a contract and can end it on the agreed terms. Some firms offer both services, but they remain two contracts with two fees.

Commercial providers of either service need the same permit as residential property administrators (§ 34c(1) no. 4, (2) and (2a) GewO).

• Common property (Gemeinschaftseigentum): parts of the building needed for its structure or safety, and installations used by all owners, are common property "even if they are located within" your unit (§ 5(2) WEG). Load-bearing walls, the roof, the façade and shared supply lines are typical examples.
• Your unit (Sondereigentum): the rooms assigned to you and the parts that can be changed or removed without affecting common property, other owners' units or the building's exterior (§ 5(1) WEG). Floor coverings, non-load-bearing interior walls and sanitary fittings are common examples.

The declaration of division (Teilungserklärung) and any recorded agreements decide the details. Owners can agree that parts which could be individual property are treated as common property (§ 5(3) WEG). They can also agree who bears the maintenance cost of particular parts, such as windows. That is why location alone never settles who is responsible.

If you are still buying, request the Teilungserklärung together with the association's minutes and accounts before you commit. Alpha Minoris's Buyer's Agent service collects these documents during a purchase in Berlin, Dresden or Leipzig, so the boundary between your unit and the building is on file from the first day of ownership. For the records to collect at handover, see the first 30 days after purchase.

Without a resolution, the administrator may act alone only on measures of minor importance or those needed to meet a deadline (§ 27 WEG). The owners can widen or narrow that by resolution. Larger repairs to common property wait for the owners' meeting.

The administrator also prepares the association's three core financial documents (§ 28 WEG):

• Economic plan (Wirtschaftsplan): expected income and spending for the calendar year, on which the owners set the monthly advances, known as Hausgeld.
• Annual accounts (Jahresabrechnung): actual income and spending against the plan, on which the owners resolve any top-up payments or adjusted advances.
• Asset report (Vermögensbericht): the state of the reserves and the association's main assets.

Since 1 December 2023, each owner can generally require the association to appoint a certified administrator (zertifizierter Verwalter), someone who has passed an exam before a chamber of commerce (§ 19(2) no. 6, § 26a and § 48(4) WEG). Small associations run by an owner can be exempt.

Unless separately contracted, the administrator does not collect your rent, answer your tenant, repair parts of your unit or prepare your tenant's operating-cost statement.

The contract sets the scope. It commonly covers tenant selection, the lease, rent collection, tenant communication, repairs inside the unit, the deposit, the operating-cost statement and contact with the WEG-Verwalter.

Alpha Minoris offers this role through its Vermieter-Autopilot service for apartments in Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig. You do not need to live in any of them. As your Sondereigentumsverwalter, Alpha Minoris handles tenant finding, rental contracting, repair coordination and ongoing landlord tasks on your behalf, and it deals with the building's WEG-Verwalter where a matter belongs to the common property. It does not replace that administrator or the owners' meeting. You remain the landlord, you fund repairs, and the scope and spending approvals are agreed in writing.

Your Hausgeld is not your tenant's operating costs. It pays for everything the association spends, including costs you cannot pass on. Administration fees and maintenance or repair costs are not operating costs (§ 1(2) BetrKV), so the administrator's fee and contributions to the maintenance reserve stay with you.

Unless your lease says otherwise, operating costs for a rented condominium are allocated to the tenant using the same key the association uses between owners (§ 556a(3) BGB). The individual-unit manager, or you, therefore builds the tenant's statement from the WEG annual accounts and the heating statement. The twelve-month deadline for that statement runs regardless of when the association approves its accounts; see landlord responsibilities for the deadlines.

A common allocation in a condominium building. The association's documents, your lease and your management contract decide the actual split. Contract-dependent marks tasks that belong to the unit manager only if your contract includes them.

Illustrative example. Fictional apartment and fictional governing documents.

After a storm, your tenant reports water running down the inside of a bedroom window frame.

1. The tenant reports to you, not the association. The lease is with you, so is the duty to keep the flat fit for use (§ 535 BGB). The rent may be reduced by law while the defect lasts (§ 536 BGB), whoever in the building is responsible.
2. Check the documents, not the location. Windows form part of the outer shell and are commonly treated as common property, but the Teilungserklärung in this example assigns maintenance costs of windows to the individual owner. The frame is yours to repair and pay for; a leak through the façade above it would not be.
3. Decide who acts. Here, the unit manager obtains a quote and orders the work within the agreed limit, or asks you first if it exceeds it. Had the fault been in the façade, the manager would report it to the WEG-Verwalter and follow up until it was fixed or put to the owners' meeting.
4. Arrange access and record everything. The tenant must allow necessary repairs, announced in good time (§ 555a BGB). Photos, the tenant's report, the quote and the invoice go into your records for the tenant, the association and your tax return.

See also who handles repairs and who pays.

• Up to what amount per job may the manager commission repairs without asking you?
• Does the manager receive the WEG invitations and accounts directly, and attend meetings with your proxy?
• Is the manager also the building's WEG-Verwalter? If so, how would it handle a dispute between you and the association?
• How often do you receive a statement of rent and spending, with invoices?

For fees, commissions and termination, use the questions in landlord responsibilities.

Is Sondereigentumsverwaltung the same as Mietverwaltung?

In practice, largely. Mietverwaltung stresses the tenancy; Sondereigentumsverwaltung stresses the unit you own. Read the contract scope rather than relying on the name.

Does the WEG-Verwalter deal with my tenant?

Not by default. The administrator works for the association. Your tenant's lease, rent and statements are between you and the tenant, or your unit manager.

Do I need a Sondereigentumsverwalter?

No. Many owners manage one apartment themselves. One becomes more useful if you live far away, have limited time or do not read German comfortably.

Can the same company do both?

Yes, under two contracts. Check how it separates your interests from the association's, and whether both roles end together.