Owning an apartment in Berlin means becoming part of a legal community. For international owners, the German terminology can be a significant hurdle. This article clarifies the three most important concepts you will encounter: WEG, WEG-Hausverwaltung, and Hausgeld.

The WEG: Community of owners

When you purchase an individual or self contained apartment, known in German as a ‘Sondereigentum’, you also automatically buy a share of the building’s common property or shared spaces called ‘Gemeinschaftseigentum’. This includes the roof, stairwell, heating system and external walls.

Together the flat owners make up the ‘Wohnungseigentümergemeinschaft ‘or WEG, meaning the ‘Community of Owners’. This WEG is a legal entity that decides about the upkeep of the building, finances, and rules of conduct.

The WEG-Hausverwaltung: Common property management

The WEG is obligated by law to appoint a management company. This is the WEG-Hausverwaltung

This management company serves the entire community – the WEG, not an individual owner – and is mainly responsible for the common property and financial matters of the community.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

• Drawing up the annual budget – Wirtschaftsplan.
• Collecting and managing the contributions of ‘Hausgeld’.
• Organising the annual owners’ meeting – Eigentümerversammlung.
• Carrying out the decisions of the owners.
• Handling maintenance and repairs for common property.

Please note that this administrator does not manage your private apartment, find tenants for you, or collect your rent; that is a different service altogether.

The Hausgeld: Owner contributions 

It is the monthly advance payment every owner – hence every member of the WEG – has to pay to the WEG-Hausverwaltung.

This is not your mortgage payment. It is your share of the total amount spent on the operation of the building and the maintenance of common property.

The Hausgeld usually covers:

• Common utilities (water, heating and waste disposal)
• Building insurance.
• Caretaker and cleaning services (Hausmeister).
• The fees for WEG-Hausverwaltung
• Instandhaltungsrücklage – Contribution to long term maintenance reserve fund – for instance, for future repairs of the roof or a new lift.

Hausgeld vs. Nebenkosten

This is the most critical distinction for landlords.

The owner has to pay the Hausgeld.

Nebenkosten (water, heating, waste disposal) are paid by the tenant.

While many Hausgeld costs such as heating and water can be passed on to your tenant as Nebenkosten, some cannot. 

The costs not transferable to a tenant include the WEG-Hausverwaltung fee and most importantly, the contributions to the maintenance reserve fund. 

How can we help you as an international owner?

You need to be prepared to navigate two systems: your role as a member of the WEG and your role as landlord of your private apartment. Your Home Berlin is set up to handle both.

We can serve as your WEG-Hausverwaltung, managing the entire building on behalf of the community. We also offer Sondereigentumsverwaltung: a full rental and management service, just for your apartment.

We handle the complexity, while you focus on your investment.