Corpus Hausverwaltung · Guide · November 2026
What the law requires
Proper administration includes building up an appropriate maintenance reserve (§ 19 Abs. 2 Nr. 4 WEG). The contributions to the reserve are set in the budget and resolved by the owners (§ 28 Abs. 1 WEG). The reserve belongs to the assets of the community, not to the individual owner. So anyone who sells their flat does not get their share paid out – economically, it passes to the buyer.
What is "appropriate"?
There is no fixed statutory figure. A reserve is appropriate if it matches the age, condition and features of the building. A building with a lift, underground car park and an older heating system needs more than a young, simple building. As a rough guide, various rules of thumb are used in practice, for example the so-called Peters formula, which spreads the construction costs of the building over an assumed useful life. However, such formulas do not replace a look at the actual building.
A maintenance plan creates clarity
Better than any formula is a multi-year maintenance plan: How old are the building components? When is which measure likely to be due? Roughly what will it cost? From this you can deduce whether the current contribution to the reserve is sufficient. Regular inspections by the administration, with experts if needed, provide the basis.
When the reserve is not enough: special levy
If the reserve is not sufficient for a necessary measure, the community can resolve a special levy (Sonderumlage). Each owner then has to pay their share additionally within a short time. This can be a heavy financial burden for individual owners. A sufficient reserve, on the other hand, spreads the costs evenly over the years.
Important when buying a condominium
- Ask to see the latest asset report: it states the balance of the maintenance reserve (§ 28 Abs. 4 WEG).
- Read the minutes of recent meetings and the collection of resolutions: were larger measures or special levies resolved or discussed?
- Check the budget: how high is the annual contribution?
- Ask about known damage or upcoming measures, for example to the roof or heating.
Tax note
For let flats, payments into the maintenance reserve are not yet deductible expenses according to the case law of the Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof). The costs only become deductible when the community spends the money on maintenance measures. Please clarify the details with your tax adviser.
How we can help
Corpus Hausverwaltung prepares asset reports under § 28 WEG, carries out regular property inspections and prepares resolutions on the amount of the maintenance reserve in a comprehensible way. For renovations, we work with Corpus Bau at the community's request; the decision on awarding contracts is always made by the community.
Further reading
Our guide articles give a general overview (as of November 2026) and do not replace legal advice in individual cases. The German version is binding.
