Guide

Buying a flat in Germany: owners' association documents

By M. Sc. Karim Abu Elkheir · · about 10 minutes to read
English version of our German article Checkliste Wohnungskauf: Sonder- und Gemeinschaftseigentum

The flat is bright, the bathroom is new, the price seems fair. Two years later, the owners' association decides on a special levy (Sonderumlage) for the roof. You cannot see such costs in the flat. They are in the documents of the owners' association (Wohnungseigentümergemeinschaft, WEG). A checklist for buying a flat is a list of documents and building parts that buyers check before the appointment at the notary's office (Notartermin). This guide takes you through both: the papers from the seller and the property manager, and the walk from the roof to the basement storage room.

This guide is the English version of our German checklist article and cites the same sources. The printable checklist is available as a PDF in German on the German page; a condensed English version follows below. German terms you will meet in the documents are given in brackets. This guide is not legal advice.

What you actually buy

The checklist is meant for private buyers of a flat, in existing buildings as well as in new ones. It does not replace a survey. It makes sure that you do not forget anything important when you are standing in the stairwell under time pressure, with other interested buyers around you.

Anyone who buys a flat acquires two things at once: separate ownership of the flat (Sondereigentum) and a share in the common property (Gemeinschaftseigentum).1 Common property includes, for example, roofs, facades, stairwells, basements and outdoor areas.1 These parts cost money, even though they lie outside your front door.

As a rule of thumb, everything inside the flat is separate property as long as it is not needed for the existence or the usability of the other flats.2 Everything else is common property.2 The exact allocation is set out in the declaration of division (Teilungserklärung) – the deed by which the building was divided into individual units. That is why the checklist starts with the documents and not with the bathroom.

The documents to request

Request the documents before you go to the second viewing; the seller and the property manager (Verwaltung) need time to provide them. The first part of the checklist is your request list:

  • Declaration of division with the community rules (Teilungserklärung mit Gemeinschaftsordnung) – which parts belong to your flat and which to everyone, and the rules of the house.
  • Division plan (Aufteilungsplan) – the drawings with the number of your flat and of the rooms that belong to it, such as the basement storage room.
  • Minutes of the owners' meetings (Protokolle der Eigentümerversammlungen) for several years – this is where roof, facade, pipes and lift appear long before any brochure mentions them.
  • Collection of resolutions (Beschluss-Sammlung) – the list of decisions taken.
  • Budget (Wirtschaftsplan) and the last annual statement (Jahresabrechnung) of the owners' association.
  • Level of the maintenance reserve (Erhaltungsrücklage) – the money set aside for work on the building.
  • Energy performance certificate (Energieausweis).
  • Current land register extract (Grundbuchauszug).

Ask for any missing years. Gaps in the minutes are a reason to ask the property manager.

On site: from the roof to the basement storage room

At the top of the checklist, fill in the header fields while you have the details in front of you: property, number of the flat according to the division plan, year of construction, date and who was present. Without these details, a completed sheet can hardly be assigned later.

At the viewing, work from the outside in: first roof, facade, balconies and basement, then the stairwell and the building services, then the flat. Photograph every finding with the date and write down where the picture was taken. Only check what is possible without intervention and without danger. Opening building parts, walking on roofs or working on installations is a job for professionals.

What to look at closely

How windows and balconies are allocated decides a lot of money. It is set out in the declaration of division, not in the purchase contract. Read the deed before the notary appointment and note who pays for windows, balcony floor coverings and railings.

Look closely at balconies and roof terraces from below. The waterproofing of a building is a mandatory part of the common property.3 If it leaks, water gets into the floor slab underneath.3 Typical signs are water stains with dark edges, peeling ceiling paint and a musty smell in the rooms behind.3 Such traces on the neighbour's ceiling tell you more than a freshly painted balcony.

The energy performance certificate belongs in your documents. When a property is sold, the seller or the estate agent presents it to the prospective buyer at the latest at the viewing.4 It refers to the whole building, even when a single flat is sold.4 A consumption-based certificate (Verbrauchsausweis) shows measured values, and consumption depends heavily on the behaviour of the previous occupants.4 So do not convert it into your own forecast of heating costs.

In the basement, it pays to look behind linings. Damp, musty basement rooms are a well-known sight in older buildings.5 Simply covering damp walls with plasterboard or tiles makes matters worse.5 A dry-looking wall lining is therefore no proof of a dry wall.

After the viewing: the evaluation

After the appointment comes the most important part. Sort your findings into urgent, medium-term and cosmetic. Apply your co-ownership share (Miteigentumsanteil) to the foreseeable work on the building as a rough planning figure: with a share of 85/1,000, a roof renewal costing €200,000 means about €17,000 for you. How costs are actually divided can differ – ask the property manager. Put your open questions in writing to the seller and the property manager.

The checklist in short

Documents

  • Declaration of division with community rules – read before the notary appointment
  • Division plan: flat number and basement storage room match the offer
  • Minutes of owners' meetings for several years, no gaps
  • Collection of resolutions, budget, last annual statement
  • Level of the maintenance reserve
  • Energy performance certificate and current land register extract

Common property

  • Roof and facade: damage, recent or pending work mentioned in the minutes?
  • Balconies and roof terraces from below: water stains with dark edges, peeling paint
  • Basement: musty smell, damp walls, linings in front of walls
  • Stairwell, pipes, lift: condition, recurring damage in the minutes?

The flat

  • Windows and balconies: who pays according to the declaration of division?
  • Cracks: location, length and course noted – no assessment of your own
  • Rooms compared with the division plan
  • Areas you could not see noted

Evaluation

  • Findings sorted: urgent, medium-term, cosmetic
  • Your share of foreseeable work estimated
  • Open questions sent in writing to seller and property manager

Common mistakes when buying a flat

The most common mistake is looking too narrowly. Anyone who only checks the flat overlooks the part of the building that causes the big bills. Roof, facade, pipes and lift are not in any brochure, but they are in the minutes of the owners' meetings.

Cracks are often misjudged. As a rule, cracks are only the visible symptoms of a complex damage mechanism.6 The technical assessment of a crack can find that there is no technical defect, while the legal assessment of the same crack finds a defect.6 "Defect" (Mangel) is a legal term.6 Note location, length and course, and refrain from assessing it yourself.

For a new flat bought from a developer (Bauträger), take a second look at the acceptance (Abnahme). For the acceptance of flats in an owners' association, a strict distinction must be made between separate property and common property.7 The buyer's acceptance of their own flat does not necessarily mean that they also accept the common property as essentially in accordance with the contract.7 What effect an acceptance clause in the purchase contract has is assessed by a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt); the checklist only records the technical condition. For the technical side, see our new-build inspection and snagging and the guide on construction warranty periods.

A completed sheet is a snapshot. An analysis of a building's condition is only valid for a limited time, and the individual building parts wear at different rates.8 A record from last year therefore does not replace your own walk through the building.

When a surveyor helps before the notary appointment

For refurbishment projects, the specialist literature recommends that a competent specialist planner assesses the building after the owner's own visual survey.8 For buying a flat, the checklist is exactly this preliminary work. It records the condition far enough that an appointment with a surveyor stays short and affordable.

A surveyor reads the documents of the owners' association, classifies the findings and estimates the maintenance backlog on the common property. They tell you which work on the building is due and what effort lies behind it. What a surveyor does not do: decide legal questions or give a guarantee against hidden damage.

Get professional help if you see damp on basement walls or under balconies, if the maintenance reserve is low and the building is old, if the minutes report recurring damage, or if major works have been decided. A pre-purchase survey by a civil engineer puts these points into context before the notary appointment.

For the purchase contract itself, you need legal advice. Whether you have rights because of a finding, which deadlines run and how a promise by the seller is to be assessed is for a lawyer to judge. Technology and law interlock here, but they remain two different questions.

Frequently asked questions

Which documents should I request when buying a flat in Germany?

The declaration of division with the community rules, the division plan, the minutes of the owners' meetings for several years, the collection of resolutions, the budget, the last annual statement, the level of the maintenance reserve, the energy performance certificate and a current land register extract. Ask for any missing years. Gaps in the minutes are a reason to ask the property manager.

Do windows and balconies belong to the flat or to the owners' association?

That depends on the declaration of division and cannot be answered in general. As a rule of thumb, everything inside the flat is separate property as long as it is not needed for the existence or the usability of the other flats.2 The waterproofing of a building is a mandatory part of the common property.3 On a balcony, the floor covering can therefore belong to the flat while the waterproofing membrane on the load-bearing slab underneath belongs to the common property.3

Does the energy performance certificate tell me what heating will cost?

Not reliably. The certificate refers to the whole building, even when a single flat is sold.4 A consumption-based certificate shows measured values, and consumption depends heavily on how the previous occupants heated and aired.4 Use it to compare buildings, not as a forecast of your own heating costs.

Is the checklist enough without a surveyor?

For a first selection, yes. It shows which flat is worth a closer look and where you had better walk away. For assessing damp, cracks and a maintenance backlog, it is no substitute for a survey. Conspicuous findings belong with a professional before you sign at the notary's office.

Note

This guide reflects the state of technical knowledge on the date of writing. It is not legal advice and does not replace an inspection of the individual case. Whether claims exist and how they can be enforced is assessed by a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).

About the author

M. Sc. Karim Abu Elkheir, BIB Ingenieurbüro für Bauwesen, Berlin. Contact: info@ing-bassam.de, +49 176 23581339. English version as of 5 October 2026, based on the German article as of 26 September 2026.

Sources and footnotes

Like the German original, this guide cites no statutory provisions; all supported statements rely on the specialist literature.

  1. Wirth, Axel; Pfisterer, Cornelius; Schellenberg, Barbara: Privates Baurecht praxisnah. Basiswissen mit Fallbeispielen. 3rd edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2021, p. 98. ISBN 978-3-658-32822-1. ↩↩

  2. Rode, Bernd; Weller, Wolfgang: AVA-Handbuch. Ausschreibung – Vergabe – Abrechnung – Haftung. 11th edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg, 2025, p. 169. ISBN 978-3-658-48052-3. ↩↩↩

  3. Schulz, Joachim: Architektur der Bauschäden. Schadensursache – Gutachterliche Einstufung – Beseitigung – Vorbeugung – Lösungsdetails. 4th edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2020, p. 72. ISBN 978-3-658-27654-6. ↩↩↩↩↩

  4. Willems, Wolfgang M. (ed.): Lehrbuch der Bauphysik. Wärme – Feuchte – Klima – Schall – Licht – Brand. 9th edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2022, p. 187. ISBN 978-3-658-34093-3. ↩↩↩↩↩

  5. Schulz, Joachim: Architektur der Bauschäden. Schadensursache – Gutachterliche Einstufung – Beseitigung – Vorbeugung – Lösungsdetails. 4th edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2020, p. 278. ISBN 978-3-658-27654-6. ↩↩

  6. Frössel, Frank: Risse in Gebäuden. Damit aus einer Fassade kein Ris(s)iko wird. 2nd edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Vieweg, 2025, p. 142. ISBN 978-3-658-47096-8. ↩↩↩

  7. Würfele, Falk; Bielefeld, Bert; Gralla, Mike: Bauobjektüberwachung. Kosten – Qualitäten – Termine – Organisation – Leistungsinhalt – Rechtsgrundlagen – Haftung – Vergütung. 3rd edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2017, p. 113. ISBN 978-3-658-10039-1. ↩↩

  8. Stahr, Michael (ed.): Bausanierung. Erkennen und Beheben von Bauschäden. 7th edition. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2022, p. 31. ISBN 978-3-658-28148-9. ↩↩