What Does the WEG Manager Actually Do for the Owners' Association?

Anyone who buys a condominium apartment automatically joins a condominium association (Wohnungseigentümergemeinschaft, WEG) – and this association needs a manager who represents it externally and organizes it internally. Since the 2020 WEG reform, the property manager's duties for the owners' association have been set out in detail in Sections 18 to 29 WEG. Unlike rental management, where the manager acts on behalf of a single owner toward tenants, the WEG manager represents an entire community of owners with sometimes differing interests – which makes the role more demanding, both legally and organizationally.

This article deliberately focuses on the WEG-specific side of property management. For an overview of the full range of property management duties – commercial, technical, and legal, spanning rental, WEG, and commercial management alike – see our detailed guide on property management duties and obligations.

The Core Statutory Duties Under Sections 18–29 WEG

Under Section 9b WEG, the manager is the association's statutory representative body, and under Section 18 WEG is responsible for the proper management of the common property. In detail, this includes in particular:

  • Preparing the annual budget (Section 28 WEG): the manager calculates the association's expected income and expenditure each year and submits an overall and individual annual budget to the owners' meeting for a resolution.
  • Preparing the annual statement of accounts (Section 28 WEG): after the financial year ends, the manager reconciles actual income and expenditure and shows surpluses or shortfalls for each owner.
  • Preparing, holding, and recording the owners' meeting (Section 24 WEG): the manager issues invitations in the proper form and within the required deadlines, sets the agenda, chairs the meeting, and keeps the minutes – including ongoing maintenance of the resolution register.
  • Managing the maintenance reserve: the reserve is managed separately, calculated appropriately, and used for resolved maintenance measures – a key prerequisite so that major works don't constantly require special assessments.
  • Implementing resolutions (Section 27 WEG): resolved measures – from awarding a contract to a tradesperson through to a structural change – must actually be carried out by the manager, not merely documented.

These duties are not optional extras but a statutory obligation: owners have an enforceable right to proper management if the manager fails to deliver these core services.

The Certified Manager: A Mark of Quality for the Association

Since the WEG reform, owners can, under Section 19 (2) No. 6 WEG, demand the appointment of a certified manager holding a chamber-of-commerce (IHK) proof of expertise under Section 26a WEG, provided at least one-third of owners request it. This proof of expertise demonstrates that the manager has verified basic knowledge of WEG law, contract law, bookkeeping, and technical building management – a concrete quality criterion for the association when choosing or changing manager.

What Is Often Mistakenly Assumed to Be Included

A frequent point of friction between an owners' association and its manager is the question of what falls under the base fee and what may be billed separately as special remuneration. Every reputable management contract's base fee should include:

  • the annual statement of accounts and the annual budget
  • the ordinary owners' meeting, including its preparation and minutes
  • ongoing maintenance of the resolution register
  • routine communication with owners and the advisory board

By contrast, the following are often billed separately – sometimes justifiably, sometimes legally questionable when they are actually core services:

  • extraordinary owners' meetings
  • reminder procedures for owners in arrears
  • correspondence with authorities and insurers in the event of a claim
  • tendering and awarding contracts for major maintenance works

Our advice for owners' associations: have the management contract's list of special remuneration explained to you in detail before signing, or before a change of manager, and compare it against market norms. A manager who is transparent about this shows, even before the contract begins, what the collaboration will look like later. Wellhöner Immobilienmanagement handles all the core statutory duties of WEG management for associations in Mülheim an der Ruhr and throughout the Ruhr region – transparently, with a clearly defined scope of services and a personal point of contact for owners and the advisory board.