Statements
Annual statement missing: what owners can do when the manager does not deliver
Short answer
After the calendar year ends, the manager must prepare an annual statement (§ 28(2) WEG). The law sets no fixed deadline; three to six months is customary and usually agreed in the contract. If it does not arrive, the association sets a deadline by resolution, has it prepared at the manager’s expense if necessary, or removes the manager.
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What the law requires
After the calendar year ends, the manager must prepare an annual statement (Jahresabrechnung) of the association’s income and expenditure and present an asset report (Vermögensbericht) (§ 28(2) and (4) WEG). On that basis, the owners’ meeting resolves on additional payments and credits.
The law sets no fixed deadline. The courts have long regarded three to six months as reasonable; many management contracts set a specific date, often 30 June. If you are still waiting for last year’s statement in autumn, your manager is not fulfilling a core duty.
What a missing statement costs
A late statement is not a formality. It has consequences for every owner:
Liquidity. Additional payments can only be called in after the resolution. If money is short because the budget was too tight, the gap stays open — until a special levy.
Reserve. Without the asset report, nobody knows how much is actually in the maintenance reserve. Major work cannot be planned properly; see our article on how much the reserve should be.
Oversight. Individual owners’ arrears, incorrect payments, undocumented expenses — all of this only surfaces in the statement. The later it comes, the harder it is to correct.
Tax. Landlords lack the figures for Anlage V, owner-occupiers the certificate under § 35a EStG.
Selling. Buyers and notaries ask about the status of statements and the reserve. A gap of one or two years undermines confidence and sometimes the price. What applies on a sale is in Hausgeld when selling.
Landlords are hit twice
If you let your flat, you must deliver the tenant’s Nebenkostenabrechnung within twelve months of the end of the billing period (§ 556(3) BGB). After that, any additional claim is excluded.
The WEG manager’s delay only excuses you if you can show you did everything yourself to bill on time — chased the documents, demanded to inspect the receipts. If you just wait, you lose the money. For landlords, a missing annual statement is not a nuisance but a quantifiable loss.
How the association applies pressure
Your right to a statement is a claim against the association, which enforces it against the manager (§ 18(2) WEG). In practice, this sequence works:
Written reminder to the manager with a specific deadline, copied to the advisory board
The board requests the statement on behalf of the association and documents the reply
Resolution at the next meeting: deadline for delivery, notice of substitute performance
If the deadline passes: instruct a third party and claim the costs from the manager as damages
In parallel or instead: remove the manager and appoint a new one
If the manager does not call the meeting at which all this would need to be resolved, a request by a quarter of the owners and the board chair’s right to call a meeting help. How that works is described in property manager not responding; the matching templates are in our templates for changing your manager.
Removal: usually the fastest route
Since the WEG reform, the manager can be removed at any time without good cause (§ 26(3) WEG). A manager two years behind rarely catches up. A fresh start is more effective, with a manager from whom the association demands a complete handover and a fixed date for the catch-up work.
If you are planning a change, clarify with the new manager in advance whether they will prepare outstanding statements and at what fee. Back statements are labour-intensive; a serious offer lists them separately. What to look for in the contract is in checking the management contract, and in the offer in comparing property management offers. The change itself is explained in changing manager: deadlines and handover.
When the statement finally arrives
Check it before you approve it — especially after a long delay. Our annual statement checklist walks you through the key points. If in doubt, the resolution on additional payments can be challenged within one month; our challenge deadline calculator works out the last day.
Ravenica also takes on associations with outstanding statements. How a change to us works is on our page on changing property managers; you can request an offer via our contact form.
Frequently asked questions
By when must the annual statement be available?
The law sets no deadline, only the starting point: after the end of the calendar year. Case law and practice assume three to six months, and many management contracts set a fixed date. A statement that arrives only in autumn, or not at all, is no longer proper management.
Do I still have to pay Hausgeld if no statement arrives?
Yes. The advance payments under the approved budget remain due regardless of the statement. Withholding them on your own initiative puts you in default. Pressure is applied by the association through resolutions, not by individual owners stopping payment.
Who prepares the statement if the manager changed at the turn of the year?
The prevailing view is the manager in office when the duty falls due — with a change on 1 January, usually the new manager, based on the old manager’s records. Many contracts regulate this expressly. A complete handover of the accounts is what matters.
Can the association have someone else prepare the statement?
Yes. If the manager fails to deliver despite a deadline, the association can instruct a third party, such as a new manager or a bookkeeper, and claim the costs from the defaulting manager as damages. This requires a resolution and a documented deadline.
What does a missing statement mean for my tax return?
As a landlord, you lack the figures for Anlage V; as an owner-occupier, the certificate for household-related services and tradesmen’s work under § 35a EStG. You can file using estimates and correct later — but it is not convenient.
About the author
Julius Launhardt
Founder, owner & managing director of Ravenica · Dipl.-Ing. (TUM)
Graduate engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) and M.Sc. in Management from the Technical University of Munich, IHK-certified property manager, TÜV-certified sustainability manager and long-standing member of the volunteer fire brigade. As founder and managing director of Ravenica in Nuremberg, he is responsible for day-to-day business, processes and long-term strategy. Knows building services, refurbishments, energy and inheritance cases first-hand, and owns several properties himself.
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