Can’t find a property manager? Why small owners’ associations get turned down – and what helps

You are not alone

If you are reading this, you have probably already received a few rejections. Or no reply at all. Or a quote so high it was clearly meant as a no. That feels personal, but it isn’t.

The property management market is tight right now – across Germany and in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen too. The industry barometer of the managers’ association VDIV makes this clear: at 45.9 per cent of the managers surveyed, more than half of all requests from owners’ associations in 2025 were turned down, not followed up or answered with a deliberately high quote. 21 per cent only take on buildings above a minimum size, on average around 16 units. And 31 per cent plan to hand back smaller buildings from their portfolio.

Why small associations in particular get turned down

There are three reasons, and none of them has anything to do with your building.

The workload doesn’t shrink with size. A building with six flats needs essentially the same steps as one with sixty: annual statement, budget, owners’ meeting, insurance, maintenance contracts, tradespeople, payment reminders. Per flat, the small association is therefore much more work.

There is a shortage of skilled staff. More than half of the managers who were hiring in 2025 couldn’t fill all their vacancies. If you can’t find new people, you can’t take on new buildings – so you choose.

Many old contracts were too cheap. For years, management services were sold mainly on price. More than half of managers now say their previous fees no longer cover costs. The result: unprofitable mandates are handed back, and new ones are examined more closely.

What you can do so managers are happy to say yes

You can’t change the market. But you can make sure your request is one a manager is glad to accept. From a manager’s point of view, one thing matters above all: How much work goes into the first few months?

1. Prepare complete documents

A request that already contains everything important is read very differently from an email saying “We’re looking for a manager”. Have these documents ready:

The honest list of open issues is not a disadvantage. Managers aren’t put off by the fact that there are problems – but by the worry of discovering them only after the contract starts.

2. Name one fixed contact person

An association with an advisory board, or at least one person who speaks for everyone, is easier for any manager to look after. If you don’t have an advisory board yet, elect one at the next opportunity. What it does is explained in our article on the rights and duties of the advisory board.

3. Plan a realistic budget

Small associations pay more per flat – that isn’t arbitrary, it’s maths. According to VDIV, the average fee in 2025 was 35.84 euros net per unit per month for associations with up to eleven units, and 23.56 euros for buildings with 100 units or more. Many managers also charge a minimum fee per building. If you budget with prices from ten years ago, you are unlikely to get a yes. Our article on property management costs gives an overview.

4. Accept digital processes

An owner portal instead of letters, email instead of fax, online participation in the meeting: for you, that is often more convenient, and for the manager it is what makes small buildings viable in the first place. Accepting this from the start improves your chances significantly.

5. Ask selectively – and send everyone the same

Instead of writing to twenty managers, pick five that suit your building and send them all the same documents. That makes the quotes comparable. And since the association needs comparison quotes anyway when appointing a new manager, this work pays off twice. How to set up the process is explained in our guide to tendering property management.

If no one says yes

Your association is not left unable to act. Without a manager, it is represented by all owners jointly (§ 9b(1) WEG). That is cumbersome but workable. What absolutely has to be done during this phase is covered in our article WEG without a manager – what now?

With fewer than nine units, an owner can also become manager without chamber-of-commerce certification – as long as fewer than a third of owners demand a certified manager (§ 19(2) no. 6 WEG). Whether that is a good idea for your association is discussed in our article Self-manage your WEG or hand it over?

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Ravenica reviews every request from Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen individually – including from smaller associations. If you already have your documents together, even better: send us your request and you will get a clear answer instead of silence.