Changing your Hausverwaltung: how a WEG in Nuremberg replaces its property manager

When does changing the property manager make sense?

Dissatisfaction alone is not a good trigger. These points are:

• Late or flawed annual statement. A manager who only presents the statement in the autumn of the following year, or cannot document items, creates constant risks of legal challenge.
• Availability. When the advisory board and owners wait days for a reply and damage reports go unanswered.
• Resolutions are not implemented. Resolutions on maintenance disappear for months.
• Incomplete resolutions register. It must be kept under § 24(7) WEG; gaps burden every sale of a unit.
• No certification. Since 1 December 2023, every owner can demand the appointment of a certified manager (§ 19(2) no. 6 WEG); the transition period for managers already appointed ended on 1 June 2024. Details under certified property manager.
• The manager is giving up the property. In the region, noticeably many managers are handing back properties because they lack staff. Then changing is a must, not an option.

Not a reason to change, on the other hand, is a single unwelcome resolution or a conflict between two owners that the manager cannot resolve.

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The process in seven steps

1. Stocktake by the advisory board

Write down what is going wrong: date, matter, response. This list will later carry the discussion at the meeting and protects against the accusation that it is all about feelings.

2. Check the term and notice position

An appointment may last no more than five years, and the first appointment after condominium ownership is established no more than three years (§ 26(2) WEG). A reappointment may be resolved no earlier than one year before expiry. The distinction matters: the appointment (Bestellung) is the act that makes the manager the association's representative; the management contract (Verwaltervertrag) is the contractual relationship. It is the appointment that is revoked; the contract ends no later than six months afterwards.

3. Get quotes — at least three

Ask for comparable quotes, not just prices. A standard request template helps: basic services, extra fees with individual prices, response times, portal access, bookkeeping system, proof of insurance, certification. Our rates are published on our pricing page, market ranges in our cost overview.

4. Convene the meeting properly

The manager calls the meeting. If they refuse in breach of duty, or there is no manager, the chair of the advisory board can call it (§ 24(3) WEG). More than a quarter of the owners can demand that a meeting be called (§ 24(2) WEG). Notice must be at least three weeks, in text form.

5. Word the agenda carefully

Items must be specific enough for every owner to know what is being voted on. A proven structure:

1. Removal of the current manager
2. Termination of the management contract
3. Appointment of the new manager from a given date, for a given period
4. Approval of the management contract including the fee
5. Authorisation of the advisory board chair to sign

6. Resolve

The majority of the votes cast decides. There has been no quorum since the WEG reform — the meeting can pass resolutions regardless of how many shares are represented. The statutory default is one vote per owner (§ 25(2) WEG), unless the declaration of division provides otherwise. Check this in advance. The one-month challenge deadline runs from the meeting — the challenge deadline calculator gives you the exact date.

7. Manage the handover

The outgoing manager must hand over all management records. The annual statement for the changeover year, on the other hand, is prepared by the manager in office on 1 January of the following year — as a rule, the new one (Federal Court of Justice, V ZR 206/24), unless the outgoing manager's contract provides otherwise. The items to be handed over include:

Record	Why it matters
Declaration of division, community rules, division plan	Basis of every cost allocation
Resolutions register	Without it, the state of resolutions is unclear
Annual statements and budgets for recent years	Checking that figures carry forward
Account records, balance of the maintenance reserve	Transfer of assets
Insurance policies, maintenance and service contracts	Ongoing obligations
Tradesperson and warranty files	Deadlines keep running
Meter lists, heating cost data	Ability to prepare statements in the changeover year

If the outgoing manager delays the handover, the owners' association has an enforceable claim — not the individual owner, but the owners' association as the holder of the claim.

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What does the change cost?

The change itself usually involves no special fee — we support the handover at no extra charge. Plan for three items:

• The outgoing manager's fee until the contract ends. If the contract only ends six months after removal, the fee runs until then — minus whatever effort the manager saves. A termination agreement with an earlier end date is often possible.
• The new manager's onboarding. Some providers charge a one-off takeover fee, others do not. Ask.
• A higher ongoing fee. Old contracts are often below today's market price. New contracts in the Nuremberg area are well above that. Plan for a real increase rather than the wishful idea of changing at the old price.

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A common mistake: changing without a successor

If the manager is removed without a successor being appointed, the owners' association is left without a body that can represent it — what to do then is explained under WEG without a property manager. Invoices pile up, meetings can only be called via the advisory board, and in a dispute only a court appointment remains. Resolve both at the same meeting.

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Ravenica manages condominium and rental properties in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen. Thinking about a change? We review your documents and give you a reliable price — no "price on request".