First property manager in a new build: duties, the developer’s vote and acceptance

A new building, a new community – and a manager you didn’t choose

If you buy a flat in a new build, the property management usually comes included. The developer (Bauträger) names the first manager in the declaration of division (Teilungserklärung) – often a company it has worked with for years, sometimes even a subsidiary of its own.

That is permitted and often sensible: someone has to look after bank accounts, insurance and maintenance contracts from day one. But it creates a conflict of interest you should be aware of as a buyer. In the first years of a new build, one question dominates: What defects does the building have, and who pays for them? In that question, the developer is your counterpart, not your partner.

Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen are seeing many new owners’ associations form at once, for example in large new districts. This article shows what to watch for in the first three years.

The association-in-formation: you count earlier than you think

You don’t need to be in the land register to have a say. As soon as a priority notice of conveyance (Auflassungsvormerkung) is registered in your favour and the flat has been handed over to you, you are treated as an owner by the association (§ 8(3) WEG). You have voting rights and pay the monthly service charge (Hausgeld).

This matters because the first meetings often set the course: the level of the maintenance reserve, maintenance contracts, the election of the advisory board and how to deal with the first defects.

What the first manager has to deliver

First-time management is more about setting things up than routine administration. From a good first manager, you can expect:

Pay particular attention to the service charge. A conspicuously low budget makes flats easier to sell – and backfires as soon as the first maintenance and repair bills arrive. You can roughly estimate a sensible reserve with our maintenance reserve calculator; the background is in our article on how high the maintenance reserve should be.

Three years – and dismissible at any time

For the first appointment after the owners’ association is created, the law allows at most three years (§ 26(2) WEG). If the declaration of division states a longer term, the appointment still ends after three years.

More importantly: owners can dismiss a manager installed by the developer at any time, without an important reason (§ 26(3) WEG). The contract then ends no later than six months afterwards. Provisions to the contrary are invalid. How a dismissal works is explained in our article on dismissing your property manager.

The developer’s vote

As long as the developer still owns flats, it is a member of the association and votes. How much weight its vote carries depends on the community rules (Gemeinschaftsordnung):

• Head principle (the statutory default): each owner has one vote – so the developer has just one, even if it still owns 30 flats (§ 25(2) WEG).
• Unit or value principle: many new-build declarations give one vote per flat or weight votes by co-ownership share. The Federal Court of Justice recently confirmed that this is generally permissible (BGH, judgment of 27 February 2026, V ZR 189/24). The developer may then hold the majority at first.

There is an important limit, though: an owner may not vote when the resolution concerns a legal transaction with that owner or legal action against them (§ 25(4) WEG). So if the association resolves to pursue defect claims against the developer, or to instruct a lawyer to do so, the developer is excluded from that vote. According to case law, the voting ban also applies to transactions with a company the owner controls – for example if the management company belongs to the developer’s group.

Acceptance: the most expensive mistake in a new build

Acceptance (Abnahme) of the common property starts the warranty period – for buildings, usually five years (§ 634a BGB). Accepting too early or without checking means giving away claims.

Many developer contracts contain a clause under which the first manager accepts the common property on behalf of all buyers. If that manager was chosen by or is linked to the developer, such a standard-form clause is invalid. The Federal Court of Justice has ruled so several times (BGH, order of 12 September 2013, VII ZR 308/12; judgment of 30 June 2016, VII ZR 188/13; judgment of 9 November 2023, VII ZR 241/22). The consequence can work in buyers’ favour: without valid acceptance, the limitation period does not start.

Our advice: have the common property inspected by an independent expert before you or your association accept it. And plan a second inspection in the fourth year at the latest, so that all defects are reported before the period expires.

Pursuing defects together

Defect claims initially belong to each buyer under their own purchase contract. The owners’ association can, however, take them over by resolution and pursue them jointly – which is more efficient and prevents every owner from litigating separately. The Federal Court of Justice confirmed this option as recently as 2024 (BGH, judgment of 23 February 2024, V ZR 132/23).

A resolution like that needs a manager willing to take on the developer – and an active advisory board. How to set one up is covered in our article on the rights and duties of the advisory board.

For developers: why independent first management pays off

From the developer’s point of view, too, there is a lot to be said for a manager without close ties. Acceptance becomes reliable, disputes over voting bans disappear, and buyers have less reason to vote the manager out at the first meeting. A properly set-up association is, in the end, also the better argument when selling the last flats.

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Ravenica takes on first-time management of new builds in Nuremberg, Fürth and Erlangen – with a technical eye on construction documents, maintenance and warranty deadlines. Whether you are a buyer looking for a new manager or a developer looking for a partner for your next project: get in touch.