Changing managers
Property manager not responding? Your rights and next steps in a German WEG
Short answer
German law sets no response deadline, but proper management requires the manager to deal with owners’ concerns within a reasonable time. Document your requests, set a written deadline and involve the advisory board. If that fails, the owners can remove the manager at any time, without having to give cause.
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What you can expect
The German Condominium Act (WEG) sets no deadline for a manager to answer emails. It does oblige the manager to take the measures of proper management that are of minor importance or urgent (§ 27 WEG). That includes logging damage reports, instructing contractors, meeting deadlines and answering owners’ questions about the management.
In addition, some duties run to a fixed rhythm:
- at least one owners’ meeting per year (§ 24(1) WEG),
- after the end of the calendar year, an annual statement and an asset report (§ 28(2) and (4) WEG),
- a register of resolutions, updated without delay after every resolution (§ 24(7) and (8) WEG).
So a manager who does not answer emails is not necessarily breaching a statutory deadline. A manager who does not react for months, holds no meeting or fails to deliver the annual statement is breaching core duties. When that point is reached is covered in our article on the missing annual statement.
Why your claim is against the association
Since the 2020 reform, the manager is a body (Organ) of the owners’ association. Your right to proper management is therefore a claim against the association, not against the manager personally (§ 18(2) WEG).
In practice, the association holds the manager to account — through resolutions, through the advisory board and, if necessary, by removal. As an individual owner, you achieve most by bringing other owners and the advisory board on side.
Step by step
Week 1
Document
Record every request with date, channel and content. Confirm phone calls by email. Without documentation, it is your word against the manager’s at the meeting.
Week 2
Set a written deadline
By email and letter: the specific issue, a reasonable deadline, and a note that you are informing the advisory board. Polite, factual, provable.
Weeks 3–4
Involve the board and other owners
The advisory board supervises the manager. Ask other owners whether they have the same experience — they usually do.
Then
Demand a meeting
More than a quarter of the owners can force a meeting. Agenda: removal, new appointment, signing the new contract.
Meeting
Remove and appoint
A simple majority suffices; no good cause is required. Competing offers should accompany the invitation.
Templates for the deadline letter, the request for a meeting and the draft resolutions are in our article with templates for changing your manager.
If the manager will not call a meeting
This is the classic bottleneck: the manager you want to vote out is the one who has to call the meeting. The law offers two routes.
If more than a quarter of the owners request a meeting in text form, stating its purpose and reasons, the manager must call it (§ 24(2) WEG). Owners are counted by head, not by co-ownership share.
If the manager refuses in breach of duty, or there is no manager, the chair of the advisory board, their deputy or an owner authorised by resolution may call the meeting (§ 24(3) WEG). If there is neither a board nor an authorisation, an owner can obtain permission from the court. How the invitation, deadlines and agenda must look is covered in our article on the owners’ meeting.
Removal: easier than many think
Since December 2020, removal no longer requires good cause. The meeting resolves it by simple majority, at any time (§ 26(3) WEG). The management contract ends no later than six months afterwards, even if it provides for a longer term.
To avoid a gap, the new manager should be appointed at the same meeting. Deadlines, handover and typical pitfalls are explained in changing manager: deadlines and handover. For associations in our region, see changing your WEG manager in Nuremberg.
How to recognise the right successor
If you are changing manager because yours could not be reached, check exactly that with the successor — not just the fee. Ask about response times, how damage is reported, digital access to documents and when the annual statement is delivered. A list of questions for the interview is in comparing property management offers; the contract side is in checking the management contract.
In short
Document requests and confirm phone calls in writing
Set a specific deadline in writing
Demand to inspect the records if information is not forthcoming
Involve the advisory board and other owners
If necessary, have more than a quarter of the owners demand a meeting
Resolve removal and new appointment at the same meeting
If you let your flat, a silent manager hits you twice: without the annual statement, the deadline for your tenant’s Nebenkostenabrechnung may pass.
If your association is considering a change: our page on changing property managers explains how it works with Ravenica, and our contact form gets you an offer for your owners’ meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly does a property manager have to reply?
There is no statutory deadline. Many management contracts specify response times; if they do not, proper management is the standard. A reply to a written request within a few working days is customary in the market; emergencies such as water damage need an immediate response.
Can I sue the manager directly for not responding?
Usually not. Since the WEG reform, your right to proper management is a claim against the owners’ association, not against the manager personally. The association holds the manager to account — by resolution, by setting deadlines or by removing them.
Can I force an owners’ meeting to be held?
Yes. If more than a quarter of the owners request a meeting in text form, stating its purpose and reasons, the manager must call it (§ 24(2) WEG). If the manager refuses in breach of duty, the chair of the advisory board or an owner authorised by resolution may call it instead.
Do we need good cause to get rid of the manager?
No. Since December 2020, the manager can be removed at any time by simple majority, without good cause (§ 26(3) WEG). The management contract ends no later than six months after removal.
Can I inspect documents if the manager does not respond?
Yes. Every owner can demand to inspect the association’s records (§ 18(4) WEG) — bank statements, invoices, contracts, the register of resolutions. Request inspection in writing with a proposed date; a refusal is a strong argument at the next meeting.
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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