Erhaltungsrücklage: how large should a WEG maintenance reserve be?

Why the reserve is the most important item in the budget

An underfunded reserve pushes costs into the future and makes them bigger along the way. When the roof is due after twenty-five years and nothing has been saved, there are three ways out: a special levy (Sonderumlage), a loan taken out by the owners' association, or postponing the work. All three cost more than saving monthly — the special levy catches owners unprepared, the loan costs interest, and postponed maintenance becomes disproportionately expensive through knock-on damage.

For buyers, the reserve has become a price factor. An association with a €40,000 reserve and an up-to-date maintenance plan sells its units more easily than one with €6,000 and a façade that is due.

The maintenance reserve calculator runs the three methods below side by side for your own flat — and shows how much of the need your current contribution covers.

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Method 1: Peters' formula

The classic approach. It assumes that over a useful life of 80 years, maintenance costs add up to 1.5 times the construction costs.

Annual reserve per m² = (construction costs per m² × 1.5) / 80
of which common property: roughly 70%

Example with assumed construction costs of €3,200/m²:

Step	Calculation	Result
Total annual need	3,200 × 1.5 / 80	€60.00/m²
Common property share (70%)	60.00 × 0.7	€42.00/m²
For a 70 m² flat	42.00 × 70	€2,940/year
Monthly	2,940 / 12	€245

This figure is honest, but in most associations it will not win a vote. It describes the full maintenance cost over the building's entire life — including items many associations fund through special levies anyway. Use it as an upper limit and a reality check, not as a proposal for a resolution.

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Method 2: Benchmarks per square metre

Closer to practice are rates based on the age of the building. The Second Calculation Ordinance (II. BV) sets maximum rates for publicly subsidised housing that are widely used as a benchmark. Important: the text of the ordinance still shows the original 2002 values (€7.10 / €9.00 / €11.50). The amounts are, however, adjusted to the consumer price index every three years (§ 28(5a) in conjunction with § 26(4) II. BV). Since 1 January 2026, considerably higher rates apply (overview by VdW Bayern):

Building ready for occupancy	Rate per m² of living space per year (from 2026)
less than 22 years ago	€11.50
at least 22 years ago	€14.58
at least 32 years ago	€18.62
Surcharge for a lift	+ €1.63

Roughly 70% of this is attributable to common property. For a 70 m² flat in a building more than 32 years old:

€18.62 × 70 m² × 0.7 = €912 a year ≈ €76 a month

If you come across marketing or advice articles quoting €7.10 to €11.50, they are using the non-indexed original values — around 38 per cent below the current rates.

These rates come from the context of cost-based rents (Kostenmiete) and are not a standard prescribed by the WEG. In many associations, the contributions actually resolved are well below them. That is why special levies are so common.

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Method 3: A maintenance plan — the only truly reliable one

Instead of rules of thumb: list the building components with their remaining useful life and estimated costs, and work backwards.

Component	Typical useful life	Example costs (14 units)	Annual saving needed
Roof covering	40–50 years	€90,000	€2,000
Façade / external insulation (WDVS)	30–40 years	€140,000	€4,000
Windows (common property)	30–40 years	€70,000	€2,000
Heating system	20–25 years	€60,000	€2,700
Plumbing risers	40–50 years	€55,000	€1,200
Lift (modernisation)	25–30 years	€60,000	€2,200
Balconies, outdoor areas, minor repairs	ongoing	—	€3,000
Total			≈ €17,100/year

With 14 units, that is around €1,220 per unit per year, or €102 a month.

The table simplifies by using the full useful life — as if the association were starting from zero. In practice, you use each component's remaining useful life and deduct what has already been saved. If the heating is due in six years and the reserve is thin, the need is well above the table figure.

A plan has one decisive advantage over any formula: it can be discussed. Owners are more likely to agree to an increase when they can see that the heating is due in six years than when they are shown a percentage.

The calculator includes this table as a template: enter your building's components and costs, and it works out the annual saving needed per square metre and for your unit.

A plan should be updated every three to five years — at the latest when a major component has been replaced. Surveying the components and estimating costs is part of the manager's technical management.

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Legal essentials

Who decides. Contributions to the reserve are resolved through the annual budget (Wirtschaftsplan) under § 28 WEG, which WEG management prepares. An adequate reserve is part of proper management (§ 19(2) no. 4 WEG); a resolution that scraps the reserve entirely may be open to challenge.

Ownership. The reserve belongs to the owners' association, not to the individual owners. When a flat is sold, the share of the reserve is not paid out — economically it passes to the buyer and should be reflected in the purchase price. According to the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH), however, it does not reduce the property transfer tax (Grunderwerbsteuer): that is charged on the full purchase price.

Investment. The reserve sits in the association's accounts, separate from the manager's own assets; a dedicated reserve account is common and advisable. It must be invested safely and remain available. Instant-access savings and short-term deposits are the norm; speculative investments are not.

Reporting. The balance of the reserve belongs in the asset report (Vermögensbericht) under § 28 WEG, which every owner receives.

Tax: for an owner who lets their flat, contributions to the reserve are not yet deductible expenses — they only become deductible once the association actually spends the money on maintenance.

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Special levy: when it is not enough

If the reserve is not enough for a measure that has been resolved, the owners' association resolves on a special levy (Sonderumlage). It is allocated using the same key as the costs of the measure. Keep in mind:

• The resolution should state the amount, due date and purpose precisely.
• If one owner defaults, the others temporarily cover the liquidity gap.
• For larger projects, a loan to the association is an alternative — it requires a resolution and careful consideration, because the owners are liable to creditors in proportion to their co-ownership shares (§ 9a(4) WEG).

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For buyers: three questions before the notary appointment

1. How large is the reserve — in total and per square metre? An amount without reference to floor area tells you nothing.
2. What is in the resolutions register (Beschluss-Sammlung) for the last five years? Measures that were resolved but not carried out are a bill on its way.
3. Is there a maintenance plan, and when was it last updated? If there is none for a building over thirty years old, budget for a special levy.

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For the associations it manages, Ravenica draws up a maintenance plan with remaining useful lives and savings needs — as the basis for the annual budget, not as a sales pitch.