House money (home ownership)

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The house money is an advance payment owed by homeowners on the basis of a business plan , which is to be paid to the property management .

General

The house money serves to fulfill the current obligations of the homeowners association from operating , maintenance and administration costs of the community property . Based on the business plan, it is usually set as a monthly advance payment individually by the apartment management for the individual apartment owners based on the respective co-ownership share or another distribution key. This economic plan must contain the individual costs, the individual economic plans for the individual apartments, the distribution key and the amount of the monthly advances (house allowance).

Legal issues

Pursuant to Section 28 (1) of the WEG, the WEG administration must prepare the business plan for one calendar year in advance. According to Section 28 (2) WEG, the apartment owners are obliged to make appropriate advance payments after being called up by the administrator on the business plan. According to Section 27 (1) of the WEG, the administrator is entitled to effect and receive all payments and services related to the ongoing management of the common property. According to Section 16, Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the WEG, every apartment owner is obliged to bear the costs of the common property and the costs of the maintenance, management and use of the communal facilities according to a fixed distribution key. Based on the business plan, the apartment owners are obliged to pay the house money to the association (for the attention of the administrator). It doesn't matter whether the apartment is occupied or empty.

Occasionally, the term "housing allowance" is used in place of "house money," which can lead to misunderstandings because housing benefit after Wohngeldgesetz a government subsidy to the cost of renting referred. Nevertheless, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) , for example - at least in more recent decisions - uses the term housing benefit.

If an apartment owner changes during the billing period , according to Section 566 of the German Civil Code (BGB) , the seller has to settle the operating costs; the seller is entitled to additional payments. The seller is responsible for the tenant's credit . In the event of a change of manager during the accounting period, the new manager is responsible for the accounting; the accounting obligation of the departed manager only extends to the financial years that had already expired when he left the company (Section 28 (3) WEG).

Components of house money

The house money on the one hand covers the operating costs to the tenants turned over can be ( § 1 BetrKV ). These include waste disposal , elevator maintenance , garden maintenance , caretaker , house electricity , heating costs for central heating , telecommunication facilities (e.g. cable connection ), stairwell cleaning , water / sewage and residential building insurance . On the other hand, non-apportionable house money is the maintenance reserve , which must be shown separately in the annual statement, and the costs of property management (Section 1 (2) BetrKV). Not to the house money belongs to - but recoverable - property tax , for each condominium owner direct tax liability is. The condominium administration is the recipient of the house money, which it forwards to the creditors on the basis of the business plan it has drawn up.

Distribution key

According to § 16 WEG, the distribution key is basically the co-ownership share . This does not apply to heating and hot water costs , which must be settled in accordance with the heating costs ordinance. The use of the co-ownership share can, however, lead to an unjust distribution of the burdens and also to conflicts with other laws. This is the case, for example, if the co-ownership share was not determined according to the living space or if an operating cost bill is drawn up for the tenant on the basis of the individual billing . This is why several allocation keys are usually specified in the declaration of division .

Commonly used distribution keys are:

  • consumption (if consumption is recorded; e.g. for water and wastewater),
  • the number of apartments , e.g. B. with administrative costs (this also includes the costs of money transfers) or cable connection,
  • Area ratios, e.g. B. residential , usable , commercial or total area,
  • the co-ownership share, usually synonymous with the residential or usable area (for all other types of costs and also for the allocation to the maintenance reserve).

The design options are sensibly used with consideration for the individual situation of the homeowners association. However, there will rarely be an absolute fairness of distribution. The allocation key had to be determined by agreement by 2007 . Since July 1, 2007, the changeover to consumption billing can be decided by the apartment owners' association with a simple majority .

economic aspects

The amount of the house money depends on the age, size, condition and equipment (e.g. communal facilities such as swimming pool) of the property. According to the house money cost table in 2006, the average in Germany was € 2.60 per m² per month.

Annual billing

At the end of the financial year , the annual statement compiles the income and expenses actually incurred in accordance with Section 28 (3) WEG. This results in a comparison with the business plan, so that either additional payments or credits arise. If it turns out during the current financial year that the approaches in the business plan are not sufficient, the business plan must be supplemented and a special levy charged. If the declaration of division or the manager's contract do not contain any provisions on the deadline by which the manager must prepare the annual statement, he must prepare the statement within 6 months of the end of the accounting period.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ BGH, judgment of February 10, 2017, Az .: V ZR 166/16. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
  2. ↑ BGH, judgment of February 10, 2017, Az .: V ZR 166/16 = MDR 2017, 695
  3. ↑ BGH, judgment of September 14, 2000, Az .: IIIZR 211/99 = WM 2000, 2509
  4. ↑ BGH, judgment of February 16, 2018, Az .: V ZR 89/17 = NJW 2018, 1969
  5. ↑ Business plan , accounting . ( dejure.org [accessed June 1, 2017]).
  6. ↑ openJur eV: BGH, judgment of December 4, 2009 - Az. V ZR 44/09. Retrieved June 1, 2017 .
  7. ^ Marc Lehmann: Owners underestimate the cost of house money . On: www.diewelt.de from March 30, 2012, accessed on July 7, 2014.
  8. ↑ House money cost index 2006 . Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ Transparent house fees - table of costs for apartment owners . In: Wohnen-im-eigentum.de . Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  10. ↑ BGH, judgment of July 5, 2006, Az .: VIII ZR 220/05 = NJW 2006, 3350