Buying a flat in Berlin

What you actually buy with a flat

Legally you buy two things at once: the individual ownership of your flat and a co-ownership share in the common property, as stated in § 1 para. 2 of the Condominium Act (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz, WEG). The roof, facade, stairwell, heating system and load-bearing walls belong to all owners together.

This has consequences for your money. The owners' meeting decides on repairs to common property by majority. Costs are usually shared by co-ownership share (§ 16 para. 2 WEG), unless the association has set something different. Anyone who holds 45 of 1,000 shares therefore bears 4.5 per cent of a new roof renovation, whether they live in the attic or on the ground floor.

Also ask who manages the building and since when. The manager runs the accounts, prepares the meetings and carries out resolutions. Frequent changes of manager in a short time are a sign that something in the association is not running smoothly. A phone call with the management before buying often answers more questions than the seller's file.

Before you negotiate on price, it is therefore worth looking at the whole building. A beautiful flat in a building with postponed repairs is more expensive than the purchase price shows.

Declaration of division and community regulations

The declaration of division is the founding document of the association (§ 8 WEG). It sets out which rooms belong to which flat, how large the co-ownership shares are and what belongs to everyone. This includes the division plan, a building drawing with numbers for each unit.

Check three things. Does the flat you viewed match the plan? A converted loft or a cellar room that is missing from the plan may not belong to you. Are special-use rights registered, for example for a garden, terrace or parking space? And are there supplements to the declaration of division that are not in the seller's file?

The community regulations are usually in the same document. They govern living together: who bears which costs, whether you may use the flat commercially or let it to holiday guests, and whether the manager must approve a sale. Special rules on cost allocation, for example for the lift or balconies, are also here. How a division is approved in Berlin is explained in the guide Declaration of division and conversion ban.

Minutes of the owners' meeting and resolutions register

A record must be drawn up of every owners' meeting (§ 24 para. 6 WEG). In addition, the manager keeps a resolutions register in which every resolution is entered with its date (§ 24 para. 7 WEG). Every owner may inspect both. As a prospective buyer, ask the seller for copies or for an authorisation so that the manager gives you information.

Read the minutes of the last three years. We recommend this from experience, because major works are usually announced over several meetings. Watch for these keywords:

• Approved works such as roof, windows, pipe renovation or facade, with costs and timetable.
• Special levies, whether already approved or only announced.
• Expert reports commissioned by the association, for example on damp or structural stability.
• Service charge arrears of other owners. If some do not pay, the others must carry the gap temporarily.
• Disputes with the manager, with tradespeople or between owners, recognisable by lawsuits challenging resolutions.

Resolutions also apply to you as the new owner, even if you were not present at the vote.

Service charge: recoverable or not

The service charge is the monthly advance you pay to the association. Its amount comes from the budget plan, which the manager draws up every year and on which the owners vote (§ 28 para. 1 WEG). After the end of the year comes the annual statement with the actual costs.

For owner-occupiers it is simple: you pay the whole service charge. If you want to let, you must split it. Operating costs under § 2 of the Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV), for example water, heating, refuse collection, building cleaning, caretaker and buildings insurance, the landlord may pass on to the tenant. Management costs and maintenance costs may not be passed on (§ 1 para. 2 BetrKV). The contribution to the maintenance reserve also stays with the owner. In Berlin, property tax usually does not go through the service charge but arrives as a separate assessment.

Example values, not averages for Berlin. The items that apply in your building are in the budget plan.

Put the budget plan and the last two annual statements side by side. If there were high back payments every year, the service charge is set too low and will rise.

Maintenance reserve and special levies

Every association must build up an adequate maintenance reserve (§ 19 para. 2 no. 4 WEG). How much is in it is shown by the asset report that the manager must present every year (§ 28 para. 4 WEG). The reserve belongs to the association. You do not buy it with the flat, and it does not reduce the purchase price.

No law sets a fixed benchmark for "enough". A more telling approach is to compare with what is coming up. An example with the calculation:

Example. The association can also use the reserve only in part, in which case the special levy gets larger.

If a special levy has already been approved, the purchase contract should say who pays it. A cut-off date rule at handover is usual. If it is missing, buyer and seller argue about it later. More in the article Service charge and special levy.

Social preservation, conversion and right of first refusal

Many Berlin flats came about through conversion: a rental building was divided and the flats sold individually. Three rules matter to you as a buyer.

First, the conversion ban. In buildings with more than five flats, the division needs a permit from the district office (§ 250 BauGB with the Berlin conversion ordinance, valid from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2030). For a flat that has already been divided, this is settled; for a building that is yet to be divided, it is not.

Second, social preservation (Milieuschutz). If the building is in a social preservation area under § 172 BauGB, structural changes need a permit from the district. If you want to combine two flats or modernise extensively, you should clarify this before buying. Whether an address is affected is shown by the Berlin social preservation map.

Third, the tenant. If the flat was only converted after the tenant moved in, the tenant may buy on the same terms at the first sale. The tenant has two months for this after learning of the purchase contract (tenant's right of first refusal). And termination for own use is excluded in Berlin for up to ten years after this sale. If you are buying a let flat and want to move in yourself, first read the guide Buying a let flat.

Purchase price, additional costs and service charge in the financing

Three items are added to the purchase price in Berlin. An example for a flat at €400,000, bought through an agent:

Notary and land register are experience-based values between 1.5 and 2.0 per cent. The agent's commission only applies if an agent is involved.

The service charge belongs in your household calculation, just like the loan instalment. Banks deduct it from your available income when they check. A flat with a service charge of €380 costs you €4,560 a year before you have repaid a single euro. How much purchase price fits your income is shown in the guide How much property can I afford?; which financing suits you is explained under Mortgage financing in Berlin.

Documents before the notary appointment

You should have read these papers before you approve the draft purchase contract:

• current land register extract with all three sections
• declaration of division with division plan, community regulations and all supplements
• minutes of the owners' meetings of the last three years and the resolutions register
• budget plan, the last two annual statements and the asset report
• the seller's service charge statement, so that you can see nothing is outstanding
• confirmation from the manager that the seller owes no service charge
• energy certificate of the building
• for let flats, the tenancy agreement with all supplements and rent increases

What to check yourself at the viewing is in the viewing checklist. The route from reservation to handover of the keys is described in the guide Purchase process. The additional costs to expect are shown in the article Additional purchase costs Berlin.

Sources

• § 1, § 8 and § 16 Condominium Act (WEG), condominium ownership, division and cost allocation
• § 19 para. 2 no. 4 WEG (maintenance reserve), § 24 paras. 6 and 7 WEG (record, resolutions register), § 28 WEG (budget plan, annual statement, asset report)
• § 1 and § 2 Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV), recoverable and non-recoverable costs
• § 577 and § 577a BGB (German Civil Code), tenant's right of first refusal and restriction on termination after conversion; Berlin ordinance on termination protection clauses of 13 June 2023, valid until 30 September 2033
• § 250 and § 172 Building Code (Baugesetzbuch), conversion ban and social preservation areas
• Senatsverwaltung für Finanzen Berlin (Berlin Senate Department for Finance), real estate transfer tax rate 6.0%