Fallstricke erkennen: Eigentümergemeinschaft: Jahresabrechnung genau prüfen

In Germany, homeowners' associations are legally required to produce an annual account. Property owners of apartments should carefully review these documents, both the overall and individual accounts, according to the Consumer Protection Association "Wohnen im Eigentum." If any discrepancies are noticed, property owners of a co-living arrangement should raise the issue with the advisory board or management before the owners' assembly.

When examining the annual account, property owners should verify the completeness of the opening and closing inventories of all accounts of the apartment owners' community. This will allow them to check if the account development aligns with the revenues and expenses listed on the annual account, explained the association. To ensure transparency, all cost items should be individually listed.

If costs are combined, it becomes more difficult to trace them. Repair work and stairwell cleaning should not generally be lumped together under "Hausmeisterkosten" (maintenance costs) in the annual account. Who pays what costs? According to the association, the costs for maintaining the common property and for administration are generally distributed among the owners based on their share of the common property.

However, it is worth checking if a different allocation key has been agreed upon for individual cost types and is in line with the community ordinance, such as an allocation based on living area or the number of apartments. It is also important that property owners check if relevant decisions from the previous accounting year have been correctly implemented, meaning the costs were distributed as the owners had decided for that particular point.

In larger multi-apartment buildings, it is crucial that the expenditures are also assigned to the correct unit. The association advises property owners to check whether the revenues and expenses are properly allocated to the correct sub-community or the overall community. Otherwise, some owners may be unfairly burdened or relieved.

For heating costs, property owners need to consider the different accounting principles. The association explains that for the overall account, the payment principle applies, and the actual payments made during the accounting year must be recorded. For the individual account, the consumption principle applies, and the costs for heating and hot water are allocated to the respective usage period according to the provisions of the Heizkostenverordnung (Heating Costs Ordinance).