Check the business plan and the annual statement
Owners do not vote on the statement as a whole but on additional payments and the adjustment of advances. That distinction determines what can be challenged at all.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
Do not compare one table with another, compare the table with the community bank statement. That is exactly what the right to inspect management records is for, and almost nobody uses it.
Challenging the statement leads nowhere — what gets challenged is the resolution on additional payments and adjusted advances. A claim that misses this loses without the figures ever being examined.
Useful Tools
- Verbraucherzentrale Legal
Consumer protection centres.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What exactly is voted on with the annual statement? ▾
After the end of the calendar year the owners resolve on collecting additional payments or adjusting the advances previously resolved. For that the manager prepares a statement on the business plan — the annual statement as a document is not itself adopted.
How does the annual statement differ from a tenant service charge statement? ▾
They come from different legal relationships. The community statement concerns the owner and all costs of the building, including items that may not be passed to tenants. A service charge statement follows the tenancy agreement and its own rules.
Can the allocation of costs be changed? ▾
Each owner bears costs in proportion to their share, but the owners may resolve on a different allocation for individual costs or certain types of cost. A majority of the votes cast is enough.
What is the assets report? ▾
A report the manager prepares after the end of the calendar year: the state of the reserves and a list of the material community assets. It must be made available to every owner.
Is a maintenance reserve mandatory? ▾
Building up an appropriate maintenance reserve is part of proper management under the statute, as are insuring the common property at replacement value and property owner liability cover.