Rental unit management (SEV) in the Rhine-Main region

Owning a condominium in Germany means owning two kinds of property. Your separate property (Sondereigentum) is the apartment itself as defined in the declaration of division: the rooms, non-load-bearing interior walls, floor coverings, interior doors and bathroom fittings. The common property (Gemeinschaftseigentum) covers the land, roof, façade, load-bearing walls, stairwell, central pipes and, in most buildings, the windows.

The common property is managed by the association's manager, appointed by resolution of the owners. Under § 28 WEG that manager prepares the budget, the annual statement and the asset report, and calls the owners' meeting. The association's manager has no role in your tenancy. It does not collect your rent and does not prepare your tenant's operating cost statement.

Unit management fills this gap. It is a separate contract between you and the manager and needs no resolution of the association, so you can appoint Verto even if another firm manages your building. If we manage both, there is one interface less. Rental management, by contrast, is for owners of entire buildings with no association involved.

We are your tenant's point of contact for repairs, questions about the lease and requests such as subletting. You are only involved when a decision is yours to make, such as a larger repair or a notice of termination.

Rent accounting is handled by our in-house property accounting team, led by Ralf Hennig, a business economist with more than 30 years in property accounting. Every payment is matched to the rent account. If a payment is missed, we send a reminder promptly and a formal demand in writing. If arrears persist, we agree the next steps with you and work with specialist tenancy lawyers where needed. The deposit is kept separate from our own funds, as § 551 BGB requires.

Rent increases are prepared in line with § 558 BGB, checking justification, waiting periods and the cap. Whether a reduced cap or the rent brake applies at your address depends on regional ordinances that expire and are renewed, so we check this for every increase and every new letting. When a tenant moves out, we carry out the inspection with a written record and photos and settle the deposit. A new letting can be commissioned separately and is listed as such in our quote.

The tenant's operating cost statement is built from the association's annual statement. That statement shows every cost allocated to your unit, including costs you cannot pass on to the tenant, so we separate them line by line.

Only operating costs under the German Operating Costs Ordinance (BetrKV) can be passed on, and only if the lease provides for it: water, waste collection, cleaning, gardening, communal electricity, lift, caretaker and building insurance, for example. Heating is billed under the Heating Costs Ordinance. The association manager's fee, contributions to the maintenance reserve, repairs and bank charges are not recoverable. Property tax is billed to you directly by the municipality but can be passed on, so we add it from your tax assessment.

The statement must reach the tenant within twelve months of the end of the billing period (§ 556(3) BGB), otherwise back payments are generally lost. This deadline applies even if the owners' meeting has not yet approved the association's accounts, so we request the figures early and prepare the statement on the data available if necessary.

Decisions on the budget, special levies, renovation work and structural changes are taken at the owners' meeting. If you cannot attend, we can represent you. Under § 25(3) WEG the power of attorney must be given in text form, so a clear email is generally sufficient. We first check whether your community rules restrict who may act as a representative.

Before the meeting we review the agenda, the budget and the annual statement prepared by the association's manager and agree your voting instructions with you. You decide how to vote, we carry it out. Afterwards you receive a short summary of the resolutions and what they mean for your service charge, the reserve and your tenancy. If you consider a resolution flawed, a challenge must be filed within one month (§ 45 WEG); we flag this in good time, and a lawyer of your choice handles the legal assessment.

When something breaks, the first question is who is responsible. A dripping tap or a worn floor belongs to your unit. A burst riser pipe or a leaking roof usually concerns common property, which is the association's responsibility and cost. We clarify this using the declaration of division and report common-property damage to the association's manager with photos and a description.

Repairs inside your unit are commissioned with trusted local tradespeople. Up to a limit agreed with you we decide ourselves; above it we obtain quotes for your approval. Behind your dedicated contact stands our in-house technical team led by Benjamin Böcker, Head of Technical Property Management, previously area head for the technical and commercial operation of the three ECB towers in Frankfurt (around 300,000 m²).

Many of our unit management clients do not live in the Rhine-Main region. Some are expats working in London, Zurich or Singapore for a few years, others have emigrated, and others are investors from Europe, Asia or the United States who bought or inherited an apartment in Frankfurt. What they need is someone on site with authority to act, and a clear view of what is happening to their property.

We work in English and German, in writing and on calls. The monthly report summarises rent received, outstanding payments and open matters and is available in English. Important documents can be provided in translation. Statements, receipts and minutes are stored in the owner portal, accessible from any time zone and on your phone. Video calls can be arranged early in the morning or in the evening German time, and we reply to emails within 24 hours.

Rental income from a German property is taxable in Germany even if you live abroad. At year end we compile the figures you or your tax adviser need for the German return (Anlage V): rent received, service charge advances, the non-recoverable share of the service charge, repairs and management costs. We do not give tax advice, but we work directly with your adviser.

For investors with several units we combine reporting across all of them. Our portfolio includes a package of 15 apartments owned by one investor within a large association, and five commercial units for an owner who lives abroad, where rent collection, accounting and correspondence all run through us.

Changing your unit manager is simpler than changing the association's manager because no owners' meeting has to approve it. You give notice under your current contract and appoint us. We start with a free initial consultation by phone or video, then send you a written quote at a fixed fee per unit and month, with additional services such as a new letting listed separately.

For the handover we need the lease and any amendments, proof of the deposit, the rent account with open items, the last operating cost statement and, from the association, the declaration of division, recent minutes, the current budget and the last annual statement. We reconcile the rent account and deposit, introduce ourselves to your tenant in writing with the new payment details and inform the association's manager. The existing lease continues unchanged.

Every property at Verto is looked after by at least two property managers certified under § 26a WEG, more for large properties, supported by our technical team and in-house accounting. Our office is at Mühlstraße 36 in Eschborn, on the Frankfurt city boundary, so handovers, viewings and repair appointments in Frankfurt and the surrounding towns are a short drive away.