A special levy (Sonderumlage) is a one-off payment the owners meeting resolves when the monthly advances (Hausgeld) and the maintenance reserve do not cover a specific need (§ 28, § 19 WEG). The resolution must state purpose and amount; without a date the levy falls due on call-up. As a rule the owner at that point pays, by co-ownership share (§ 16 (2) WEG).
What a special levy is and when it becomes necessary
A community’s ordinary funding need is covered by the budget: the owners resolve advances towards costs and towards the maintenance reserve (§ 28 (1) WEG), which are paid monthly as Hausgeld. If this money is not enough for a specific expense, the community can resolve a special levy - a one-off additional payment that meets the liquidity need in a targeted way.
The special levy is typical in three situations: an unforeseen or particularly expensive measure exceeds the available budget; the maintenance reserve is too small to finance the pending measure; or a short-term liquidity gap arises, for instance because several owners fail to pay their Hausgeld while the community still has to settle an invoice. In every case the point is to provide the community with money that the budget did not foresee.
Legal basis: a resolution under § 28 in conjunction with § 19 WEG
There is no separate provision for the special levy. Its basis is § 28 WEG, which governs the owners’ power to resolve on the funding of the community. Under § 28 (1) WEG the owners resolve on the advances towards costs and reserves; under § 28 (2) WEG they resolve, after the end of the calendar year, on the collection of additional contributions or the adjustment of the advances. The special levy is a supplementary resolution on this basis: it adjusts the financial framework set by the budget to a need that arose during the year.
For such a resolution to be valid it must comply with proper administration. § 19 (1) WEG requires the owners to resolve a proper administration; § 19 (2) WEG lists, among other things, the proper upkeep of the common property (no. 2) and the accumulation of an appropriate maintenance reserve (no. 4). Where a necessary measure is pending and the reserve does not suffice, raising a special levy is regularly exactly what proper administration calls for.
Requirements for the resolution
A special levy resolution is only valid, and only complies with proper administration, if it is sufficiently definite. The resolution must clearly set out:
- the purpose or the measure for which the money is raised
- the total amount of the levy and the share falling on the individual owner, or at least the allocation key
- the due date, that is when payment must be made
The need must be comprehensible: a special levy raised “as a reserve” with no specific occasion and no recognisable purpose is open to challenge. Conversely, the community may set the amount moderately and include a reasonable buffer where the cost of the measure is not yet exactly fixed. A resolution that leaves the purpose and amount open, or fails to show the allocation key, runs counter to proper administration and can be contested.
Allocation: which key applies
How the special levy is allocated across the individual owners depends on the applicable cost allocation key of the community. The statutory standard under § 16 (2) sentence 1 WEG is the ratio of co-ownership shares (Miteigentumsanteile, MEA) as registered in the land register. As long as nothing else is agreed or resolved, the special levy is therefore allocated by MEA, just like the other costs of the community.
Since the WEG reform the owners may, under § 16 (2) sentence 2 WEG, resolve a deviating allocation for individual costs or certain types of cost. This is also possible for a special levy: where the financed measure affects only certain units, or where a different standard better reflects causation, the community may allocate the levy for example by number of units or by living space. Absent such a deviating resolution, the default by co-ownership shares applies.
Example: A community must repair its leaking flat roof at short notice for EUR 60,000. The maintenance reserve holds only EUR 25,000, so a special levy of EUR 35,000 is resolved. One owner holds 120 out of a total of 1,000 co-ownership shares. On allocation by MEA she bears 120/1,000, that is 12 percent of EUR 35,000 and therefore EUR 4,200. If the community instead resolves allocation across the ten equally sized units, each unit pays EUR 3,500.
Due date
When the special levy must be paid follows from the resolution. It is common to set a specific payment date or to make the levy due on call-up by the manager. If the resolution contains no date, the levy falls due when the manager calls it up. For this reason the resolution should always set out, besides the purpose and amount, a clear payment date - this avoids disputes about when the levy becomes due and makes it easier for the manager to collect where an owner does not pay.
Special levy and maintenance reserve compared
The special levy and the maintenance reserve are often confused but serve different purposes. The reserve is planned provision, the special levy is unplanned top-up.
| Feature | Maintenance reserve | Special levy |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | provision for future upkeep | meeting a specific, acute need |
| Rhythm | built up continuously (via the Hausgeld) | one-off, occasion-based |
| Legal basis | § 19 (2) no. 4 WEG | § 28 in conjunction with § 19 WEG |
| Resolution | part of the budget (§ 28 (1) WEG) | separate, supplementary resolution |
| Trigger | planning and provision | unforeseen or high funding need |
A well-funded maintenance reserve makes special levies rarer: those who make appropriate provision do not have to collect extra money at short notice when a measure is due. If the reserve stays too small, by contrast, the special levy is often the only way to finance a necessary measure.
Who pays on a sale or change of owner?
On a change of owner the question regularly arises whether the seller or the buyer bears the special levy. Towards the community the rule is: as a rule the person who is the owner when the levy falls due or is called up pays. What matters is the entry in the land register at the time the manager calls up the payment, not the date of the resolution and not the date the purchase contract is notarised.
It follows that where the special levy only falls due after ownership has passed, the new owner owes it towards the community, even if the resolution was passed while the seller still held the property. Buyer and seller should therefore expressly settle in the purchase contract who economically bears a special levy that has already been resolved or is foreseeable - for instance through an indemnity or assumption clause. That agreement only operates between the parties, however; the community looks to the owner registered in the land register when the levy falls due.
Special levies in Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region
In Frankfurt’s stock of older apartment buildings in particular, special levies hit communities most often where too little flowed into the maintenance reserve over the years and a large measure then becomes due - from the roof and the heating system to the facade. A realistically calculated budget, an appropriately funded reserve and a cleanly worded, definite resolution are the best protection here against contestable levies and liquidity shortfalls. Experienced condominium management in Frankfurt prepares the special levy so that it withstands challenge, sets the amount in a comprehensible way and collects the sums reliably when they fall due.
Anyone holding a let condominium in the community as an investor should also look for certified property management that plans the funding need ahead - because every avoidable special levy weighs on the return and on the relationships within the community.
Sources
Editorial responsibility: digo.immo Verwaltung & Invest - certified residential property manager under § 26a WEG (IHK Frankfurt), licence under § 34c GewO. About the certification
This article provides general information only and does not replace individual legal advice. It was created with AI assistance; the legal statements have been checked against the official texts of the law. Legal status: 07/09/2026; laws and case law may change. No warranty is given as to completeness, accuracy or timeliness. When in doubt, please seek qualified advice.