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When do you need the consent of the community of owners for a change of use?

A man in a suit and a woman look at a laptop in a bright office.

If a property is divided into condominiums according to the provisions of the Condominium Act (Wohnungseigentumsgesetz, WEG), the following applies: In most cases, the consent of the community of owners must be obtained for the change of use. When this is the case, i.e. whether the change of use requires (internal) consent, can be assessed on the basis of the so-called declaration of division.

Changes of use are a frequent point of contention in condominium owners' associations. The reason: A change of use by one of the condominium owners can result in a burden on the other condominium owners Can be associated with a burden on the be associated with a burden. For example, a (future) use for office purposes will inevitably result in increased visitor traffic, and this is often considered undesirable.

Also, changes of use sometimes entail the need to implement structural measures on the respective property. The need to create additional parking spaces in the case of a change of use to commercial or office purposes is one of the most common disputes.

What is regulated in the declaration of division?

The division of a property according to the WEG is regularly based on a declaration of division together with community/management regulations. This declaration of division contains regulations on the demarcation of the respective separate property and the common property. Specifications for the use of the individual Individual condominium units are regularly laid down in the community regulations. This is where the possible uses for individual units of the property are specified.

Thus, the declaration of division and the purpose of use regularly stipulated therein for the individual condominium units is the basis for assessing whether there is a change of use (internally) requiring consent. If, for example, in the case of a residential building, the use is limited to purely residential purposes, a change of use requires Change of use if, for example, the use of a residential building is limited to purely residential purposes, a change of use to non-residential purposes requires the approval of the other condominium owners or the community of owners in accordance with the provisions of the declaration of division. Under certain circumstances, it may even be necessary to amend the declaration of division itself.

The majority required for the approval of the other condominium owners at the owners' meeting is usually specified in the declaration of division. For an Amendment of the declaration of division the consent of all condominium owners is generally required for an amendment to the declaration of division itself, unless the declaration of division contains provisions to the contrary.

Nevertheless, the owners' association does not have to give its consent to every change of use. This is because the declarations of division often provide for the following at the level of the community rules Permissibility of changes of use within a certain range. In the case of flats, for example, it is not unusual for changes of use from residential purposes to freelance activities or comparable (office) uses to be permissible.