No question fuels more condo disputes in Germany than this one: is the broken part mine – or everyone's? The answer decides who pays the contractor.
"Individual ownership covers the rooms designated under § 3 (1) sentence 1 and those components of the building belonging to these rooms which can be altered, removed or added without impairing the common property or a right of another apartment owner based on individual ownership."
— § 5 (1) WEG (translated)
The rule of thumb
Everything necessary for the building's existence or safety is mandatorily common property (§ 5 (2) WEG) – load-bearing walls, roof, façade, risers. Individual ownership is essentially the interior: floor coverings, non-bearing partitions, sanitary fittings, interior doors.
The classics
- Windows: common property – even if the declaration of division says otherwise (Federal Court, V ZR 174/11).
- Apartment entrance door: common property (V ZR 212/12).
- Balconies: split – interior surface individual, structure and waterproofing common.
- Radiators: depends on the declaration; pipes beyond the unit's shut-off valve are usually individual.
The cost consequence: common property is repaired from Hausgeld or reserves; individual property is the owner's bill alone. The declaration of division can shift costs – read it before you fight.