Through the amendment of the GEG, which came into force on 01.01.2024, and the newly introduced § 71n GEG, property managers must observe special deadlines. Attorney at Law Luzia Hilmer (née Traut) gave a presentation on this topic at the 50th Expert Seminar on Condominium Law of the eid – Evangelical Real Estate Association Germany e.V. – in the beautiful Fischen im Allgäu, which we are pleased to briefly summarize for you.

Obligations to act by 31.12.2024

Pursuant to § 71n para. 1 GEG, the condominium owners’ association (GdWE) must, for every building in which condominium ownership exists and at least one individual floor heating system is installed, request the information pursuant to § 71n para. 1 sentence 2 nos. 1 – 4 GEG from the authorized district chimney sweep by no later than 31.12.2024.

Furthermore, pursuant to § 71n para. 2 GEG, the GdWE must, for every building in which condominium ownership exists and at least one individual floor heating system is installed, request the information pursuant to § 71n para. 2 sentence 2 nos. 1 – 3 GEG from the affected owner by no later than 31.12.2024.

The obligation of the GdWE must be fulfilled by the property manager as representative of the GdWE.

The chimney sweep and the owners are each obliged to provide the information within 6 months (i.e. by no later than 30.06.2025).

Documentation obligations by no later than 30.09.2025

§ 71n para. 3 GEG obliges the GdWE, represented by the property manager, to make the received information available to the apartment owners in a so-called consolidated, i.e. clear but detailed, summary.

If the property manager subsequently receives further information, this must be incorporated into the consolidated version or made available to the owners again in a new version.

Obligation to convene an owners’ meeting without delay following heating replacement

§ 71n para. 4 GEG stipulates that as soon as, after 01.01.2024, a new gas floor heating system is installed or set up in an existing building in an apartment for the purpose of commissioning following the failure of the old heating system, and the property manager becomes aware of this circumstance, the property manager must convene the owners’ meeting without delay, i.e. send the invitation for the owners’ meeting with an appropriate notice period for the date of the meeting.

This obligation serves to initiate the community’s decision-making process regarding future heat supply as quickly as possible, after the five-year transitional period of § 71l para. 1 sentence 1 GEG has begun to run. If the next regular owners’ meeting takes place within the next four months, it is sufficient according to the legislative rationale if that meeting is used to discuss the heat supply.

Obligations and deadlines following replacement of a floor heating system pursuant to § 71l GEG

Once the GdWE has been informed about the replacement of a heating system, the requirements of § 71 para. 1 GEG (i.e. supply with at least 65% renewable energies) must be met pursuant to § 71l para. 1 GEG within a period of five years, whereby the deadline is extended pursuant to § 71l para. 2 GEG in the case of a switch to central heating until the completion of the central heating system, but by no more than 8 years.

If the owners decide on partial centralization, all floor heating systems installed after the expiry of the five-year deadline must pursuant to para. 2 fulfill the 65% renewable energy requirement.

If it is decided that the floor heating systems are to be retained in their entirety, all floor heating systems installed after the expiry of the five-year deadline must pursuant to § 71l para. 3 GEG fulfill the 65% renewable energy requirement.

If no decision is made within the five-year deadline, the GdWE is obliged pursuant to § 71l para. 4 GEG to completely switch to a central heating system.

To ensure that there is no “cheating” and resolutions are backdated, § 71l para. 5 GEG provides that the decision must be communicated to the authorized district chimney sweep without delay in text form. If this notification is made late, an obligation to completely switch to a central heating system would likely also exist.

Decision-making process and resolutions

§ 71n para. 5 GEG regulates the obligation of the apartment owners to pass a resolution within 5 years of the first replacement of a floor heating system on fulfilling the 65% renewable energy requirement and to report on the status of implementation at least once a year until complete fulfillment.

If the GdWE wishes to retain at least one floor heating system, it must pass a resolution to this effect within the five-year deadline. This resolution must be passed with a special quorum. To retain a floor heating system, two thirds of the votes cast and half of all co-ownership shares must vote in favor. If this does not happen, the community is obliged to completely centralize and the retention of decentralized heat supply can no longer be properly resolved. The authorized district chimney sweep must be informed without delay of such a resolution.

Cost allocation

How costs can be distributed in the event of a partial or complete switch to central heating is regulated by § 71n para. 7 GEG.

Are you facing the challenges of § 71n GEG? Please do not hesitate to contact us at KFR – Kanzlei für Real Estate in Hamburg & Munich.