Documentation duties: what a property manager owes the owner
Which information, accounts and records the owner can ask of you, and how to keep them ready for each unit.
You keep the owner informed, answer their questions, account for your work and hand over all records at the end. So file handover records and photos for each unit.
What do you owe the owner?
The management contract is an agency contract (Geschäftsbesorgung, § 675 BGB). A few clear duties follow from that.
- 1
Inform
You give the owner the necessary notices without being asked.
- 2
Answer questions
On request you show them handover records, photos and Kaution statements.
- 3
Account
Afterwards you account for the work you have done.
- 4
Hand over
No later than the end of the contract you hand over everything arising from the management.
- 5
Records and photos
Handover records and photos belong to the owner, not the manager.
- 6
File by unit
Only records kept separately for each unit can be handed over cleanly at the end.
Why this matters
Under § 666 BGB you owe the owner notices, answers and an account of your work, and under § 667 BGB you must hand over everything you obtain from the management. A handover that was never documented is therefore also a gap in your account to the owner.
General information, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the handover records and photos?
The owner. Under § 667 BGB you hand them over in full no later than the end of the contract.
Is the manager liable if a claim fails for lack of documentation?
It is possible, if the manager culpably breaches a duty under the contract (§ 280 Abs. 1 BGB). What is certain: a condition that was never recorded is hard to explain to the owner.
Must the manager inform the owner without being asked?
Yes. Under § 666 BGB you give the owner the necessary notices, answer their questions on request and account for the work afterwards.
Also in this topic: Kaution statements without disputes: a manager's guideTenant turnover: process and deadlines for managersHandover by a caretaker or service provider
Next change of tenant coming up?
Capture every handover with the same routine and file it by unit, so the owner can look at it any time. BildProof guides you through each unit room by room and creates a condition report you send to the tenant and the owner.
See BildProof for property managers