commission 20 21

( brokerage fee )

From December 23rd, 2020 , the distribution of the brokerage commission will be newly regulated by the so-called housing package. This emerges from the "Act on the Distribution of Brokerage Costs in the Mediation of Purchase Contracts for Apartments and Single-Family Houses",

on which the Bundestag and Bundesrat have agreed.

In addition to a tightening and extension of the rental price cap until 2025 , the package also includes the new regulation of the broker's commission, which is to be divided between buyers and sellers in the future. According to this, at least half of the commission goes to the person who hires a broker - usually this is the seller.

That means in plain language:

If you want to buy your own home in the future, you have to

only bear at most half of the brokerage costs.

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To which areas does the new regulation of brokerage commission apply?

The new regulation is limited to single-family houses and condominiums and only comes into force if the real estate buyer is acting as a consumer and not as part of a commercial activity. The new regulation therefore only applies to owner-occupied residential properties.

The aim is to relieve buyers of private residential real estate with regard to ancillary costs (entry in the land register, notary costs, real estate transfer tax, etc.). So far, buyers have usually had to pay the broker's commission in full - in some federal states this is up to 7% of the purchase price.

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Consequences for owners, buyers and brokers

Many real estate experts assume that owners will try to price in the broker's commission in the purchase price. Especially in tense markets with scarce supply and high demand - i.e. where the new regulation of brokerage commission is having an effect - everything that the buyer saves is priced in at some point in the transaction chain, for example in the purchase price.

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Conclusion broker commission 2021

The fair, equal division becomes the norm with the new regulation. Since the amount of the commission is agreed individually between the contracting parties, there may be different commission rates for different properties (e.g. single-family houses / apartment buildings).

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You are also welcome to contact me if you have any questions about further details.

New legal form

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Text form (§ 656a)

In the future, brokerage contracts for the brokerage of apartments and single-family houses will have to be concluded in text form - for example as an e-mail. A verbal agreement by shaking hands or a promise over the phone is no longer valid.

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Personal scope (§ 656b)

Paragraphs 656c and BGB only apply if the buyer is a consumer - i.e. a private individual who is not acting in the sense of a commercial activity or on behalf of a company. They apply to brokers in principle - regardless of whether they act as entrepreneurs or occasional brokers.

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Activity for both parties (§ 656c)

If a broker acts on behalf of both the buyer and the seller, the broker can only collect a commission of the same amount from each party. A later adjustment of the broker's commission leads to an automatic adjustment of the same amount for the other party. Agreements deviating from this regulation are ineffective.

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Agreements on brokerage costs (section 656d)

If only one party has commissioned the broker, only this party is obliged to pay the commission. If the non-commissioning party is also to be obliged to pay, their share is a maximum of 50% of the agreed total commission. A later adjustment of the broker's commission also leads to an automatic adjustment of the same amount for the other party. However, the payment for the non-client is only due when the client has demonstrably paid. Evidence must be provided by the client or the agent.

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rent and lease

• For leases with a term of up to 5 years, 3.0 gross monthly rents* from the customer

• For leases with a term of more than 5 and up to 10 years, 4.0 gross monthly rents* from the customer

• For leases with a term of more than 10 years, 5 gross monthly rents* from the customer.

* the gross monthly rent results from the nominal rent including parking spaces, archive space and the operating cost advance payments or flat rates.

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If rent-free periods are agreed, e.g. e.g. expansion cost subsidy, facilities, assumption of liabilities from old rental contracts, compensation payments, etc., the first monthly rent to be paid in the usual amount is used as the basis for calculation. If an agreement on graduated rent is also made, the commission is calculated from the average rent for the agreed term of the contract.