Apartment owners' community - BGH-Judgment in cost dispute between owners
When apartment owners have successfully opposed a decision of their housing cooperative association in court, the cooperative association may shift the court costs incurred, as held by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe in a judgment. These costs are considered administrative costs. They may therefore, unless otherwise agreed, be allocated to the members of the cooperative association - including the successful apartment owners (Case No. V ZR 139/23).
In the concrete case, three Women had successfully contested a decision of a housing cooperative association at the District Court, of which they were members. The court ordered the cooperative association to bear the costs of the proceedings. The cooperative association then charged these costs to all members - including the three successful plaintiffs. The women opposed this charge.
However, they had no success at the highest German civil court. The BGH upheld the decision of the District Court of Rostock, which had dismissed the appeal in the first instance in 2022. The appeal was therefore finally dismissed, as declared by the Senate.
In Germany, the District Court of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern serves as a lower instance in civil matters. The successful women in this case argued that they should not be required to pay any part of the court costs, as they had rightfully challenged the housing cooperative's decision. However, their argument was not supported by the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, maintaining the principles established in previous legal proceedings.
Despite the women's continued protest, the District Court's decision stood, and the notion of collective responsibility in cooperatives demanded that all members bear the costs of the legal process. This inclusion of successful defendants in the cost-sharing mechanism is a principle widely upheld in Germany's legal system.
