Applying for a licence for estate agents, mortgage brokers, property developers, construction supervisors and residential property managers
Service description
You will need a licence if you wish to offer the following services on a commercial basis:
- Property agency services
- The brokering of loan agreements (excluding consumer mortgages),
- The management of residential property or the common property of flat owners
- The preparation or execution of construction projects, whether on one’s own behalf or on behalf of others.
With this in mind, you must apply for a licence if, for example, you wish to carry out any of the following activities:
- Brokerage of land and rights equivalent to land; brokerage of the sale, encumbrance, letting or leasing of land and flat ownership, as well as contracts relating to mortgages and land charges,
- The letting of commercial premises and residential accommodation, i.e. all types of tenancies, including leases and subletting, and therefore also the letting of flats and rooms (excluding accommodation placement services).
- Loan brokerage (excluding consumer property finance).
- The planning or execution of construction projects using third-party assets (e.g. assets belonging to tenants, leaseholders or other authorised users, or to applicants for rights of purchase or use). In this context, it makes no difference whether you act in your own name vis-à-vis contractual partners (as a property developer) or whether you make it clear that you are acting on behalf of a third party (as a construction manager). This includes, for example, submitting a planning application, commissioning architects and tradespeople, as well as securing and drawing down funding, taking out insurance policies, calculating future rents, etc.
- Management of let flats or the common property of flat owners within the meaning of the Flats Ownership Act. You are considered a property manager, for example, if you
- Implement decisions made by the flat owners and ensure that the house rules are observed;
- take the necessary measures to ensure the proper maintenance and repair of the common property;
- to arrange and receive all payments and services relating to the day-to-day management of the common property;
- manage the funds received.
No authorisation is required in the following cases:
- Credit institutions which have been granted authorisation under the German Banking Act (KWG) and their branches are regarded as undertakings.
- Capital management companies which have been granted authorisation under the German Capital Investment Code.
- Traders who merely arrange loans to finance the sale of goods or the provision of services by them, or who can demonstrate that they provide the opportunity to conclude such contracts,
- Branches of companies with their registered office in another Member State of the European Union which, under the German Banking Act, are authorised to act as intermediaries in loans between credit institutions, provided that their activities under the German Trade Regulation Act are limited to the intermediation of loans between credit institutions and
- the conclusion of contracts relating to the part-time use of residential buildings within the meaning of the Civil Code, or the brokering of such contracts.
To act as an intermediary in relation to consumer property loan agreements, you require a different, separate licence under the Trade Regulation Act. Consumer property loan agreements are loan agreements for consideration between a trader, as the lender, and a consumer, as the borrower.
Who should I contact?
Please contact the Trade and Industry Office in your local authority or independent city.
Which documents are required?
- A copy of your identity card or passport, together with a certificate of residence, or presentation of these documents in person.
Proof of sound financial circumstances
- If you are resident in Germany, this is usually:
- Extract from the register of debtors
- Certificate from the insolvency court
- Certificate relating to tax matters (issued by the tax office)
- if you are resident abroad: documents from your home country proving that your financial affairs are in order
Proof of the company’s legal form:
- if the company is based in Germany:
- for companies registered in a register: an extract from the commercial register, the partnership register or the co-operative register
- if the company is based abroad: documents from the country of incorporation proving its legal form
Proof of personal integrity:
- If you are resident in Germany:
- Applying for a certificate of good conduct for submission to a public authority
- Applying for an extract from the Central Trade Register for submission to a public authority
- If you are resident abroad: documents from your country of residence proving your personal integrity
The relevant authority may request further documents in order to verify a person’s reliability.
In the case of legal entities (e.g. GmbHs, corporate entities, AGs, registered co-operatives), you must submit the personal documents for all natural persons authorised to manage the business (e.g. identity documents) or apply for them (e.g. an extract from the Central Trade Register for submission to a public authority in accordance with Section 150(5) of the Trade Regulation Act). For the legal entity, you will also need an extract from the Central Trade Register for submission to a public authority in accordance with Section 150(5) of the Trade Regulation Act.
Partnerships (GbR, KG, OHG, PartG, GmbH & Co. KG) are not, as such, eligible for authorisation. Therefore, each managing partner must obtain authorisation. Please submit a completed application form and all relevant personal documents for each of these individuals.
If you wish to work as a residential property manager, you must also provide proof that you have taken out professional indemnity insurance covering at least EUR 500,000 per claim and EUR 1,000,000 in aggregate for all claims in a year.
Extension of a licence (An existing licence for an individual or business is extended in accordance with Section 34c of the Trade Regulation Act):
If you extend the scope of activities covered by your licence under Section 34c of the Trade Regulation Act (GewO) within three months of the licence being issued, the simplified procedure applies and you are no longer required to submit all the necessary documents.
Documents required for the application to extend the licence for residential property managers:
- Certificate confirming that professional indemnity insurance is in place, in addition to the extended scope of authorisation applied for
If more than 3 months have elapsed since the licence was granted, the following supporting documents and certificates must be submitted with the application for an extension:
- Extract from the Federal Central Register for submission to a public authority (document type 0)
- Extract from the Central Trade Register for submission to a public authority (document type 9)
- Certificate relating to tax matters
- Extract from the register of debtors on the Central Enforcement Portal (Section 882b of the Code of Civil Procedure)
- Confirmation from the insolvency court that the company is not in insolvency
- A current extract from the Commercial Register, where an entry exists
What fees are incurred?
Is based on the respective administrative fee schedule of the federal state or on the fee statutes of the authorities responsible under federal state law.
Legal basis
Applications / Forms