Can I reclaim the commission my managing agent charged for reletting my flat?

Managing agents cannot charge commission for letting flats from their own management portfolio. What this means for amounts already paid, and how to recover them.

Your managing agent charged you a commission for reletting your flat — often two months’ net rent or more, set out neatly in the management agreement as a “letting fee on reletting”. You paid it because it was in the contract. Now you are wondering whether it was ever lawful.

In short

In most cases: no, the agent was not entitled to charge that commission. Anyone who manages a flat themselves may not claim a separate fee for letting it to new tenants. Section 2(2) sentence 1 no. 2 WoVermRG expressly rules this out. Under the current case law of the highest courts, this prohibition applies even where the commission is to be paid not by the tenant but by the landlord. Amounts you have already paid can, as a rule, be reclaimed.

How I can help

• Reviewing your management agreement for unlawful commission clauses
• Calculating the total amount to reclaim across all relevant relettings and years
• Asserting the claim against the agent out of court, within the applicable deadlines
• Enforcing repayment through the courts if necessary

Why the commission is unlawful

The Housing Brokerage Act (Wohnungsvermittlungsgesetz) governs when someone may charge anything at all for brokering a residential tenancy. In principle, this requires a tenancy that has actually been successfully brokered (§ 2(1) WoVermRG). However, subsection (2) removes that entitlement entirely in certain situations. Among other things, it does so where the broker is themselves the owner, manager, tenant or landlord of the flat in question (§ 2(2) sentence 1 no. 2 WoVermRG).

That is precisely the position with a typical managing agent. They already manage your flat under the management agreement and, when a tenant changes, they typically also take on the search for new tenants, the viewings and the conclusion of the new tenancy. If the same agent then charges an additional commission for this, they fall squarely within the prohibition. This applies regardless of what the clause is called in the contract (“letting fee”, “reletting charge” or simply “commission”). What matters in economic terms is what the money is being paid for, not the label.

What the courts have clarified

For a long time it was disputed whether the commission ban also applies where the landlord is the one who has to pay — rather than the prospective tenant. After all, as its name suggests, the Housing Brokerage Act is really aimed at protecting people looking for a home. The highest courts have now settled this question and rejected any narrow reading of the statute: the legislature did not confine the prohibition to agreements with people seeking accommodation.

The reasoning is this. The prohibition also protects tenants indirectly where the landlord has to pay the commission, because the landlord might be tempted to pass the cost on through a higher rent. On that basis, a commission clause in a management agreement is wholly ineffective where the manager and the broker are one and the same person. That applies to clauses providing for an additional fee for reletting a flat that is already under management.

Reclaiming: requirements and limitation

If the commission clause is ineffective, the payment lacked any legal basis from the outset. The claim for repayment rests on the duty to return an unjust enrichment: anyone who has obtained something at another’s expense without legal grounds must give it back (§ 812(1) BGB).

The standard limitation period of three years applies (§ 195 BGB). It does not begin, however, until the end of the year in which the claim arose. In addition, you must at that point have known — or, but for gross negligence, ought to have known — of the circumstances giving rise to the claim and of the identity of the debtor (§ 199(1) BGB). If you have only now become aware that the clause is unlawful, that can be significant for when the period starts. I examine this carefully in each case, particularly for payments made several years ago.

When a commission may nevertheless be lawful

The prohibition bites because the broker and the manager are the same person. If, by contrast, you instruct an independent estate agent to carry out the reletting, § 2(2) sentence 1 no. 2 WoVermRG does not apply — provided that agent does not manage the flat themselves. The general rules on estate agents’ commission then apply. Whether a particular clause really concerns a genuine third party, or in economic terms benefits the agent themselves (for example through affiliated companies), is ultimately a question of the individual case. It is worth looking closely at the contractual documents.

A typical case from practice

A landlord had for years entrusted her flat to a managing agent, who also handled the reletting after each change of tenant. The management agreement provided for a “letting commission” of one and a half months’ net rent on every reletting. Over three changes of tenant across several years, the agent invoiced this without demur each time, and the landlord paid. It was only after the management relationship had ended, when she went through the old statements, that it came to light: the agent had charged this commission on top of the management fee that was owed in any event — even though it had to provide this service as part of its own management mandate anyway.

Common mistakes

• The clause is in the contract, so many people never question it. But a contractual agreement does not make a commission that the law rules out effective.
• Some only consider reclaiming years later, without checking the limitation position — with the risk that older payments become time-barred.
• Many reclaim only the most recent commission, even though they paid it across several relettings and years.
• Many raise the matter only informally, without setting a deadline in writing, instead of asserting the claim formally and in a way they can prove.

Frequently asked questions

Does the commission ban also apply if the contract says not “commission” but “letting fee” or “service charge”?

Yes. What matters is what you are paying for in economic terms: the brokering of a tenancy by the very person who also manages the flat. The label used in the contract makes no difference.

Can I also reclaim commission that was paid several years ago?

In principle yes, as long as the three-year limitation period is still running. It usually does not begin until the end of the year in which you learned, or ought to have learned, that the clause was unlawful. I examine this carefully in each case.

What happens if the management agreement also provides for a regular management fee?

That remains unaffected. Only the additional commission for the reletting is ineffective; the agreed ongoing management fee for general care of the property is a separate and lawful consideration.

Does the ban also apply to owners’ associations with an external block manager?

Yes, the ban turns on the manager and the broker being one and the same person. It applies to a single letting just as it does to a flat within an owners’ association that the block manager also relets.

Do I have to enforce the claim in court myself, or is a letter to the agent enough?

A well-founded claim can often be resolved with a properly reasoned out-of-court letter setting a deadline, especially where the legal position is clear. If the agent does not respond or disputes the claim, court proceedings remain the next step.

Your next step

If your managing agent has charged you a commission for a reletting, it is worth looking closely at the management agreement and the statements from recent years. In an initial consultation I check whether the clause is ineffective, calculate the size of your claim for repayment, and clarify which deadlines apply. I then pursue repayment out of court or through the courts. You can find out more about my work on tenancy and management matters at /en/topics/real-estate-law — do feel free to contact me directly.

This article provides general information and does not replace individual legal advice.

This article provides general information and is no substitute for legal advice in an individual case. Last updated: 2026-09-06.

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