A certificate of seclusion is an official confirmation in accordance with the German Condominium Act that an apartment or usage unit is structurally sufficiently separated (by walls, ceilings and a lockable entrance) from other apartments or rooms, i.e. that it is closed off and can be used to its full extent. It can also contain specifically measured areas of land, such as parking spaces or terraces.

Together with the partition plan, it is used to divide a building into residential and/or partial ownership units so that these can be entered in the land register as separate units. In this way, a multi-party house can be converted into condominiums in order to sell them individually. It is also possible to make arrangements for future heirs or to secure permanent residential and permanent usage rights.

An apartment is considered self-contained if it is structurally, actually, spatially and functionally completely closed off from other apartments and rooms (e.g. by walls and ceilings) and has its own lockable access directly from the outside, from a communal stairwell or a vestibule. If a residential or usage unit can only be reached via another unit, it is not self-contained.

A residential unit must be equipped in such a way that it can be used as living space. For example, an apartment must have a toilet and a shower or bathtub as well as a kitchen or cooking facilities that are located within the apartment. If there is no bathroom or shower in the approved existing building, only a certificate of partial ownership can be issued, but not a certificate of condominium ownership. The rooms - e.g. kitchen and bathroom - do not have to be on the same floor, but can also be on top of each other, provided they are connected by a staircase within the separate property, i.e. the apartment.

Additional rooms outside the apartment can also be assigned to a self-contained apartment. However, these must be designated in the partition plan with the same number as the apartments and must also be lockable. This also applies to "rooms not used for residential purposes". These are other rooms that, in contrast to the apartments, result from their intended purpose, such as commercial rooms, practice rooms, storage rooms, garages, cellars, warehouses, etc.

Measured property areas, such as parking spaces, terraces, garden areas, etc., are also considered enclosed. These do not require a structural boundary as long as they are clearly located on the property by means of measurements.

Stairwells, boiler rooms, utility rooms, bicycle cellars, drying rooms, playgrounds, etc. are mandatory common property. Common property must be accessible to all owners; access must not lead through other owners' separate property.

Anyone is entitled to apply, but the owner must always sign the application form, even if the application is made by a person who is not the owner. A power of attorney is also required, for example, if the correspondence regarding the plans is handled by an architect's office. In this case, the architect completes or corrects the plans directly and submits them. As the applicant, the owner receives the corresponding certificate of completion directly.
Persons who can prove a legitimate interest in the certificate (e.g. a buyer by submitting a purchase contract) are also eligible.

The required application documents must be submitted by post to the building inspectorate. This is also where the applications are processed and the certificates issued.

The best way to find out which documents need to be submitted in a specific individual case is to contact the relevant building inspection department.
E-mail: baulastenwiesbadende

As a rule, a single copy of the following documents must be submitted:

• signed application form
• Power of attorney, if applicable (if the contact person for building supervision is NOT the applicant)
• Description of changes (only for supplements)
• Calculation of living and usable space

As a rule, the following partition plans must be submitted in duplicate:

• Extract from the real estate cadastre/real estate map (alternatively a site plan from the surveyor - usually for new buildings that are not yet entered in the cadastre)
• Open space plan of the entire property
• Floor plan of each existing floor from basement to attic
• at least one section of each building
• All views of the building(s), drawn or as a color photo

Detailed information on the documents and partition plans can be found in our guide Application documents and plans for certificate of completion.

All submitted plans and other property documents must correspond to the current status for existing buildings and the planning status for new buildings. Although this is not usually checked by the building inspectorate, deviations in the actual condition from the submitted plans or the approved design that require approval remain illegal even if the certificate of completion is issued.

You can find detailed information and tips on the form of the submitted plans, the presentation of changes and the formal numbering and labeling of the individual rooms of each usage unit in our guide Application documents and plans for a certificate of completion.

The application is examined in accordance with the rules of the German Condominium Act (WEG) - there is no examination under building law. Therefore, the issuing of a certificate of segregation is not equivalent to a building permit for buildings or parts of buildings on a property - an unauthorized structural condition is neither legalized nor tolerated by this certificate. Rather, the applicant is responsible for checking whether the submitted partition plans correspond to the actual approved condition. The building inspectorate only checks whether the units are locked and accessible via the common property and whether the requirements for living space are met and the plans are correct.

The special ownership of a parking space can be assigned to a residential or part-ownership unit. If access is secured via common property, a separate certificate of seclusion can also be issued for a parking space.

A parking space is considered enclosed if it is marked and numbered with dimensions or a permanent boundary. In this case, the parking space is either given the number of the special property belonging to it or its own number as a special property.

Seclusion is possible for parking spaces of all types, such as (underground) garages, ground-level outdoor parking spaces, multiple parking facilities, etc. Clear location and numbering are important. Parking spaces without numbering are deemed to be community property. Similarly, it is possible to certify that ground-level property areas such as terraces are separate by precisely measuring the areas.

If a certificate of completion has already been issued for the unit in question in the past and is still available or has been submitted to the land register, only an addendum needs to be submitted in the event of subsequent structural changes, such as the conversion of the attic or the merging of two apartments. This addendum only contains the plans from which the changes result, for example floor plans, sections and views.

In addition to the amended plans, a so-called amendment description must be submitted, which briefly describes in writing which changes to the original certificate are to be recertified.

The certificate of completion then issued only contains the modified apartments or rooms. The previous certificates of completion remain valid for the units not affected by the change.

The costs for a certificate of segregation depend on the number and size of the respective residential or usage unit. As a rule, the costs are between 100 and 500 euros per residential or part-owned property. The basis for this is the statute on the levying of building supervision fees of the state capital of Wiesbaden.