The registered association (Idealverein, § 21 BGB). Cheapest legal person to found; used as Hausverein inside the Mietshäuser Syndikat, as Projektverein that pools equity for a Dachgenossenschaft, or (rarely) as direct house owner of a small Wohnprojekt.
- Founding: ≥ 7 members for registration (§ 56 BGB); written Satzung; Gründungsversammlung; Vorstand; entry in the Vereinsregister (Amtsgericht) with notarised signatures — no notarial deed, no minimum capital.
- Cost / time: register fee plus notarised signature; typically weeks, not months. Open question (not a fact): exact GNotKG/JVKostG fees vary by Land and were not verified today.
- Limit: an e.V. may not have an economic purpose as its main aim (§ 21/§ 22 BGB). Owning one house and letting to members is tolerated as Nebenzweck; letting at scale or to non-members pushes it towards a wirtschaftlicher Verein (needs state Verleihung) or a Rechtsformzwang challenge. Banks share this doubt.
- Liability: only the Verein’s assets; members owe only their Beitrag.
- Exit: Austritt by Kündigung, notice ≤ 2 years (§ 39 BGB); no equity refund unless the Satzung creates member loans — an e.V. cannot issue shares.
- Tax: gemeinnützig option (AO §§ 52, 55) incl. wohngemeinnuetzigkeit from 2025; alternatively § 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 10 KStG exemption for Vermietungsvereine letting ≥ 90 % to members.
- Banks: weak borrower alone (no equity instrument, volatile membership); works as Gesellschafter of a Haus-GmbH or as partner of a co-op.
- Money: weakest form for Förderung — no shares, so no kfw-134; reaches rental and gemeinnützig lines only. Full list in Programme map below.
Related
- syndikat-haus-gmbh — the Hausverein holds ~51 % of the Haus-GmbH (FAQ: €12,600 of €25,000)
- syndikat-direktkredit — raised by the Haus-GmbH, not the Verein
- eg-cooperative — the stronger owner form once the group is > ~10 households
- gbr-baugemeinschaft — planning-phase alternative for owner-occupier groups
- gmbh-ggmbh-project — where the e.V. is often the sole shareholder
- wohngemeinnuetzigkeit — gemeinnützig status now covers vergünstigte Wohnraumüberlassung
- dachgenossenschaft-model — Hamburg: Projektverein brings equity into a Projektträger-eG
- saxony-frl-familienwohnen, stiftung-trias — programme notes
Detail
Syndikat pattern. The Haus-GmbH has exactly two shareholders: the Hausverein and the Mietshäuser Syndikat GmbH. The Verein decides everything (tenants, financing, rents); the Syndikat has one vote only on sale, conversion to Eigentumswohnungen or similar access to the asset, so both must agree — resale is practically blocked (syndikat.org, 2026: 215 Hausprojekte). Solidarbeitrag ≥ €0.10/m² Nutzfläche/month.
Hamburg pattern. The Agentur für Baugemeinschaften describes groups bringing their equity “in der Regel als GbR oder als e.V.” into a Projektträger-Genossenschaft (Kurzzusammenfassung Eigentumsformen, Feb 2023).
Gemeinnützigkeit trade-off. § 55 AO: no distribution to members, capital returned at nominal, Vermögensbindung on dissolution. Fine for a Hausverein; incompatible with members expecting any equity upside.
Programme map
Which money this form actually reaches. Terms live in the linked programme notes.
- Unlocks: syndikat-direktkredit via the Haus-GmbH; saxony-frl-familienwohnen Ziffer III Nr. 2 names the e.V.; gls-bank-financing; grant lines for gemeinnützig bodies (stiftung-trias, Aktion Mensch).
- State lines that name the e.V. as eligible Bauherr/Träger: berlin-ibb-soziale-traegerwohnungen, nrw-wohnraumfoerderung-mietwohnraum, nrw-gruppenwohnungen, hessen-mietwohnraumfoerderung, rheinland-pfalz-isb-gemeinschaftswohnungen, rheinland-pfalz-anschubfoerderung-wohnprojekte, saarland-wohnraumfoerderung-mietwohnungsbau, saarland-wohnraumfoerderung-besondere-wohnformen, bayern-wohnungsbauprogramm-mietwohnraum, brandenburg-ilb-mietwohnungsbau-neubau, hamburg-ifb-mietwohnungsneubau-1-foerderweg — all with belegungsbindung. Energy money is form-blind: kfw-297-298, kfw-261, kfw-458, bafa-beg-em. Not reachable: kfw-134 and the Genossenschaftsanteil lines (no shares to buy), and the Selbstnutzer lines kfw-124 / kfw-300 / kfw-308.