Pursuant to Section 34c (1) Sentence 1 No. 1 of the Trade, Commerce and Industry Regulation Act (GewO), the brokerage of the conclusion of, and the provision of evidence of the opportunity to conclude, contracts relating to real property, rights equivalent to real property, commercial premises or residential premises is subject to licensing.
In the case of partnerships, the trader is any managing partner; in the case of legal entities, permission is granted to the legal entity.
When practicing their trade, tradesmen are subject to special obligations in accordance with the Brokerage and Property Development Ordinance. The obligations to be observed under the Brokerage and Property Development Ordinance (MaBV) include in particular
- to provide sufficient collateral or to take out insurance suitable for this purpose if the trader receives or uses assets of the principal (Section 2 MaBV),
- to manage the client's assets received separately (§ 6 MaBV),
- to render account to the principal after the execution of the contract (§ 8 MaBV),
- to notify the competent authority in the event of a change in the persons entrusted with the management of the business or a branch office (Section 9 MaBV),
- to provide the principal in text form with the information necessary for the assessment of the order and the contract to be brokered or verified ( § 11 MaBV),
- to keep books including the recording of data on individual business transactions as well as on the principals (§ 10 MaBV),
- obligation to provide further training (§ 15b MaBV).
In order to protect the principal, the trader's authority to use the principal's assets was also restricted (Section 4 MaBV). In addition, the trader may be required to have compliance with the requirements of the Brokerage and Property Development Ordinance audited at his own expense on special occasion and to submit the audit report to the competent authority to the extent necessary for effective monitoring (Section 16 (2) MaBV).
The authorities have information and inspection rights vis-à-vis traders pursuant to Section 34c GewO in accordance with Section 29 GewO. At the request of the authorities, the parties concerned must provide the information required to monitor business operations. Furthermore, the authorities are authorized to enter the business premises in order to carry out inspections and surveys.
In addition to obtaining permission in accordance with § 34c GewO, you must report the trade to the relevant municipality in accordance with § 14 GewO.