Laws and regulations concerning community charges

In the field of municipal or community taxes and duties it is in particular real estate owners who are required to pay increasingly higher amounts in terms of charges, fees and duties.

• for the development, the construction and the improvement of roads and streets,
• for the connection of piping systems to the sewage system, the intake of sewage,
• for constantly rising charges for potable water.

The questions and problems which come up in the law field covering municipal or community charges are varied and manifold, with some of them being rather difficult to answer, particularly for the reason that regulations and their practical implementation are constantly changing (communities, municipalities and associations stipulate the regulations governing their own levies and charges and dues in their own right by means of statutes of their own), with a permanently varying jurisdiction making it all the more difficult.

Citizens who are receiving a notice of assessment of levies or contributions or a notice of assessment of charges are frequently faced with questions such as for instance:

 Do I still have to pay for roads/streets which were built decades ago?

• Is it rightful that I am being called upon to pay local improvement charges?
• Do I also have to pay for an installation which is not properly working or which does not have any function at all?
• Were the charges or levies as claimed properly calculated?

When it comes to this particular domain of legal issues counsel and representation by a lawyer are particularly important, as it is to be noted that sources for mistakes and errors in computation of levies and charges are quite frequent. On the other hand it is not in all cases or situations worth the while to really use all available potential options of legal remedy.

It is our lawyer colleague who is specialized in public law issues who specifically counsels and represents both individuals and also municipalities and communities on the basis of our long years of experience which we have with authorities and administrative courts, especially in Bavaria.