Haus & Grund

What Haus & Grund does

Haus & Grund Essen GmbH is a privately held German property services firm headquartered at Huyssenallee 50, Essen, operating as the commercial subsidiary of the Haus-, Wohnungs- und Grundeigentümerverein Essen e.V. property-owners association (association roots dating to 1879; the GmbH traced to 1950). The company delivers a bundled offering for private landlords, property owners, and apartment-owner communities (WEG): residential and commercial property management, WEG administration, facility and repair services, and accounting for operating and heating costs. It also operates a real estate brokerage for buying and selling residential and commercial property in the Ruhr area.

Product and technology assets span digital and physical channels. The firm runs an e-commerce storefront selling legally vetted rental-contract templates (online via www.hugform-essen.de with online archive, free updates, and email support; in printed form as 'Gelbe Mietverträge' at €8.95–€13.95 per contract for members and non-members respectively), along with supporting forms (handover protocol, acceptance protocol, payment-default termination notice). It publishes the monthly magazine 'Haus & Grund – Das Hauseigentümer-Magazin im Ruhrgebiet' (in its 104th year, IVW-certified print run of 27,452), and participates in the nationwide Haus & Grund Medien advertising network (21 titles, 588,017 combined circulation). Property listings are additionally distributed through Immobilienscout24.

The revenue model is a hybrid of (i) recurring managed-service fees for property/WEG/facility management, (ii) transaction commissions on brokerage, (iii) recurring membership subscriptions that bundle legal advice and the monthly magazine, (iv) one-time/perpetual-license fees for printed and online rental contracts and forms (with member discounts), and (v) magazine advertising revenue via Haus & Grund Medien. GTM is primarily direct to private landlords through the Essen office, supplemented by online e-commerce for forms, marketplace listings on Immobilienscout24, and content marketing via the magazine and press releases. The firm employs 11–50 staff and is governed by Managing Director Christian Eissing, Prokuristin Mariola Dziambor, and a supervisory board chaired by Volker Behr.

Name

Haus & Grund

Legal name

Haus & Grund Essen GmbH

Website

https://hug-essen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1950

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Haus & Grund Essen GmbH is a German property services firm serving private landlords and apartment-owner communities (WEGs) with property management, WEG administration, real estate brokerage, legally vetted rental contracts, and a monthly property-owner magazine in the Ruhr area.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Property Management Services

NAICS

Real Estate Property Managers (53131), Residential Property Managers (531311)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

HOA / Condominium Association Management (BPAJAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Homeowners Association (HOA) Management (BPAJAHAB)

Keywords

• Property management services
• Real estate brokerage
• WEG administration
• Rental contract templates
• Property owner association

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Property Management Services: Property management fees from managing residential and commercial properties, including rental management, WEG administration, and facility management
2. Real Estate Brokerage: Commission from buying and selling residential and commercial properties, including houses, apartments, and commercial spaces
3. Online Rental Contract Sales: Digital rental contract products sold through online platform with tiered pricing for members vs non-members
4. Print Products and Publications: Sale of rental forms, apartment handover protocols, termination notices, brochures, and the monthly Haus & Grund magazine
5. Membership Fees: Membership subscriptions for the Haus-, Wohnungs- und Grundeigentümerverein providing legal advice and member benefits
6. Magazine Advertising Revenue: Advertising sales in the monthly Haus & Grund magazine, which is part of Haus & Grund Medien advertising network with 588,017 total circulation

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Haus & Grund Essen GmbH delivers professional property management, WEG (condominium owners' association) administration, and real estate brokerage for residential and commercial property owners in the Essen and Ruhrgebiet area. It also sells legally vetted rental contract templates (the well-known 'Gelbe Mietverträge'), property handover/acceptance protocols, and termination forms online and in print, and publishes the monthly Haus & Grund magazine for property owners.

Product overview

Haus & Grund Essen GmbH operates as a diversified real estate services company offering both digital and physical products, as well as professional services. Its core digital products are the Online-Mietverträge (online rental contracts) accessible via www.hugform-essen.de and the well-known 'Gelbe Mietverträge' (Yellow Rental Contracts) in printed form. Supporting document products include the Wohnungsübergabeprotokoll (property handover protocol), Wohnungsabnahmeprotokoll (property acceptance report), and Kündigung wegen Zahlungsverzug (termination notice for payment default). The company publishes the monthly Haus & Grund - Das Hauseigentümer-Magazin im Ruhrgebiet (now in its 104th year), which is also distributed through the Haus & Grund Medien advertising network. Professional services include Hausverwaltung & Immobilien (property management and real estate brokerage). Expert literature is offered through the partnered Literature-Shop operated by Haus & Grund Deutschland Verlag und Service GmbH. Together these products form an integrated ecosystem serving home and property owners in Germany.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Haus & Grund Mietverträge: Online rental contract platform for members and non-members offering legally reviewed rental agreements
• Haus & Grund - Das Hauseigentümer-Magazin im Ruhrgebiet
• Haus & Grund Medien

Products and services

• Hausverwaltung & Immobilien (Property Management) Professional property and residential management services including rental-property administration, WEG (condominium owners' community) management, facility management, technical service dispatch and operating-cost accounting, operated by Haus & Grund Essen GmbH for private landlords, homeowners and apartment-owner communities in the Ruhr area.
• Immobilienvermittlung (Real Estate Brokerage) Real estate brokerage services for buying, selling, and valuing residential houses, apartments, and commercial buildings, supported by property listings distributed through the Haus & Grund network and the Immobilienscout24 portal.
• Online-Mietverträge (Online Rental Contracts) Digital rental contract templates available through the www.hugform-essen.de portal for non-price-controlled housing, commercial spaces, and garages/parking spaces. Includes online archive, email technical support, free updates, and no print limits, sold at €11.95 (residential) / €13.95 (commercial) for non-members and €8.95 / €11.95 for members.
• Mietvertrag für freifinanzierten Wohnraum (Printed Rental Contract) Printed rental contract form for freely financed residential space, professionally reviewed and part of the 'Gelbe Mietverträge' (Yellow Rental Contracts) product line, sold at €11.95 per copy.
• Wohnungsübergabeprotokoll (Property Handover Protocol) Standalone property handover protocol form to document the condition of a dwelling when it is transferred to a tenant, sold separately by Haus & Grund at €3.95 per copy.
• Wohnungsabnahmeprotokoll (Property Acceptance Protocol) Standalone 8-page property acceptance protocol form to document the condition of a dwelling upon termination of a tenancy, sold separately by Haus & Grund at €3.95 per copy.
• Kündigung wegen Zahlungsverzug (Termination Notice for Payment Default) Standalone landlord termination notice template due to tenant payment default, addressing tenant insolvency and overdue payments, sold by Haus & Grund as part of its legal-forms offering.
• Haus & Grund – Das Hauseigentümer-Magazin im Ruhrgebiet Monthly magazine published continuously since 1922 (now in its 104th year, originally titled 'Westdeutscher Türmer' until December 1999) covering housing policy, finances, law, taxes, renovation and property services, with IVW-certified circulation of 27,452 copies, distributed as part of the Haus & Grund Medien advertising network (~588,017 copies total).

Quantifiable outcome

• Court-recognized standing in property management since 1990
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sparkasse EssenminorOthersLocal banking partner with referral relationship. Logo displayed on Haus & Grund website under partners section.
• HuG Baubetreuung GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConstruction management company within the Haus & Grund organization, providing coordinated services for property owners needing construction or renovation management
• Geno Bank EssenminorOthersLocal cooperative bank partner. Logo displayed on Haus & Grund website under partners section.
• VGHB (Verein zur Förderung der Haus- und Grundbesitzer)minorOthersAssociation partner supporting property owner interests. Logo displayed on website.
• Haus & Grund MediencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOverregional advertising and publication network comprising 21 specialized publications of the Haus & Grund organization with combined circulation of 588,017 copies and 1.236 million readers. Haus & Grund Essen magazine is a member publication.
• Immobilienscout24coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGermany's leading real estate portal through which Haus & Grund distributes property listings for apartments, commercial spaces, and garages
• Institut der deutschen Wirtschaft KölnminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch institute commissioned by Haus & Grund to create annual Müllgebührenranking (waste fee ranking) comparing municipal fees across 100 German cities
• Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner that scientifically analyzed and evaluated data from Haus & Grund's 2026 landlord survey (Vermieterbefragung 2026)

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• LEG Immobilien SE: North Rhine-Westphalia-headquartered residential landlord with ~166k apartments, the same federal state as Haus & Grund Essen. Directly comparable in serving the NRW private-rental administration market and shapes WEG/multi-family administration practices and pricing across the Ruhr area.
• Engel & Völkers AG: Germany-headquartered global real-estate brokerage and property-services franchise, providing real-estate brokerage alongside some property management. Competes with Haus & Grund Essen's brokerage arm (Immobilienvermittlung) for sellers and buyers in the German residential and commercial market, though its brand is more brokerage-led.
• Vonovia SE: Germany's largest residential landlord, owning and managing roughly half a million apartments. While vertically integrated and not a direct rival for small landlords, Vonovia sets pricing and service benchmarks in the German residential property-management market in which Haus & Grund Essen operates.
• TAG Immobilien AG: German listed residential landlord with a portfolio concentrated in NRW and eastern Germany, providing in-house WEG and rental management for tens of thousands of units. Operates in the same regional and functional WEG/property-management space as Haus & Grund Essen, though serving owners at greater scale and a different customer segment.
• Deutsche Wohnen SE: Major German residential landlord and property manager, now part of Vonovia group, focused on urban rental housing administration at scale. Comparable in business model (property management fees + tenancy services) to the WEG/rental administration done by Haus & Grund Essen, but at a vastly larger portfolio level.
• Apleona Group: Apleona is one of Germany's largest facility and real-estate management companies, providing residential and commercial property management at national scale. It competes with Haus & Grund Essen for outsourced management mandates from landlords and is several orders of magnitude larger, but both serve the same German private-rental administration market with similar fee-based service models.

Emerging players

• Homeday GmbH: Berlin-based PropTech offering digital brokerage and adjacent services for sellers, buyers, and landlords in Germany. Comparable to Haus & Grund Essen in addressing German private real-estate owners with a more tech-led service catalog and a similar focus on simplifying the ownership and rental experience.
• McMakler GmbH: Berlin-based PropTech real-estate brokerage active in the German market with digital tools for buying, selling, and property valuation. Comparable to Haus & Grund Essen in serving the same private seller/buyer segment, but via a tech-led, venture-funded model rather than a traditional association office.

Others

• Immobilienscout24 (Scout24 SE): Germany's largest real-estate portal, listed as a channel partner for Haus & Grund Essen's listing distribution. Functions less as a direct competitor and more as infrastructure for brokerage listings; relevant as the platform on which Haus & Grund Essen's rental and sale inventory competes for visibility.
• Haus & Grund Deutschland e.V. The national umbrella association of which Haus & Grund Essen is a member, providing legal templates, political advocacy, and the nationwide publication network. It is not a direct competitor but is the operating ecosystem of which the subject firm is a regional chapter, with overlapping legal-forms/IP and shared brand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Haus & Grund