Community or association of owners
1. Does your national law envisage that the owners of the apartments are organised in any type of association or community to take decisions about common interests in the building or block which their apartments belong to?
According to Apartment Associations Act apartment owners may establish an apartment association which is a non-profit association for the purpose of shared management of the legal shares of the buildings and plot of land which are part of the object of apartment ownership and representation of the shared interests of the members of the apartment association.
Apartment association is founded on the basis of a majority resolution of the apartment owners of an immovable divided into apartment ownerships if the greater part of the building and plot of land belongs to that majority through the legal shares of the object of apartment ownership. Memorandum of association is not needed.
If an apartment association is not established, apartment owners make decisions on the basis of majority of the votes. Apartment owners may also appoint an administrator. An administrator is entitled and required to:
- Implement the decisions of the apartment owners and monitor compliance with the internal rules;
- Apply measures necessary for the regular administration and maintenance, including repair, of the object of common ownership;
- Apply, with good reason, other measures necessary for preservation of the object of common ownership;
- Administer the shared financial resources of the apartment owners;
- Enable the house council to monitor the activities of the administrator and submit necessary information and documents to the house council for inspection.
In the name of all the apartment owners, an administrator has the right to:
- Collect and satisfy claims and perform transactions concerning the common interests arising from shared ownership of the apartment owners within the limits of his or her authority;
- Organise and accept legal acts relating to the regular administration of the object of common ownership;
- Receive applications and notices submitted to the apartment owners with regard to the object of common ownership;
- Apply measures necessary for adherence to time limits or other prevention of material damage;
- Submit claims in court and extra-judicially within the limits of the authority granted by a decision of the apartment owners.
2. In this case, does Law this association have a legal personality?
Apartment association is a legal person.
3. Otherwise, are these matters dealt with under the ordinary regime for co-ownership, or are there special features in these cases?
Apartment Ownership Act gives main principles, but provisions of the Law of Property Act concerning immovable property ownership apply to apartment ownership in issues not regulated by that Act.
