Condominium Law and Proceedings under the Condominium Ownership Management Act

In case you own an apartment in a building or occupy one and have a legal case or questions regarding your rights and obligations towards your neighbours, you need a lawyer dealing with condominium ownership cases.
In law, condominium ownership represents exclusive ownership of an individual unit in a building and the corresponding co-ownership of the common parts of the building. Condominium ownership is a special modification of the right of ownership over a building. The public relations connected with the management of the common parts of buildings under condominium ownership, as well as the rights and obligations of the owners, users and occupants of individual units or parts thereof, are regulated by the Condominium Ownership Management Act /COMA/. According to COMA, the expenses connected with the maintenance and use of the common parts are borne by all owners depending on the share of each owner in the common parts.
Decisions regarding the management and use of the common parts, as well as the internal rules in the building, are adopted at a general meeting of the owners.
A more specific management regime for buildings under condominium ownership exists for buildings constructed in gated residential complexes – the relations are regulated by a written agreement with notarised signatures. The agreement is registered with the Registry Agency under the record of each individual unit.
Which parts are common parts:
The common parts are those parts which are essential to the building and without which it cannot exist. Example: the land on which it is built, the external walls, columns, beams, stairs, landings, the roof, the external entrance door of the building, the lift, the ground floor /if any/, the courtyard around the building, etc. The notarial deed of each owner states the percentage of the ideal parts of the building owned by that person. The ideal share of the common parts belonging to each owner is calculated during the construction of the building. Subsequently, in the event of additional construction, this may affect the size of the common parts of each individual unit. The common parts owned by each owner of a separate premises in a building are an indicator of the expenses for maintenance and improvements following a decision adopted by the General Meeting of the owners.
Specific features of the common parts in a building:
The ideal shares of the common parts cannot be transferred independently.
The common parts cannot be acquired by prescription – regardless of how long a co-owner has stored items in the corridor or the common basement.
Here are some of the most commonly discussed obligations of owners in a building under condominium ownership:
○ to use the common parts in accordance with the procedure provided for in the internal rules.
○ each owner is obliged not to prevent the other owners from using the common parts of the building;
○ each owner is obliged not to take possession of the common parts.
○ to pay the expenses for the management and maintenance of the common parts, as well as the repair expenses in accordance with the common parts owned by them.
○ not to carry out activities in the common parts of the building which impair its integrity and architectural appearance, fire safety, etc.
In connection with the complex relations between owners in buildings under condominium ownership, our law firm deals with:
○ Consultations and representation before the court regarding the rights and obligations of the owners.
○ Protection before the court against unlawful actions of individual owners.
○ Protection of a co-owner against unlawful decisions of the General Meeting, election of a manager, management board and controller, protection against actions of the manager of a building under the COMA regime.
○ Judicial contesting of decisions of the General Meeting.
○ Representation before the court in relation to claims for compensation for damage caused by a co-owner.
○ Consultation and complete preparation for convening a General Meeting of the owners.
○ Registration of condominium ownership in accordance with COMA.
○ Claim against co-owners in the event of improvements to the property.
○ Consultations regarding the preparation and completion of the condominium ownership register and the decisions of the governing bodies.
○ Consultations and representation before the court regarding the cancellation of a decision of the General Meeting of the condominium ownership for the removal of an owner from the property.