Condominium Lawyer (shared expenses, parking, repairs, building management, heating autonomy, regulation breaches and unauthorised works, etc.)

Q: What disputes typically arise between condominium co-owners?

The most frequent disputes concern the use of common areas, the allocation of shared expenses, heating autonomy and natural gas connection, illegal parking spaces, changes of use of floors, urban planning irregularities and the occupation of common parts. Neighbour law issues also arise, such as nuisance from noise, odours, dampness or damage between apartments.

Q: How does the building manager collect outstanding shared expenses?

After an extra-judicial notice, an application for a payment order is filed before the Single-Member Court of First Instance, based on the shared expense schedules. If no opposition is filed within 15 working days, the order becomes enforceable and attachment of the apartment or bank accounts follows.

Q: How long does it take to resolve a condominium dispute?

A payment order is issued in 1-3 months. Interim measures are heard in 2-6 months with the possibility of a same-day temporary restraining order. An ordinary lawsuit takes 1.5 to 3 years at first instance.

Q: What documents do I need for legal action?

Title deed, deed establishing horizontal property, Regulation with thousandths, minutes of general assemblies, decision electing the building manager, monthly shared expense schedules, expense vouchers, proof of notice and, for breaches, photographs, videos and engineer's technical reports.

Q: What is the role of the lawyer in condominium cases?

The lawyer reviews the lawfulness of the Regulation and decisions, handles out-of-court communication and settlements, and represents the client in payment orders, interim measures and lawsuits. In complex cases, the lawyer cooperates with engineers for substantiated expert reports.

Our law firm has successfully handled compensation cases for owners of horizontal property (condominium apartment buildings) for damage caused to their apartments by other units or by common areas of the building, and continues to handle, with particular frequency, cases concerning common areas in horizontal property (condominium), determination of shared expenses, building management matters, parking spaces, and most recently — and now with particular specialisation — matters relating to natural gas connections and heating autonomy in horizontal property units within apartment buildings, cases for the recovery of debts arising from shared expenses, and other disputes among co-owners. A further distinct category of cases that the firm handles, in cooperation with specialised engineers, concerns the addressing of urban planning irregularities or breaches of the Condominium Regulation (change of use of horizontal property units, urban planning irregularities, illegal parking spaces, occupation of common areas, etc.).

What does Horizontal Property mean and what disputes arise from it?

The concept of horizontal property covers cases concerning the relationships between owners of apartments or floors, in horizontal or vertical property arrangements. That is, where separate ownership is established over those units and, as a corollary, mandatory co-ownership in proportional shares of the parts of the entire building serving the common use of all. The rights and obligations of these co-owners frequently clash or are violated, leading initially to tensions and disputes which may eventually culminate in years-long and possibly exhausting court litigation. The issues that often arise — and that our firm has dealt with — concern, by way of example, disagreements over the manner of use of the common areas of a property, their possible exploitation, the costs or methods of their maintenance, their use either on a rotation basis or jointly, the installation of mechanisms or equipment (e.g. lifts, boiler rooms, natural gas) and so on. Issues regarding the common rooftop terrace, free access to it, solar water heaters or antennae, etc. Issues concerning the pilotis (ground-floor parking level) of the building, its use, parking spaces or gardens. Also, issues regarding the external appearance of the building, its colour, awnings, signs or illuminated signs, etc. Issues regarding damage caused to these common parts of a property, measures for addressing such damage or protecting against future damage, issues of dysfunction and inability to take decisions, the absence or impossibility of electing a building manager, the imposition of measures by court ruling, the drafting of a Co-owners’ Relations Regulation by the majority through a court ruling, etc.

What is Neighbour Law and what disputes does it deal with?

Neighbour Law covers disputes that arise between owners of neighbouring properties and, in practice, concerns lawful restrictions imposed by provisions of private or public law against the owner of a property, partially limiting his powers over it. Typical and common cases, many of which our firm has handled, are disturbances from emissions (e.g. vibrations or noise from the operation of machinery, noise from regular gatherings of people, emissions of heat, gases, smoke, strong and unpleasant odours, electrical or magnetic energy or waves, etc.), harmful installations, danger of collapse of a building, excavation near a neighbour’s foundations, partial reconstruction on a neighbouring property, obligation to provide right of way, tolerance of repairs, boundary marking and regulation of boundaries, obligations relating to the flow of water, passage of pipes through another’s property, etc.

How does the Building Manager handle overdue Shared Expense debts?

In recent years there has been a significant increase in cases concerning the delay or refusal by owners to pay the corresponding amounts of shared expenses for their apartments, offices or shops located in apartment buildings, commercial centres or residential or commercial complexes.

Our firm has repeatedly dealt with cases concerning shared expense debts, as well as any kind of dispute or disagreement between the building manager and one or more of the owners. Our clients are, on the one hand, condominiums and their respective managers, and on the other, owners of apartments, offices, parking spaces or shops.

We are therefore very familiar, on the one hand, from the BUILDING MANAGEMENT side, with the prerequisites and methods for claiming amounts owed to the building management for shared expenses, acting promptly and discreetly, with information given to and consultation with the debtor, initially attempting every possible out-of-court agreement or settlement and, where this proves impossible, proceeding with the necessary legal actions and judicial recovery of the amounts owed. On the other hand, when representing, as our client, an OWNER of an apartment or shop, we communicate to the building management, in every possible way, our complaints, challenges and objections, on the basis of the law, the deed establishing the horizontal properties of the building and the Regulation, contesting arbitrary or even unlawful charges against him and against his property, and representing him, where necessary, in any related court dispute with the building management.

See also article Condominium – Disputes Among Co-owners
See also article Condominium Without Regulation
See also article Tenant Eviction
See also article Professional – Commercial Lease
See also article Property Purchase
See also article Property Sale

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT A CONDOMINIUM LAWYER

1. What disputes typically arise between condominium co-owners?

The most frequent disputes concern the use of common areas (pilotis, rooftop terrace, uncovered area), the allocation of shared expenses, heating autonomy and natural gas connection, illegal parking spaces, changes of use of floors (e.g. conversion to short-term rental), urban planning irregularities and the occupation of common parts.

In parallel, neighbour law issues arise, such as nuisance from noise, odours, dampness or damage caused from one apartment to another. When disputes are not resolved by consensual means, recourse to legal proceedings becomes necessary in order to protect the horizontal property.

2. What can I do if a co-owner is breaching the Regulation?

The aggrieved owner may file a lawsuit seeking cessation of the infringement and restoration to the previous state of affairs, as well as damages for harm or moral damages. In urgent cases (e.g. severe nuisance, encroachment on common areas, illegal construction), an application for interim measures is filed for immediate provisional protection.

Where the matter concerns urban planning irregularity, parallel to the judicial route a complaint is submitted to the competent Urban Planning Authority. If the Regulation is breached by a change of use (e.g. residential to office or shop), the courts have repeatedly ordered the cessation of the prohibited use.

3. How does the building manager collect outstanding shared expenses?

Before resorting to court, the building manager sends an extra-judicial notice and seeks settlement. If the debtor continues to refuse, an application for a payment order is filed before the Single-Member Court of First Instance, based on the duly approved shared expense schedules and the relevant decision of the general assembly.

The payment order is served on the debtor and, if no opposition is filed within 15 working days, it becomes final and enforceable. Attachment of the apartment or of bank accounts follows. In disputed cases (e.g. incorrect proportional allocation), an ordinary lawsuit is preferred.

4. How long does it take to resolve a condominium dispute?

A payment order for shared expenses is usually issued within 1-3 months from the filing of the application. Interim measures for urgent breaches of the Regulation are heard within 2-6 months, with the possibility of a temporary restraining order on the same day. An ordinary lawsuit on the merits typically takes 1.5 to 3 years at first instance.

In cases of urban planning irregularities, the administrative procedure runs in parallel with the civil one and may yield faster results through the finding of an infringement and the imposition of a fine or demolition order.

5. What documents do I need for legal action?

Essential documents are the title deed of the apartment, the deed establishing horizontal property and the Condominium Regulation including the participation thousandths, the minutes of general assemblies and the decision electing the building manager. For shared expense debts, monthly schedules, expense vouchers and proof of notice to the debtor are required.

For breaches and unauthorised works, photographs, videos, engineer’s certificates, expert reports and any witness statements from other residents are useful. In matters of damage, detailed restoration invoices and a technical report on the cause of the damage are required.

6. What is the role of the lawyer in condominium cases?

Our firm reviews the lawfulness of the Regulation and of the general assembly’s decisions, handles out-of-court communication with the opposing parties or the building management and pursues conciliatory solutions before litigation. When settlement is not feasible, we represent the client in payment orders, interim measures, lawsuits and oppositions.

In complex cases (urban planning irregularities, changes of use, heating autonomy, damage from leaks) we cooperate with experienced engineers for substantiated expert reports. Our objective is the effective protection of the property and the restoration of the proper functioning of the condominium at the lowest possible cost.