Managing your co-ownership: rights and duties in your apartment building

In a co-ownership, it is important that all obligations and agreements between the co-owners are set down on paper. We summarise the rights and duties under the co-ownership regulations in the following points:

1. Essential documents: deed of division, articles of the association and house rules
2. Private parts and changes to the common parts
3. Decision-making within your association of co-owners (VME)
4. Professional vs volunteer syndic
5. Tenants and compliance with the regulations
6. Insurance

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Essential documents: deed of division, articles of the association and house rules#

To formalise clear agreements, there are three essential documents: the deed of division (basic deed) (opens in a new tab), the co-ownership regulations (together: the articles of the association) and the house rules (opens in a new tab). The co-ownership regulations are part of the articles of the association of an apartment building or a business centre (for offices) and are drawn up by the notary together with the deed of division. They set out the main ground rules for the co-owners, both in their relations with each other and in their relationship with the association of co-owners (VME).

Private parts and changes to the common parts#

Co-owners have the right to use their private parts as they wish, but with certain restrictions to keep the building uniform. Changes that affect the common parts or the appearance of the building, such as putting a storage unit on a terrace, usually require the approval of the general meeting. The co-ownership regulations normally also contain clear provisions on how the private parts may be used. For example, they may state that the private parts may only be used as homes. In that case, using one as an office or a shop will not be possible unless the articles are amended. Note that in such cases a planning change of use may also be required.

Decision-making within your association of co-owners (VME)#

A general meeting takes place every year. It is organised by the (non-professional) syndic. Owners can add items to the agenda before the meeting. A management platform such as Synt helps you with this by adding the required agenda items and letting you vote through a mobile app. At the end of the meeting, the decisions are automatically structured into a PDF report.

Professional vs volunteer syndic#

A syndic makes sure the regulations are complied with. For a volunteer syndic, there are tools such as the management platform Synt to automate this. A co-owner can be appointed as the volunteer syndic. So there is no need to appoint an outside person or organisation as a professional syndic. This decision is taken at the annual meeting as one of the statutory agenda items.

Tenants and compliance with the regulations#

The regulations also state how the common charges are shared among the co-owners and give guidelines for using the common parts. Tenants must also comply with these regulations, and it is important to inform them about this in advance and, if need be, to attach them to the lease. If tenants do not keep to the agreements, the other co-owners will hold you to account.

Insurance#

You can find a dedicated article on fire insurance in the post Best fire insurance in 2025. Something (unexpected) can always go wrong, such as a water leak caused by limited maintenance. It is important that a non-professional syndic is covered by a specialised policy for managing a co-ownership.