In addition to the obligation to respect the co-ownership regulations, the purpose of the building and the equal rights of the other co-owners, the main obligation of co-owners is to contribute to the payment of the building's service charges.
There are two categories of expenses:
* charges for communal services and equipment. This category includes charges for the lift, collective heating, collective hot water, intercoms, etc. These charges are apportioned on the basis of the usefulness of these services to each lot, regardless of whether the owner actually uses them. For example, owners of ground-floor flats will not have to pay for lift-related charges.
* charges relating to the conservation, maintenance and administration of communal areas. This category includes expenses relating to co-ownership insurance, management fees, caretaker services, etc. These expenses are shared between all co-owners according to the relative value of each unit. (In many cases, this distribution corresponds to the tantièmes of the common areas).
However, it is possible to set special charges for certain co-owners only. This is the case, for example, with maintenance charges for a service road reserved for only a few co-owners.
Amicable modification of the apportionment of co-ownership charges
Once fixed, the apportionment of charges may only be changed by unanimous agreement of the co-owners, with the exception of a change resulting from :
* work or actions approved by the general meeting of co-owners, which necessitate a change in charges. The majority required for the new distribution of charges will be the same as for the decision to carry out the work in question.
* division of a lot: in the absence of a clause in the co-ownership regulations providing for the apportionment of charges in the event of division, this apportionment is carried out by the owner dividing his lot and is subject to approval by the general meeting of co-owners.
*a change of use of a private area: if this change results in an increase in charges, the apportionment of charges may only be voted by an absolute majority of votes (for example: converting a residential unit into a doctor's surgery results in an increase in lift charges).
* the creation of a secondary syndicate: the allocation of charges is decided by an absolute majority of votes of all the co-owners.
Judicial modification of the apportionment of co-ownership expenses
A co-owner who feels aggrieved by the apportionment of expenses may request a change in the apportionment of expenses in two situations:
- within five years of publication of the co-ownership regulations, any co-owner may apply to the courts for a review of the apportionment of charges if his share exceeds that which it should be by more than 25%, or if another co-owner has a share of charges that is more than 25% lower than that which it should be. The same action is available to the co-owner of a lot before the expiry of a period of two years from the first transfer for valuable consideration of that lot since the publication of the co-ownership regulations.
- if the distribution is made without respecting the legal rules described above (according to the usefulness of the communal services and maintenance equipment and according to the value of the private portion for charges relating to the conservation, maintenance and administration of the communal portions), the co-owners have an action for nullity that is not subject to any statute of limitations. This will be the case, for example, if the lift charges have been divided equally between each lot.
