In a general sense, co-ownership defines the situation where several people own the same property, regardless of the applicable system.
There are several ways of organising co-ownership in the general sense:
- joint ownership: (articles 815 to 815-18 of the Civil Code) ownership is divided between several people who have a right of the same nature in the property. For example: cohabitees buying a flat with 60% for the Miss and 40% for the Man.
These are abstract rights, as it is not possible to identify on the flat where the 40% owned by one person and the 60% owned by the other are located.
- shared ownership: (articles 653 et seq. of the Civil Code) this is a legal system that organises the rights and obligations of two owners of a building with a shared wall. Each is the owner of the entire wall (and not the exclusive owner of half the wall).
- The co-ownership system governed by Law 65-557 of 10 July 1965 concerns property developments divided into lots.
THE CO-OWNERSHIP SYSTEM
The co-ownership system is governed by law 65-557 of 10 July 1965, as amended by law 2000-1208 of 13 December 2000 on solidarity and urban renewal, law 2005-32 of 18 January 2005 on social cohesion and law 2006-872 of 13 July 2006 on the national commitment to housing, known as the "ENL law".
This is a specific statute that must be applied to all built properties where ownership is divided into lots, each comprising a private portion and a share of the common portions.
DEFINITION OF A CO-OWNERSHIP LOT
In co-ownership in the strict sense, each co-owner is the owner of a lot comprising :
- a private part: part of the building belonging exclusively to a specific co-owner. This may be a flat, garage, cellar, etc.
The following are generally considered to be private areas
* the interior of flats or commercial premises (in particular windows, shutters, balustrades, balcony sills, etc.)
* floor coverings (parquet, tiles, etc.)
* interior partitions not included in the structural work
etc.
- a fraction of a common area: part of the building or land used by all (or some) of the co-owners.
The following are deemed to be common areas (article 3 of law 65-557 of 10 July 1965):
"the ground, courtyards, parks and gardens, access roads, etc;
- the shell of the buildings, common equipment, including parts of related pipes that run through private premises ;
- casings, ducts and chimney heads;
- common service areas;
- passageways and corridors.
The following are deemed to be accessory rights to the common areas, where the titles are silent or contradictory
- the right to raise a building used for common purposes or comprising several premises which constitute different private portions, or to scour the ground ;
- the right to erect new buildings in courtyards, parks or gardens constituting common portions;
- the right to scour such courtyards, parks or gardens;
- the right to share common areas".
These common areas belong to each co-owner in undivided ownership: each co-owner is the owner of a co-ownership unit (tantième de copropriété) set out in the descriptive statement of division. A co-owner may not appropriate a common area without the authorisation of the co-ownership as a whole.
However, a co-owner may have private use of a common area.
For example: a roof terrace or a plot of land adjoining a flat on the ground floor.
This area will remain a common area, but only one of the co-owners will be able to use it. This private use is an accessory to the lot, so if the co-owner sells his lot, the purchaser will also benefit from this private use.