One of the legal obligations of co-owners is the election of a co-owners representative in accordance with the Law on the Management and Maintenance of Buildings.
According to Article 42, Paragraph 7 of the Law, co-owners of a building without an elected representative are required to elect one within 60 days of receiving a written notice from the building manager.
If this obligation is not fulfilled, pursuant to Article 42, Paragraph 8, the manager will appoint a compulsory representative. The costs for this service, based on the valid price list, will be charged from the building’s reserve fund, which means an additional expense for the co-owners.
Why is it important for co-owners to elect their own representative?
- Avoids additional costs for a compulsory representative.
- The elected representative is a person known and accepted by the co-owners.
- The representative represents the interests of all co-owners and communicates with the manager on their behalf.
- The manager does not have the discretionary right to appoint anyone – the choice lies exclusively with the co-owners.
Responsibility and protection of the representative
The representative does not bear personal liability in terms of financial penalties, provided they perform their duties conscientiously and in accordance with the law.
According to Article 44 of the Law, in cases of gross neglect of duties, co-owners may decide that the representative must return up to 12 monthly compensations they had received.
Recommendation for larger buildings
For buildings with a greater number of co-owners, it is recommended to establish a Co-Owners’ Council (Article 45, Paragraph 4), which:
- provides support to the representative,
- participates in decision-making,
- facilitates the collection of necessary consents,
- accelerates building management procedures.
