Co-ownership insurance: checking the building’s policy and filing a claim
A stain is spreading across the top-floor ceiling and the water is coming from the roof. The question is which policy applies, the building’s or the apartment’s, and who has to file the claim.
Contents of this page
- Open the articles of co-ownershipLook in the co-ownership regulations for the clause requiring the building to be insured and the level of cover to be maintained.
- Ask for the specific conditionsAsk the syndic for the building’s full policy, not just the insurance certificate.
- Read the list of coversSpot what is included by default, what was added as an extension and what is missing.
- Check the sum insuredMake sure the building amount follows the ABEX index and reflects the most recently approved works.
- Top up on the private sideInsure your contents and your liability, which the building’s policy almost never covers.
- Put the policy on the agendaHave its review added to the next ordinary meeting rather than waiting for the next damage.
A brown stain is spreading across the top-floor ceiling, and the water is coming from the roof. The co-owner below talks about water damage, the property manager (syndic) talks about a roof covering that needs redoing, and the question that decides everything comes last: which co-ownership insurance applies, the building’s or the apartment’s? In many buildings, nobody has reread the policy since it was taken out.
This situation is far easier to settle before the damage than after. The starting point: in a Belgian co-ownership, insuring the building almost never rests on a legal obligation, but on the articles of co-ownership and a decision of the meeting. You might as well know what that decision produced, and where it stops.
Does the building have to be insured?
Not under the Civil Code. The articles on compulsory co-ownership of buildings require only one insurance, and it is not the building’s.
“to take out liability insurance covering the performance of his duties and to provide proof of that insurance; in the case of an unpaid mandate, that insurance is taken out at the expense of the owners’ association;”Art. 3.89, § 5, 8°, Civil Code
This sentence deserves a second reading when the syndic is a co-owner doing everyone a favour. The fact that the mandate is unpaid does not remove the obligation: it shifts the cost to the owners’ association (VME/ACP) (Civil Code, Book 3, Justel). The details of this cover, its scope and its price are dealt with in liability insurance for the volunteer syndic.
For the building, the obligation comes from elsewhere. At federal level, fire insurance is recommended but not imposed on owners; it becomes compulsory by contract, most often at the request of a mortgage lender, or through a regional rule aimed at tenants. In a co-ownership, the first thing to open is therefore the co-ownership regulations: the clause is almost always there, and it sometimes goes as far as setting the level of cover to be maintained.
The general meeting usually decides not to let everyone insure themselves separately and instructs the syndic to take out a single policy on behalf of all co-owners. This is what the market calls a global policy. It can cover the common parts and the private parts, which explains the frequent confusion about its real scope.
A building’s policy covers more than fire
Unless otherwise agreed, fire insurance covers damage caused by fire, lightning, explosion, implosion, the fall or impact of an aircraft, and impact by any other vehicle or by an animal (Art. 115 of the Act of 4 April 2014 on insurance). Three covers are added automatically as soon as the policy covers ‘simple risks’, the category that ordinary residential buildings fall into: damage resulting from a terrorist attack or industrial dispute, from a storm, and from a natural disaster (Art. 123 of the same Act). For a very large complex, the category question is a real one and should be checked with the insurer, because the answer changes the covers you get without negotiation.
| Status of the cover | Perils and costs concerned |
|---|---|
| Included unless otherwise agreed | Fire, lightning, explosion, implosion, fall or impact of an aircraft, impact by another vehicle or an animal |
| Compulsory for simple risks | Terrorist attack or industrial dispute, storm, natural disaster: flooding, overflow or backflow of public sewers, earthquake, landslide |
| Common extension, to be confirmed with the policy in hand | Water damage from burst pipes, overflowing gutters or leaks through the roof, frost, electrical damage, smoke and soot, glass breakage, damage to the building after burglary or vandalism |
| Costs covered on top of the indemnity | Salvage, demolition and removal of debris, preservation of contents, rehousing, expert fees, loss of use of the property, third-party claims |
| Optional | Theft and vandalism, indirect losses |
Source: FPS Economy, fire and natural disaster insurance.
Two rows of this table deserve the attention of a general meeting. Water damage is an extension, very widespread but never automatic, and its contractual definition decides everything: a policy can cover a burst pipe and exclude a leak through the roof, even though both look like the same damage to whoever lives below. Loss of use, next, compensates for being deprived of a home when it becomes uninhabitable during rebuilding. One exception is worth knowing for risk zones: the insurer can refuse cover against flooding and against backflow of public sewers for a building constructed more than eighteen months after publication of the royal decree that classified the zone.
Who insures what, between the building and your apartment?
The building’s policy almost always stops at the structure. The contents of the apartments and outbuildings, furniture, appliances, bicycles and personal belongings, are generally not covered. Each co-owner therefore keeps a policy in their own name, if only for their contents and their liability.
A co-owner who lets their apartment has an extra check to make, and it depends on the Region. In Flanders, the Flemish Housing Rental Decree applies to residential leases concluded from 1 January 2019: the tenant is liable for fire and water damage unless they prove the fire started through no fault of theirs, and must insure that liability; the landlord is also required to insure their liability for fire and water damage (Art. 29, Flemish Housing Rental Decree). In the Brussels-Capital Region, the obligation to take out home insurance falls on the tenant for leases concluded or renewed since 1 November 2024, and the parties can agree that the tenant is exempted and that the landlord instead includes a waiver of recourse clause in their own policy. These rules do not concern the association, but they prevent damage that starts in a let apartment from going uninsured.
The premium is a common charge, the policy is voted on
The premium for the building’s policy is an expense of the association, shared between the units like the other common chargesGlossaryCosts relating to the common parts and the running of the co-ownership, such as maintenance, repairs, insurance or syndic fees. They are divided between the units according to the criteria set in the co-ownership regulations. See the glossary, according to the keys in the co-ownership regulations. It appears every year in the budget and in the annual service charge statement.
Choosing the policy, on the other hand, is a matter for the general meeting (GM). Two rules help in practice. The meeting sets, by a two-thirds majority, the amount of contracts above which competitive tendering is compulsory (Art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, c)); above that threshold, the syndic presents several quotes drawn up on the basis of prior specifications. And the syndic must submit to the ordinary general meeting an evaluation report on contracts for regular supplies (Art. 3.89, § 5, 12°). An insurance policy renewed year after year is exactly that kind of contract. We recommend using this report for what it allows: comparing the cover with the building’s real needs, not just the premium with last year’s.
That leaves the point that costs most when neglected: the building’s sum insured. Underinsurance triggers the proportionality rule, which limits the payout according to the ratio between the value actually insured and the value that should have been. Every insurer must offer a system for setting the value, and a correctly set value that is then indexed to the ABEX index, calculated twice a year by the Belgian association of experts (ABEX), rules out that rule (FPS Economy, setting and adapting the insured value). The practical consequence is simple: after a new roof, a replaced lift, an insulated façade or a converted attic, the sum insured needs reviewing. The timetable for building works is described in building works in a co-ownership, and the available support in energy renovation and grants.
After the damage, who files the claim and who follows it up?
The syndic represents the association in managing common affairs and takes all protective measuresGlossaryMeasures intended to protect the building or the rights of the association without waiting for a decision of the general meeting, such as a temporary repair after an insured loss. The syndic is responsible for carrying them out. See the glossary (Art. 3.89, § 5, 2° and 4°). Covering a ripped-open roof, closing a valve, having a cellar dried out: none of this waits for a meeting, and salvage costs are covered by the policy anyway. A co-owner who notices the damage reports it in writing, which dates the observation and opens the file.
Damage is very often mixed. A leak in a common pipe damages a private parquet floor; a storm comes in through the roof and ends up in two apartments. The useful reflex is to describe the facts and the damage without deciding the classification, and then leave it to the expert to allocate. The particular case of water, leaks and claims between neighbours is covered in water damage and leaks.
When the damage is serious, the Civil Code takes over from the policy. In the event of total or partial destruction, the indemnities representing the destroyed building are allocated first to rebuilding where rebuilding is decided, and co-owners contribute to the costs in proportion to their shareGlossaryTerm used by the Civil Code for the fraction of the common parts attached to each unit, also called quotités. It is set in the deed of division according to the respective value of the private parts and determines each co-owner's number of votes at the general meeting. See the glossary (Art. 3.88, § 2). Rebuilding or restoring after partial destruction is decided by a four-fifthsGlossaryMajority required in particular for other amendments to the articles, including the allocation of charges, a change of use of the building, the division or merger of units, and acts of disposal of common immovable property. See the glossary majority (Art. 3.88, § 1, 2°, c)). In other words, the indemnity is not a nest egg to be shared out: it is earmarked for the building as soon as the meeting decides to rebuild it. How votes are counted is explained in voting rules and majorities.
One last link, often forgotten: a documented failure to comply with a safety measure counts at the time of the damage, and the page on fire safety in a co-ownership sets out what is actually required in Flanders and Brussels. For the building’s routine upkeep, see maintenance of the common parts, and for all the situations in the life of the building, the page day-to-day life in a co-ownership.
Do, avoid
- Keep a copy of the building’s policy at home
- Review the sum insured after every major project
- Photograph and date damage as soon as you notice it
- Note the policy number and the insurer’s contact in the building’s register
- Settling for an insurance certificate without the specific conditions
- Assuming the apartment’s contents are covered by the building
- Letting the syndic renew the policy without a review at the meeting
- Waiting for the expert’s report before taking steps to limit the damage
Where a building’s cover turns out to be too short
| Item | Finding | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Building value | The sum insured dates from when the policy was taken out and has not kept up with works done since | Compare the sum insured with the current rebuilding value, ABEX index included |
| Water damage | The cover is in the policy, but leaks through the roof are excluded | Read the exact definition of the peril in the general conditions, not its heading |
| Private parts | Nobody knows whether the policy covers the inside of the apartments or only the common parts | Find the clause defining the insured property and compare it with the deed of division |
| Contents | A co-owner discovers after the damage that their contents were not insured | Tell every co-owner what the building’s policy leaves to them |
| Syndic’s insurance | The volunteer syndic has been acting for years without liability cover | Ask for proof of the insurance required by Article 3.89, § 5, 8° |
| Tenants | Recent leases require the tenant to be insured, but the landlord has not checked | Check the regional obligation and any waiver of recourse lease by lease |
Frequently asked questions
Is fire insurance compulsory for a co-ownership?
Not under federal law, which recommends it without imposing it on owners. In practice, the obligation comes from the co-ownership regulations, a decision of the general meeting, or a contract such as a mortgage. Regional rules also target tenants, which matters for co-owners who let their units.
Which insurance does the Civil Code require in a co-ownership?
Only one, and it is not about the building: the syndic must take out liability insurance covering the performance of their duties and provide proof of it. Where the mandate is unpaid, this insurance is taken out at the expense of the owners’ association (Art. 3.89, § 5, 8°, Civil Code).
Does the building’s policy cover my contents?
Usually not. A global policy can cover the common parts and the private parts, but it generally does not cover the contents of the apartments or of outbuildings. Furniture and personal belongings must be insured by each co-owner or occupant.
Is a flood covered by the building’s policy?
In principle, yes, because every fire policy covering simple risks must include cover against natural disasters (Art. 123 of the Act of 4 April 2014). There is an exception in risk zones for a building constructed more than eighteen months after the zone was classified.
Who files a claim for damage in the common parts?
The syndic, who represents the owners’ association in managing common affairs and takes protective measures. A co-owner who notices the damage reports it to the syndic in writing and keeps a dated record of that report.
- Water damage in a co-ownership: the building or you?
Most of the time, two contracts each pay their share. The building policy, taken out by the syndic, covers the damaged structure if it includes water damage cover; your home insurance covers your contents. Repairing the leak follows a third logic: that of the part involved, common or private.