Buying and selling an apartment in a co-ownership: who pays what

The preliminary sale agreement is ready, the date of the deed has roughly been set, and some figures are still missing. The buyer wants to know what the building will cost each quarter. The seller wants back what they have advanced. And both discover that part of the answer lies with the property manager (syndic), not the estate agent.

Buying and selling an apartment in a co-ownership is never just about the apartment. You also transfer a share in the common parts, a seat at the general meeting (GM) and a position in running accounts: advance payments already made, works voted but not yet invoiced, pending proceedings against a neighbour. The Civil Code organises this handover in Articles 3.94 and 3.95, with set deadlines and a rule for splitting charges. These articles are federal and apply in the same way in Flanders and Brussels.

This part of the site follows the transaction in its real order: the information to gather, how the charges are split, the notary's withholding, then the first months of the new co-ownerGlossaryOwner of a unit in a co-owned building, holding both their private part and a share in the common parts. They are a member of the general meeting of the owners' association. See the glossary.

What information does the buyer receive before signing?

Before signing the contract, offer or promise to buy, the buyer must receive a set of information about the co-ownership. The notary, the professional intermediary or the outgoing co-owner passes it on, and the syndic provides it on simple request within fifteen days (art. 3.94, § 1).

Six sets of information are covered: the amount of the working capital fundGlossaryTotal of the advances paid by the co-owners, as provision, to cover recurring expenditure such as heating and lighting of the common parts or management fees. It is held in a separate account in the association's name. See the glossary and the reserve fundGlossaryTotal of the periodic contributions intended for non-recurring expenditure, such as replacing the heating system or the lift. It becomes mandatory no later than five years after provisional acceptance, with an annual contribution of at least 5% of the previous financial year's ordinary service charges, unless the general meeting decides otherwise by a four-fifths majority. See the glossary, the seller's arrears, the status of reserve fund calls decided before the sale, pending legal proceedings with the amounts at stake, the minutes of general meetings for the last three years together with the periodic service charge statements for the last two financial years, and a copy of the last approved balance sheet.

These documents are not a formality. Three sets of general meeting minutes are quick to read and say a lot: a vote on the roof postponed two years running, a discussion about the lift, a budget rising without explanation. The page on documents required for a sale gives the full list and how to ask for it, and the page on buying an apartment in a co-ownership says where to look first in these documents.

The fees the syndic charges for passing on this information are borne by the outgoing co-owner (art. 3.94, § 4).

Who pays what, between seller and buyer?

Two regimes overlap, and the difference between them causes most misunderstandings.

Ordinary charges, the ones that come round every quarter, are borne by the buyer from the day they actually enjoy the common parts. Extraordinary charges follow another date: the Civil Code places them on the new co-owner when they become payable after the certain date of the transfer of ownership. Four categories are concerned, among them expenditure on conservation, maintenance, repair and renovation decided before the transfer but called afterwards, and calls for funds approved before the sale.

A job voted in January and invoiced in October can therefore land on the buyer, even though they did not take part in the vote. That is precisely why the preliminary sale agreement almost always contains an allocation clause. Our view: negotiate this point before signing, with the syndic's figures in hand, rather than discovering it with the first call for funds. The page on selling a unit covers this negotiation from the seller's side.

What happens to money already paid follows a clear rule. The seller is a creditor of the owners' association (VME/ACP) for the part of their working capital fund corresponding to the period when they no longer enjoy the common parts; their share of the reserve fund, however, remains the property of the association (art. 3.94, § 5). The details are in the page on the working capital and reserve funds.

The notary withholds arrears from the price

On the day of the deed, the notary does not pay the price to the seller without first checking their position with the syndic. The notary has asked the syndic by registered post and waited thirty days for a reply; if there is none, the notary informs the parties (art. 3.94, § 2). From the sums due to the seller, the notary then withholds the arrears of charges, ordinary and extraordinary, as well as the costs of providing the information (art. 3.95). Preferential and mortgage creditors rank ahead of the association.

Within thirty days of the deed, the notary informs the syndic of the date of the deed, the unit concerned and the identity of the parties (art. 3.94, § 3). It is this notification that enters the buyer in the building's records.

The new co-owner's first months

Once the deed is signed, you still have to take your place. Check that you are registered with the syndic, obtain the articles and the house rules (ROI), understand the next service charge statement, find out the date of the annual general meeting: the page on becoming a new co-owner puts these steps in order.

For the general framework that then applies to your building, go back to the section on co-ownership law, and for how calls for funds work, the section on co-ownership service charges.