Apartment building management: deciding on works, maintaining, insuring
The boiler breaks down in the middle of winter, a leak runs through two floors, the façade is deteriorating, and you have to act. Here is who decides, by what majority, who pays and which insurance policies come into play in the life of your building.
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Updated on 25.09.2026- Co-ownership building works: deciding, funding and overseeing the job
The boiler is at the end of its life, the facade is cracking, and sooner or later a job will have to be voted on. Here is who decides, by what majority, with what money, and in what order to move from the first quote to the handover.
- Common parts maintenance: organising it, budgeting for it, checking it
The entrance hall smells damp, the lift breaks down on a Friday evening, and everyone wonders who should have dealt with it. Here is how maintenance of the common parts is decided, budgeted for and checked, from one general meeting to the next.
- Apartment building fire safety in Belgium: obligations, smoke alarms and works to vote on
A fire service report has been gathering dust since last year, a smoke alarm keeps beeping in a corridor and nobody knows who has to pay for what. Here is what the rules really require of your building, in Flanders and in Brussels, and how to get it voted.
- 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.
- Volunteer syndic insurance: who takes it out, who pays, what it covers
You have just accepted the role of syndic for your building, and a co-owner asks for your insurance certificate. The law does require one, and the premium is not yours to pay.
- Water damage in your apartment and leaks: finding the source and getting it repaired
A damp stain is spreading across the bedroom ceiling, and the neighbour upstairs swears everything is dry at his place. Before you know who pays, you need to establish where the water comes from and which part of the building is involved.
- Renovation grants in a co-ownership: where to start, from the common parts EPC
The façade has to be redone anyway, someone suggests insulating at the same time, and someone else replies that there are grants. Here is the order in which to build the file so that the project holds up, grant or no grant.
- Neighbour dispute in an apartment building: the steps that break the deadlock
The neighbour on the third floor leaves his bike in the entrance hall, ignores your messages, and the mood at general meetings has turned sour. Before you think about going to court, there are three steps that almost nobody takes in the right order.
The general meeting was months ago, and yet your inbox keeps filling up. The lift needs servicing, a smoke detector is beeping in the corridor, the contractor does not call back, a leak runs through two floors, and two neighbours on the same landing are no longer speaking. Apartment building management happens mostly there, between two meetings.
All these actions follow the same logic: as soon as they affect the common partsGlossaryParts of the building or land that belong to all co-owners according to their shares, such as the roof, the entrance hall or shared pipes. Where the title deeds are silent or contradictory, parts intended for the use of all or some co-owners are deemed common. See the glossary, they commit all the co-owners and are subject to precise rules. Our reading: before looking for the rule, ask the right question. Private or common? Maintenance or works? An emergency or a planned project? Once the question is properly framed, the rule follows.
This part of the site brings together the practical situations in the life of a building. The framework comes from the Civil Code, Book 3, articles 3.78 to 3.100, which is the same throughout Belgium, in Flanders as in Brussels. What changes from one region to another are the technical obligations for the building and the support for renovation.
Who decides on works, and by what majority?
Everything starts with a vote. Works affecting the common parts are decided by a two-thirds majority of the votes. Two categories are exceptions and fall under an absolute majority: works required by law, and protective works and acts of interim management, which the property manager (syndic) can in any case carry out without waiting as 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. The page on voting rules and majorities sets out the four thresholds and how votes are counted.
Before signing, there is competitive tenderingGlossaryObligation to compare several offers for contracts above the threshold set by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority. The syndic must then present several quotes. See the glossary. The general meeting sets, also by two thirds, the amount above which several offers become mandatory; the syndic then presents several quotes drawn up on specifications prepared in advance. The page on co-ownership building works follows that timetable, from the first quote to the handover of the works, and explains where to place the expense, between the routine budget and the reserve fund.
When the general meeting blocks things, a co-owner is not powerless. The court can authorise them to have urgent worksGlossaryNecessary and urgent works to the common parts. If the general meeting cannot reach the required majority, any co-owner may obtain court authorisation to carry them out alone, at the association's expense. See the glossary that are necessary to the common parts carried out alone, at the association's expense. It can also authorise them to carry out, at their own expense, works that are useful to them, when the general meeting opposes them without good reason.
Maintain now, so you do not have to rebuild later
Routine maintenance does not require a vote for every job: it is budgeted once a year. Cleaning, the lift, the boiler, the roof and the lighting of the common areas appear in the budget put to the general meeting, which is explained in the section on co-ownership service charges. The page on maintenance of common parts gives a reasonable schedule item by item and the contracts that deserve a review.
Fire safety follows a different logic. The basic standards apply to construction, while the requirements for how the building is used depend on the regions and the municipalities, and the fire service can impose measures on an existing building after an inspection.
As for cover, two contracts should not be confused. The building is insured by the owners' association (VME/ACP), usually with a fire policy extended to water damage: see co-ownership insurance. The syndic, for their part, must be covered for the performance of their duties, and the page on volunteer syndic liability insurance explains what that policy covers.
A leak, a neighbour, a renovation project
Three situations come up more often than the others, and each has its own page.
Water damage starts with a question of boundaries: is the leaking pipe private or common? The answer determines who reports the claim, who advances the costs and which policy pays out. The page on water damage and leaks gives the order of steps and the documents to gather.
A dispute between co-owners is rarely settled in court. Putting the item on the agenda, conciliation before the justice of the peace, mediation: the page on disputes between co-owners compares these routes, and the page on justice of the peace and co-ownership disputes describes what happens next if none of them succeeds.
Finally, an energy renovation project is prepared two or three years in advance: audit, estimate, building up the reserve fund, grant applications. The page on energy renovation and grants puts these steps in order, including the applications for regional renovation grants.
In every case, and this is the advice we would give first, keep a written record: the general meeting decision, the quote chosen, the handover report, the insurance claim. That file is what protects the association on the day someone challenges something.
Frequently asked questions
What majority is needed to vote on works to the common parts?
A two-thirds majority of the votes. Two categories fall outside this threshold and are decided by an absolute majority of the co-owners present or represented: works required by law, and protective works and acts of interim management (art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, b), Civil Code).
The general meeting refuses urgent works: can you override it?
When the required majority cannot be reached, any co-owner can obtain court authorisation to carry out alone, at the association's expense, urgent and necessary works affecting the common parts. The same article allows a co-owner to obtain authorisation to carry out, at their own expense, works that are useful to them when the general meeting opposes them without good reason (art. 3.92, § 5, Civil Code).
Does the syndic have to be insured?
Yes. The syndic must take out liability insurance covering the performance of their duties and provide proof of it. If the mandate is unpaid, this insurance is taken out at the expense of the owners' association (art. 3.89, § 5, 8°, Civil Code).
Can the association have works carried out in a private apartment?
Yes, under conditions. The general meeting can decide, by a two-thirds majority and with specific reasons, that works to certain private parts will be carried out by the association for technical or economic reasons. This decision does not change how the cost of those works is split between the co-owners (art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, d), Civil Code).
Do you need several quotes before a building project?
Above the amount set by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority, competitive tendering is mandatory. The syndic then presents several quotes drawn up on the basis of specifications prepared in advance (art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, c), and art. 3.89, § 5, 11°, Civil Code).