December 23, 2024 · 4 min read
Your community has neither an account nor a fund: where to start
There are thousands of small buildings where a formal community has never existed: the electricity is split down the middle, repairs happen when something bursts, and nothing is in writing. It works — until it stops working.
Why formalise
Because the first serious job (roof, facade, technical inspection) is impossible to manage without a community: there is no account to pool the money in, no way to compel whoever will not pay, and no insurance to respond.
The steps, in order
- A constituting meeting: call all the owners, appoint a chair and a secretary, and draw up the constitution minutes.
- A tax number: with those minutes, apply for it at the tax office.
- A bank account in the community's name.
- A minimum budget and a monthly due: however small, a regular monthly payment creates both the habit and the fund.
- Insurance for the building.
Do you need a notary or a registry?
No. The owners' community exists by law from the moment of the horizontal division; constituting its bodies is an internal step recorded in the minutes.
The habit is what matters
More than the paperwork, what changes a building is the routine: a monthly payment, visible accounts, one meeting a year and everything in writing. With that, the building "that never worked" works.
Keep reading
Putting a lift where there never was one: majorities, cost and who pays
The most expensive and most argued-over works a community faces: what majority is needed, what it really costs and why the ground floor pays too.
Going digital in the community: where to start (without overwhelming anyone)
The right order: first what hurts, then the rest. And how to bring the least digital neighbours on board.
Replacing the windows: does the owner pay, or the community?
The most frequent question in refurbishment. Where your window ends and the façade begins, and what happens if the community decides to replace them all.
Stop reading about managing. Try it.
Step into a sample building with everything working and try it yourself.