When it is the community that owes the money

Everybody knows the problem of the neighbour who does not pay. Far less discussed is the opposite: the community that owes the electrician three invoices.

How you end up there

Almost never through bad faith. It is usually a budget that fell short, a levy being collected more slowly than expected, a change of chair that left invoices in a drawer, or a supplier whose work was disputed and who simply stopped being paid without the dispute being resolved.

Who is liable

The community is liable with its own assets: the account balance and the reserve fund. If that is not enough, each owner is liable by their ownership share for the community's debt. In other words, the debt does not evaporate: it ends up shared among everyone, including whoever voted against the expense.

What the supplier can do

Sue the community, which can be taken to court even though it is not a company. And with a judgment, seize the community's bank account. A seizure blocks the ordinary payments — cleaning, electricity, the lift — and turns a €900 problem into everybody's problem.

What to do if it has already happened

1. Acknowledge and quantify the real debt, with the invoices in front of you.
2. Talk before they take action. A payment plan offered in time is accepted by almost any small supplier; what pushes them to court is silence.
3. Take it to the meeting and approve how it gets paid: from the fund, through a levy or in instalments. Put it in the minutes.
4. If the work was disputed, separate out the undisputed part and pay it. Withholding the whole amount over a partial disagreement weakens your position.

Prevention

A budget with some slack and a reserve fund that actually exists. Almost every community that ends up owing money is one that approved the tightest possible budget to avoid raising the monthly charge.