Replacing the windows: does the owner pay, or the community?

It is one of the most repeated questions, and the short answer usually disappoints: it depends on the by-laws and on exactly which part we are talking about.

The usual split

The rule most communities apply: the window unit itself — frame, glass, blind, and its maintenance — belongs to the owner. The opening in the façade, the lintel, the outer sill and the blind box built into the wall are common elements.

Translated: if your window does not close properly, that is yours. If water comes in because the lintel is broken, that is the community's.

The exception that changes everything

When the community approves an energy refurbishment of the façade and decides to replace all the building's windows, that becomes common works: paid by ownership share among everyone, including those who had already replaced theirs.

This is the part that causes most resentment, for an understandable reason. Many communities agree to compensate in some way those who already invested on their own. That is legitimate if it is agreed, but it is not automatic.

If you want to replace them yourself

You can, but you cannot alter the appearance of the façade: if the building has white frames, you do not fit brown ones. The community can require you to respect the model, the colour and the layout. It is worth asking at the meeting beforehand, if only to have it on record.

And take care with listed buildings: there the council rules, and there may be restrictions not even the community can lift.

Before deciding anything

Read the deed of division and the by-laws. Many state explicitly who bears the windows, and that sentence overrides any custom. It is half an hour of reading that prevents months of argument.