Co-ownership charges when selling an apartment: what does the seller pay?

When you sell your apartment, you pay the notary and the estate agent, but you also have to deal with the co-ownership charges when selling an apartment. Who pays the charges for the current year, the lift replacement approved last month or the arrears on your unit? The law sets a default split, but you and the buyer may depart from it in the sales agreement (compromis). Below you can read how that split works and what to watch out for as a seller.

What the law says: article 3.94 of the Civil Code

The sale of a unit in a co-owned building follows fixed rules set out in article 3.94 of the Civil Code. They used to be in article 577-11 of the old Code, and you will still often see that old number in documents. The rules apply across Belgium, in exactly the same way in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.

The law works with two rounds of information requests to the property manager (syndic). Before the sales agreement is even signed, the buyer must know what they are getting into: the amount of the working capital and the reserve fund, any arrears on your unit, the calls for funds already approved by the general meeting, pending legal proceedings, the minutes of the last general meetings and the accounts of the last financial years. Exactly which documents these are is explained in our article on selling an apartment without an estate agent.

Before the deed of sale, the notary then asks the property manager for a second statement, with the amounts that fall around the date of transfer of ownership. These two rounds determine who bears which part of the bill. The more complete those documents are, the less there is to argue about afterwards.

Ordinary charges: settled up to the day of transfer

Ordinary charges are the building's fixed costs: cleaning and lighting of the common areas, fire insurance for the building, lift maintenance and the property manager's fee. Most associations of co-owners (known as VME in Flanders and ACP in Wallonia and Brussels) collect these through monthly or quarterly advance payments into the working capital.

As the seller, you bear these charges until the day the buyer gets the use of the common areas. Usually that is the day of the deed, unless you agree a different date in the sales agreement, for example because the buyer moves in earlier. From that date on, the ordinary charges are for the new owner.

The law has a separate rule for the working capital. As the departing co-owner, you have a claim against the association for the part of your contribution that covers the period in which you no longer have the use of the common areas. The property manager draws up that settlement. If you have paid advances for a quarter that the buyer is already partly using, the difference is settled. In practice this often goes through the notary, so you will barely notice it.

Reserve fund: that money stays in the building

This is the point that catches many sellers off guard. The reserve fund is the association's savings for major future works: a new roof, a facade renovation, a replacement of the central heating. By law, your share of it remains the property of the association. So you do not get it back when you sell, even if you have contributed to it for years.

That does not mean the money is lost. A healthy reserve fund makes your apartment more attractive, because the buyer is less likely to face a large call for funds shortly after the purchase. A building with empty savings and an ageing roof is precisely a reason for buyers to offer less. Read more about how it works in our article on the association of co-owners, the costs and your rights.

A good estate agent uses this information in the sale. They explain to prospective buyers what is in the reserve and which works are already being prepared, and factor that into the asking price. Want to know how different agencies approach this? Compare up to three BIV-licensed estate agents in your area for free.

Planned works and calls for funds: the trickiest item

Most disputes are about works that have already been decided but not yet paid for. Unless you and the buyer agree otherwise, this rule applies: the buyer bears the cost of works decided by the general meeting or the property manager before the transfer of ownership, if the property manager only requests payment after that date. The same goes for calls for funds approved before the transfer and collected afterwards. Whatever the property manager has already requested before the transfer stays with you as the seller.

An example of how this works. The general meeting approves a roof renovation in March. The deed is signed in June and the property manager only requests the first instalment in September. Under the default rule, the buyer pays that instalment, because the call for funds comes after the transfer.

Buyers do not always accept this. Their argument is that, as the owner, you took part in the decision on the works and that the property was priced with those works in prospect. That is why many buyers ask the seller to pay for such approved works, or to give a price reduction in return. Both are allowed, provided it is clearly written in the sales agreement.

Arrears and the cost of the information pack

If you still have unpaid charges with the association, they remain your debt. The buyer does not have to take them over. In practice, the notary withholds outstanding arrears from the sale price and pays the association directly, so that the new owner does not start out with your debt in the building. It is therefore wise to settle arrears before the sale or to include them in your calculation of the net proceeds.

In addition, the property manager usually charges a fee for preparing the documents the notary and the buyer need. This cost is usually borne by the seller and varies from one property manager to another. Ask for the amount in advance, and request the documents as soon as you decide to sell. Preparing them can take a few weeks, and a delay here can postpone the deed. You will find a full overview of all the paperwork in our article on the documents needed to sell your home.

Pending legal proceedings of the association also deserve attention. These too can lead to costs after the sale, and here too you can agree in the sales agreement who bears what.

How to settle it in the sales agreement

Because the law only provides a default arrangement, the sales agreement is where you set out the split. Make sure it includes at least these points:

• the date from which the buyer bears the ordinary charges;
• who pays for each approved but not yet called work, naming the work;
• how the working capital is settled;
• confirmation that the reserve fund stays with the association;
• that any arrears are paid from the sale price through the notary;
• who bears the property manager's costs for the sale documents.

An estate agent who sells apartments regularly knows these points and requests the documents from the property manager themselves. That saves you work and prevents a buyer from being faced with unexpected calls for funds after the sales agreement. Ongoing works and the state of the reserve fund also affect the price. A free valuation of your apartment takes this into account and gives you a realistic starting point.

In conclusion

Co-ownership charges when selling an apartment follow a fixed legal logic: ordinary charges up to the transfer, the reserve fund stays in the building, and works called after the transfer are in principle for the buyer. Because you may depart from this in the sales agreement, negotiation ultimately decides who pays what. Get help from an estate agent who knows co-ownership well. Through ImmoMakelaarVergelijker you can request proposals from up to three estate agents in your municipality, free and without obligation.