FAQ

No, the building manager can start a procedure for recovery of a debt in court without authorisation of the General Assembly, against a co-owner or any third party owing money to the co-ownership. (La copropriété, G. KRIEGER, Portalis 2018, p293)

Normal "wear and tear" is wear and tear that occurs despite the owner using the item
with care and caution. If the item is used as intended and if the wear and tear is
not due to lack of maintenance or damage to the item, any deterioration of the item
is considered normal "wear and tear".

The building manager calculates the expense report of the current owner till the selling date, or the date of possession by the new owner. Only the amounts due at the date of sale are to be paid by the seller. The amounts due after the sale date, or the date of possession, are to be paid by the buyer. The buyer can recuperate the amounts due from the seller. The total expense report is in any way only due after the approval by the General Assembly (G. KRIEGER, La Copropriété, Portalis 2018, p450). The building manager does not have to respect the clauses in the notary deed. All clauses agreed upon in the notary deed are law between the seller and buyer, but do not legally bind third parties, not the syndicate of owners, nor the building manager. (G. KRIEGER, La Copropriété, Portalis 2018, p156).

Example: Seller A sells his apartment to buyer B on the 1^st of December 2021 with B taking possession on the 15^th of December 2021. On the 15^th of November 2021 the notary asks the building manager to communicate the amount due of seller A. The fees for seller A are 200 € per month as decided in the budget by the General Assembly on the 31^st of March 2021. The seller A has stopped paying the fees as from October 2021. In the co-ownership it was decided to change the heating system during the assembly on the 31^st of March 2021 with 1 200 € being the part to pay by seller A. On the 15^th of April 2021 the building manager did a call of funds for 25% of the amount for the heating system so 300 € for seller A which he did not pay yet. The building manager receives the final bill for the heating system on the 20^th of December 2021. The building manager finishes the expense report for 2021 on the 21^st of February 2022 and seller A owns 2 313.45 € for the year 2021. The building manager holds the general assembly meeting on the 7^th of April 2022 which approves the expense report.

The expense report for the notary sent by the building manager on the 15^th of November 2021 will therefore be 11 times the budget of 200 € plus the 300 € for the heating system. The syndic certificate made by the building manager to the notary will claim 400 € for the fees not paid for October and November, the 300 € not paid for the call for funds and that another 700 € will be due later for the heating system. The building manager can claim the remaining 900 € from the buyer as from the 20^th of December 2021. The buyer can reclaim the 900 € from the seller. As from the 7^th of April 2022 the building manager can claim the difference of the expense report being 2 313.45 € - 2 200 € = 113.45 € from the buyer, who can claim it from the seller.

In practice the building manager can inform each time the seller to claim the amounts to avoid going via the buyer. If the seller agrees there is no issue. If the seller doesn’t agree the easiest option for the building manager is to claim the fees from the buyer as he still has a contractual link with the buyer and because the buyer is jointly bound to pay the fees due for the previous accounting period plus the months of the year that the sale took place (G. KRIEGER, La Copropriété, Portalis 2018, p510).

The general assembly meeting which was called with a delay of less than 15 days before the meeting date, if the general rules of the building do not specify a bigger delay, the meeting can only be annulled if the owner can prove he or she has suffered prejudice. (KRIEGER, G., La Copropriété, Portalis, 2018, p333) (Tr. arr. Lux., 14 déc. 1988, n° 607/88)

No, the former building manager can't bill anything for transferring the files to the new building manager. (La Copropriété, KRIEGER G., Portalis, 2018, p. 255) (C.A. Paris, 23ième ch B, 17 juin 1999, Loyers et copropriété, déc 1999, p. 16)

Yes, if the sound doesn’t become a nuisance. The intensity of radio and tv appliances like any other apparatus that produces sound, used within the building has to be regulated that it doesn’t annoy the neighbours.

Under no circumstance, such an apparatus can be used within a building when the windows or doors are open, neither on the balconies or in the outside air, if it may cause annoyance to third parties.

The prescriptions of the two previous paragraphs also apply to musical instruments of any kind and applies also to singing or declamations.

(Art. 21 Règlement général de police du 26 mars 2001 tel que modifié le 23 novembre 2015)

No, it is forbidden to let the engine run idle without necessity, as it is forbidden to start motorbikes our bikes with an auxiliary engine in the entrance area of buildings, passages or courtyards of residential buildings. During the night the noise caused by the closing of car doors et garage doors, as the starting or stopping of car engines should not disturb others. (Art. 27 General police rules of the 26th of March 2001 as modified on the 23rd of November 2015)

Article 3 of the règlement grand-ducal prescribing the measures of execution of the law of the 16th of May 1975 concerning the statutes of co-ownership of existing constructions says that: ”Unless other stipulations are stated in the rules of co-ownership, the general assembly is held in the commune where the building is situated.”

This means that the meeting needs to be held in the commune where the building is situated but that the rules of co-ownership (règlement de copropriété) might offer another possibility. If the meeting is held in another commune, it will be without incidence on the validity of the decisions if all owners are present. If however the meeting is held in a commune not far away form the building, a request for annulment in the courts will not succeed unless the demanding party can prove harm was caused. The obligation to hold the meeting in the commune of the building is noted in the règlement grand-ducal of execution and not in the law itself. The principle of “law and order with no exceptions” given to the law is not given to the règlement grand-ducal of execution in Luxembourg, as it is in France.

(Trib. arr. Diekirch, 4 juin 2002; "La copropriété", KRIEGER G., Portalis éditions 2011, p209)

The statute of repose is 10 years if no other limitation has been fixed by law. (art. 34 de la loi du 16 mai 1975 portant statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis)

The building manager can sue the co-owner without prior authorization of the General Assembly. Once the judgment has been rendered the building manager can confiscate the salary/pension or, as the case may be, the rent of the tenant of the co-owner. (Art. 14 de la loi du 16 mai 1975 portant statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis)

No, article 31 of the general police rules says clearly:

"The usage of lawnmowers, saws and generally all other noisy equipment is forbidden between 9pm and 8am. On Sundays and public holidays, the usage is always forbidden."

In principle one does not have to support such a nuisance as often the co-ownership rules tolerate animals if they don’t hinder the other residents. On top of that article 20 of the general police rules states:

"The owners or guardians of animals are to take all necessary measures to prevent these animals from troubling the public tranquility or the rest of residents by barking, howling or other repetitive cries."

Other than the cost of the property fixed in a contract between the seller and yourself, other costs need to be considered:

• The costs of the deed (notary fees, other taxes due to the fiscal administration). In Luxembourg these rights are 7% of the sale price but a reduction is awarded by means of a tax credit, in case of buying a property to live in yourself). Pay attention, if you want to let the property, you will need to pay the entirety of the fiscal registration fees.
   
• The costs of the mortgage which comes with the notary deed and the inscription of it at the Mortgage Office.
   
• The cost of the mortgage file with the bank. These costs vary form one bank to another and are generally not very high.

If you choose to leave us the rental management of your property, the occupant will deal exclusively with our agency as the manager of contract. In principle, he or she will have no use contacting you directly as we will manage all inquiries.

In case of a sale of the property, the owner has to take care that he has covered several things, like the monthly payments approved by the General Assembly in the budget until the date of the sale, the final balance of the expense report approved by the General Assembly (if the date falls after the date of the sale), all calls for funds made by the building manager before the sale, and all works decided by the General Assembly if the call for funds was noted in the minutes of the meeting. However, the works decided by the General Assembly, without a call for funds or invoices before the sale are to be paid by the new owner.

No, he just must pay for the calls for funds before the sale date. For reference following judgement in the court of appeal: "It is wrong, that the appellants insist that a charge needs to be supported by the one who was owner at the time of the vote at the General Assembly, whilst as correctly stated by the first judge, it suffices to only consider all charges that are due at the time of the sale."

(Trib. Arr. Lux. 24 janvier 1991, 3ème sect, n°29/91 ; Elter et Schockweiler, op. cit., p. 331. ; KRIEGER, G., La copropiété, Portalis, p. 297)

In principal, no. Article 25 of the law on co-ownership obliges the public notary who handles the sale to ask the building-manager if any debts exist. The latter sends the public notary a “Building-manger certificate” which stipulates the debt to be deducted from the sale price. This money will be transferred to the account of the co-ownership or will remain blocked on the public notary’s account just until an agreement has been reached. (Art. 25, loi du 16 mai 1975 portant statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis)

Yes, it’s possible but only when the General Assembly gave its agreement for the construction of these units, and with a unanimous vote of all owners. (Art. 30, loi du 16 mai 1975 portant statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis).

Yes, article 31 of the law of the 16th of May 1975 concerning the statutes of co-ownership of existing constructions, does provide compensation in that case. The conditions are proper to each case.

The house council is a group of elected owners to assist and check the building manager ((Art. 23, loi du 16 mai 1975 portant statut de la copropriété des immeubles bâtis). It is totally different from the management of the building, in which the house-council could be held accountable for its actions. Its members are not remunerated and can be elected from the co-owners and their spouses. There is no number specified by law, so it can range from one person to all the owners. It can be useful to elect a house-council, as they can demand a general assembly meeting if the building manager refuses to organize one. Apart from this the law does not specify a set of rules for its functioning.

As far as the liability of the owner goes, the law does not oblige any insurance in Luxembourg. In any case in it in your interest to subscribe a PNO (propriétaire non occupant) insurance, or a non-occupant insurance, which will cover you against any damage, especially when your apartment is not occupied at all. The PNO will cover the liability of the owner against his/her tenant (art. 1721 of the Civil Code). Your contract can also cover the costs you could incur for damages you caused to the property of others (Art. 1382 till 1386 of the Civil Code).

As an owner of a property being let, you are generally subject to fiscal obligations. All rental payments that you may perceive are in fact subject to tax, deduction being made of the running costs (costs for repairs and maintenance, loan interest, amortizations, management costs, etc.)