As is well known, the form of collective living that has become the norm for all those living in apartment buildings and enclosed developments in cities like Istanbul involves the payment of general expenses and fees that can be confusing to the tenant or owner.

The Law on Condominium Ownership regulates in a clear and detailed manner how such expenses are to be paid and by whom.

The definition of a condominium is where ownership of independent parts of a block or development is held by different individuals. These several individuals are responsible for the payment of portions of collective bills and charges.

 In accordance with the law, each of the property owners is obliged to share equally payment of expenses covering the caretaker, central heating unit, the gardener and security. (However, this can be overridden by agreement.) The property owners are also obliged to share in the insurance premiums of the main property (the building) and the maintenance, protection and repair of all the shared spaces. Other expenses such as the salary of the building or site manager and the operating expenses of the shared facilities, are calculated in accordance with the size of the property held. The shares of property owners are determined in the title deeds as laid down in the Law on Condominium Ownership.

Property owners cannot, under any condition, avoid these expenses on the pretext that they don’t need or use the shared facilities. For instance, the owner of a ground floor flat cannot avoid the expenses incurred by elevator maintenance or the roof repairs on the grounds that they don’t use the elevator and aren’t proximate to the roof.  The main estate may be insured to a value determined by the residents in committee. If the building is insured, then the owners are to share the monthly premium to be paid in line with the size of their share. In the event the building is somehow damaged so as to be rendered uninhabitable, the insurance payout is then distributed among the property owners in the same manner unless there is a supervening agreement. If part of the building is damaged, then the payout is distributed among the residents of that part on the same basis. Property owners may additionally insure their independent parts if the potential payout falls short of their potential loss. Such a payout is entirely theirs.

If a rental agreement doesn’t specify which portions of the general expenses are to be paid by the property owners and/or tenants, then expenses of the rented parts are paid by the tenant and the remainder is paid by the owner. For example, unless otherwise specified, the maintenance and repair of the cisterns and plumbing, the maintenance of the sewage pipes, the replacement of broken glass, the maintenance of the elevator, chimney cleaning, management expenses, cleaning expenses, the caretaker’s salary, the collective electricity and water bills, and fuel oil expenses are incumbent upon the tenant, whereas the repair of the roof, the repair and painting of the outer surfaces of the building, the repair of major electrical faults, the renovation of the elevator or the boiler of the central heating unit and related work on any internal and external heat insulation devolve upon the property owner. If the lease agreement doesn’t specify other adjudication, then tenant and the owner are jointly and severally responsible for the common expenses. However, the responsibility of the tenant is limited to the amount of the rent he pays; all other expenses he covers are to be subtracted from the rent.

Suit can be brought against a property owner for non-payment of expenses and advances, both by each of the other owners or by the building management as specified in the Law on Condominium Ownership. A defaulting property owner may be subjected to payment of compensation for the delayed fees in addition to the sums unpaid; this is limited to 10 percent of the total monthly payments. If the owner still doesn’t pay the debt, a legal charge may be placed on his/her property on behalf of the rest of the owners upon application to the court.

A property owner who is the cause of three consecutive such proceedings within a two-year period and who persists, for a year, in violating the rights of other property owners by not honoring his financial responsibilities despite legal orders or who uses his property as a gambling house or brothel thereby violating ethical and moral codes must be sued within six months of violation. Those property owners whose rights are violated may demand that the condominium ownership of the delinquent be handed over to them.

Zaman