If a house is to be divided into several apartments, commercial units, garages or other independent units (so-called special ownership units), a declaration of division is required. Only in this way can persons acquire independent ownership of a specific apartment or other unit. The declaration of division must at least be notarized, but in practice it is often notarized.
Special property and common property
In the declaration of division, the owners stipulate which rooms are to belong to which unit and how large the co-ownership share of each apartment/part owner is. For example, it states that “a co-ownership share of 250/10,000 is associated with condominium unit no. 1, consisting of the rooms on the first floor on the left as well as a balcony and a cellar room, each marked no. 1 on the partition plan.” Garage parking spaces that are only demarcated with markings can also become independent partial ownership. All rooms that are not allocated to a specific unit remain the common property of all co-owners (e.g. corridors and communal cellars).
Community regulations
Together with the declaration of division, the owners usually have a community regulation notarized. In these, they can make detailed regulations for their community relationship, in particular:
- the granting of special rights of use, for example to garden areas and parking spaces on the property
- the passing of resolutions at the owners' meeting and voting rights
- Consent requirements for the sale of a condominium unit
- the permissible scope of use, in particular with regard to professional/commercial activities.
- Maintenance and repair obligations
- the permissibility of structural changes
- the distribution of burdens and costs
- the preparation of an economic plan and the making of advance payments
- the formation of a maintenance reserve
- the conclusion of insurance policies
- the obligation to rebuild if the building is destroyed
Completion certificate from the building authority
A so-called certificate of completion from the building authority is also required for the execution of the declaration of division. For this purpose, floor plans of all floors as well as sectional and elevation plans of the (planned) building must be submitted to the building authority. All rooms that are to belong to a condominium unit must be marked with the same number on the plans. The plans are often drawn up by an architect. In particular, the building authority checks whether all condominium units are closed off from the other condominium units, are accessible via the common property and whether the facilities required for living (kitchen and bathroom) are available in an apartment. If the building authority considers all requirements to be fulfilled, it issues the certificate of seclusion.
Execution by notary and land registry
The notary submits the declaration of division with the community regulations and the certificate of completion to the land registry for execution. After checking, the land registry creates separate land registers for each residential and part-ownership unit. The owners can then dispose of the units independently; in particular, they can sell each unit separately to any person or encumber it with a land charge.
Preparation and advice
To prepare a declaration of division, please arrange a personal meeting with our office. Please bring along the draft partition plans and the land register details of the property to be partitioned (local court, land register district, land register sheet number). Please submit the subdivision plans to us for review before submitting them to the building authorities for the purpose of issuing the certificate of completion.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
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