Roof and balcony repairs: can the property manager commission them without a vote?

Major repairs often cause disputes among the owners of a building. One question comes up again and again: does the property manager have to put it to a vote first?

Maintenance or more?

For the maintenance of the building, the property manager as a rule does not need a resolution of the owners. This covers necessary repairs to the roof, the facade, the pipes or the balconies. The law calls this ordinary administration.

It is different for work that goes beyond maintenance. That usually requires a majority resolution of the owners. Whether a renovation is still maintenance or already more is therefore often the real point of dispute.

The case: 530,000 euros for roof and balconies

In a building with 35 units, the property manager had commissioned repairs to the roof and the balconies for around 530,000 euros. One owner wanted to stop the work. Her argument: costs this high, which on top of that the reserve fund did not cover, went beyond day-to-day administration. The owners should have voted on it.

The courts disagreed, and the Supreme Court saw no reason to correct them. What mattered was the condition of the building. On the balconies, the steel in the concrete was no longer adequately protected. If it rusts, the balcony slabs can lose their load-bearing capacity. The repairs had to be carried out within a year. And the roof covering was well past its service life.

Even a replacement can be maintenance

Maintenance does not only mean patching things up. A complete replacement can still count, even if the result is better than before. The condition is that something is actually damaged, is at risk of damage or no longer works properly. Pure modernisation without such a reason as a rule does not count.

And the costs?

They play a part, but with serious damage only a small one. Where damage threatens the fabric or the safety of the building, the price takes a back seat. Only if the expense were completely unjustifiable in relation to the value of the whole property is a limit reached. There is no fixed amount. And a reserve fund that is too small does not turn a necessary repair into a measure the owners have to vote on.

Not every renovation package is maintenance

The Supreme Court also referred to an earlier decision. That case concerned a large package of new windows and entrance doors, thermal insulation of the facade, new wiring and a new locking system. If necessary repairs are combined with additional work of this kind, the whole may go beyond maintenance. Then a resolution is needed again. It always depends on the specific work.

What this means for you as an owner

High costs and a thin reserve fund alone are not enough to stop a renovation. Anyone who wants to object needs other grounds, for example that the work is not necessary at all or goes far beyond what the building needs. Conversely, with large quotes it pays to look closely: what is repair, and what is a wish list?

Accounts, forecasts, resolutions: condominium ownership step by step