The administrator  is the co-owners’ agent for the management of the common things of a building.

The authorization to the administrator is given by the assembly of co-owners, convened in accordance with the Regulation of the building and the content of this authorization, so the responsibilities of the administrator are set by the Regulation of the apartment building. In general, however, these responsibilities are:

Payment of all utility bills, such as electricity, water supply, cleaning, heating oil, etc.

Supervision of regular (eg cleaning) and emergency work (eg repair of damages) in common areas and facilities of the building.

Distribution of common expenses and issue of a detailed account for each apartment separately, depending on the millimeters of its participation.

Collection of the debts of the apartments.

Control and supply of heating oil during winter months.

Taking care of the administrative issues as mentioned in the Regulation, ie convening a meeting of the building if there is a need and observance of  the metting’s minutes.

Quick response when the tenants ask for his intervention to repair any damage.

Practically, the administrator of the building  is the executive body and “its boss” is the assembly of the apartment building. The administrator, except in extraordinary circumstances, should be undisturbed to perform his duties at his discretion. Co-owners need to understand that the administrator does not exist to satisfy the whims of some, but to serve the benefits of all tenants. On the other hand, the administrator must devote time to the building, listen to the opinions of  all tenants but always act at his own discretion and in the long-term benefit of all. Also, he has to make sure that there is transparency in all his actions and  be able to justify his actions when being asked.

The apartment building’s Regulation is the text that regulates the relations of the co-owners and in general the operation of the apartment building. This text is part of the contract that each owner signs when purchasing a property. When signing  the contract, each owner accepts the Regulation of the building and commits to its application. In addition, in case of renting  property to a third party, each landlord is obliged to bind the tenant in compliance with the Regulation with the lease agreement.

The basic action for the start of operation of the apartment building is the formation of the reserve  fund of the apartment building, as provided by the Regulation. The reserve fund is formed with the participation of all tenants of the apartment building. This money allows the administrator to cover the costs of the apartment building until the issue and collection of shared expenses. In case that the apartment/shop is rented, the reserve is usually paid by the tenant. When he/she leaves the apartment and after paying all his obligations in the administrator of the apartment building, the amount he/she paid as a reserve fund, is returned without any interest by the owner of the apartment, who must recover it again from the new tenant of the apartment. The amount of the reserve fund of the apartment building must be about 50% more than the average monthly amount of expenses, in order to be able to cover possible delays in the repayment of debts. It also needs to adjust regularly to rising costs. Otherwise the administrator will be forced to cover part of the expenses of the apartment building from his own pocket.

The most difficult task of an administrator is to collect the building shared expenses. As prevention is always better than cure, the administrator should make sure that the charges are clear, transparent and fully justified. Every question must be answered promptly and convincingly. The distribution of shared expenses should be done as smoothly as possible in order to avoid periods  (months) with huge charges and other periods (months) with minor charges. Moreover,  the administrator  should be polite but also persistent when requesting timely payment of shared expenses. The more the debt accumulates, the more difficult it is to collect it.

However, if one of the owners refuses to pay the debt, the administrator must refer him to the co-owners’ meeting and let it decide on further actions, which sometimes reach the courts. In this case the owner, who is uncooperative must repay the amount increased by his collection costs, default interest and the penalty clause if such is mentioned in the regulation.

The owner of the apartment is always liable to the co-ownership of the building for any debts of an apartment. So, in that case  the owner has to pay off  the common expenses owed.

That is why before the departure of a tenant,  always in agreement with the landlord, he should request a written clearance note from the administrator  of the building (as well as from electricity supplier etc.)  in order to avoid problems.

If the regulation does not  mention anything specific, a decision by a majority (50% + 1 vote) in an assembly is required for this issue. Those who are in the minority are obliged to respect the decision of the majority.

Shared expenses  must be paid, because when the apartment building starts operating, usually everyone is obliged to pay utilities (unless there is an explicit exception in the Regulation).

However, in my opinion, if the constructor is responsible for this delay, you could ask him all the shared expenses you have already paid. You may even be able to claim further compensation for this delay, if the relevant penal clauses are provided.

Article 17 of the Ministerial Decision number Υ1β / 2000/1995 “ regarding the conditions for the establishment and operation of poultry-livestock facilities” provides the following regarding the keeping of pets and birds in detached houses and apartment buildings:

Only one dog and one cat or two dogs or two cats may be kept in each dwelling. For blocks of flats (consisting of two apartments or more) it is also permissible to keep one dog and one cat or two dogs or two cats in each apartment of them, even when the building Regulation prohibits the keeping of such animals, provided that the These animals will be kept in the same apartment where the owner lives, and will not remain permanently on the balconies of the apartment. It is explicitly forbidden to keep pets in the common areas of the building (flat, terrace, terraces, uncovered areas, etc.) as well as in the courtyard terrace, terraces, and other open spaces of houses.

It is also strictly forbidden to have and keep pets in public centers and shops (commercial, etc.) during their opening hours. Owners of pets according to the above must take care of their regular vaccination and take all necessary measures to maintain cleanliness in their environment and to avoid noise or other disturbances to the detriment of the neighbors or the tenants of the apartment building. It is permissible to keep “songbirds and  birds of paradise ” in dwellings, or apartments of apartment buildings, even when the Regulation of the apartment building prohibit the keeping of such birds, providing that there are no problems of common peace or other disturbances to the neighbors or tenants of the apartment building and that these birds will not be kept in the common areas of the apartment building.

Owners of animals or birds that do not comply with the conditions in the previous paragraphs of this article, will be punished for disturbing the common peace and disturbance of the neighborhood by the noise caused in any way by pets or birds in accordance with the Penal Law, and for the other violations in accordance with article 23 hereof.

In addition to the above penalties, the Health Service may request the removal of animals or birds, which will be done in cooperation with the relevant local government and following a letter of order from the competent prosecutor. In these cases, the animals or birds will be delivered to animal welfare associations or associations under the responsibility of their owner and in accordance with the applicable special provisions of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Typically the previous owner will have to take it from the administrator, in case he has already submitted it to the administrator. The administrator  must return it to the previous owner and collect it from the new one. To simplify our life a bit: the previous owner can take it from the new one.

As noon and night common  quiet hours are considered the following:

1. During the summer season from 15:00 to 17:30 and from 23:00. until 07:00.
2. During the winter period from 15:30 to 17:30 and from 22:00 to 07:30.

Summer period is the period from April 1st to September 30th and winter period is from October 1st to March 31st.

If the apartment building’s Regulation explicitly forbids this use (schools, etc.),  as  often happens, then you should consult a lawyer, file a lawsuit against the owner of the school in the competent court and demand the removal of  the school as well as compensation for the inconvenience. If there is a relevant prohibition in the regulation, I am sure you will win the lawsuit. If there is no relevant prohibition you can ask and insist that the hours of common silence  should be respected by all.

This issue should be discussed at a meeting where the administrator will be liable for his tasks. If the administrator neglects to convene a meeting, the Regulation usually states that a certain percentage of co-owners may legally convene a meeting instead of  the administrator. In case, things  are getting complicated,  you can still go to court. A relevant court decision (ΜΠρ Αθ 9706/1981 – ΕΔΠ 1983,44) provides that: The administrator can be revoked by a court decision after a co-owner’s lawsuit, if  considered to be guilty of infidelity or serious negligence.

The case law on apartment buildings is scattered (as often happens) and difficult to give a concise list. However, the original law is Law 3741/1929 Government Gazette A ‘4 / 9-1-1929, which has laid the foundations for issues of floor ownership and issues  related to apartment buildings. Then it has been supplemented from time to time as with ΝΔ 1024/1971.

You should read the Regulation of the apartment building, because only there the answer to your question could be found. However, regardless of what is mentioned in the Regulation, you must keep in mind that:

You can, by a simple majority of the assembly, change this part of the Regulation, and allow e.g. to a non-owner to become a salaried or unpaid administrator.

If someone strongly refuses to become an administrator, it is not in your best interest to force him, because he will not show the required interest and the apartment building will be neglected. The same happens if the owner does not live in the apartment building.

The solution in this case is to outsource the management to a proper company. After all, the cost is so low that it is not an inhibitory factor. Choose a reputable and serious company.

Unfortunately I can not give you specific prices without knowing the needs of the apartment building. you can send us an email (dtexniki@yahoo.gr) or call us at 210.95.90.555, 210.95.30.555 to inform you and give you a written offer.

Your question is not directly related to the administration of an apartment building. The administrator cannot be a gendarme. The answer that  i can give you is that it is a matter of the Civil Code. The best solution is to get on with all the other tenants who are getting annoyed by the tenants of this apartment, and ask for the advice  of a lawyer.

The money collected for the formation or the increase of a reserve fund, or an advance payment of expenses or a guarantee or as it may be otherwise called, is returned in ALL to the tenant who leaves the apartment building, but without interest. So you have to get back all the money you paid for some of the above reasons, but you can not ask for interest. Of course, it is a condition that you have settled your obligations towards the apartment building.

During common  quiet hours you must be quiet! Living in an apartment building unfortunately imposes some restrictions on everyone. Try to:

Keep balcony doors and windows closed.

If you want to listen to music or TV at high volume, use headphones (there are also wireless that do not block your movements).

Do not wear heels in the house.

Schedule  the activities that are likely to cause noise in non common quiet hours.

Lay as many rugs and carpets as you can.

It is known that  the walls and floors in apartment buildings are very thin and any noise is transmitted to neighbor apartments. Keep that always  in mind.

Usually the Regulation of the apartment building explicitly excludes certain uses for the properties of the building. So if you are planning to use your property for some of these uses you better forget about it. The Regulation usually does not allow high-noise uses such as mechanical shops, chemical laboratories, dance schools, brothels. A change in this part of the Regulation usually requires a unanimous majority, which is very difficult or impossible to have. Except from uses which are expressly prohibited by the Regulation, all others are permitted.

Here are some things that are commonly overlooked by the tenants of a new apartment building:

• Every tenant should read carefully and understand the Regulation of the apartment building.
• The administrator must be designated and take up his/her duties immediately. Delays will only bring confusion and controversy later.
• All tenants should take care early to find the various switches that isolate the various supplies in their apartment such as water, electricity, heating, etc. They should also obtain keys to access these spaces. So in case of need they will be prepared.
• Before the operation begins, the technicians should indicate which measurer (heating, water supply, etc.) belongs to each apartment. It is a good idea for each tenant to confirm that these measurers are indeed properly matched.
• The issue of receiving a new property from the manufacturer is serious. It is advisable for each owner to assign the inspection to a trusted engineer before signing the relevant receipt documents, in order to avoid problems later.

If the regulation explicitly states that the properties can only be used as residences, then no other use is allowed and especially no professional use. Amendment of this part of the Regulation usually requires a unanimous majority, which means that all the co-owners of the building would agree (1000 to 1000 votes).

If the meeting of the co-owners  that designated you as an administrator took place in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation, then you are now the legally designated administrator and the previous one must immediately give you everything related to this. If some co-owners disagreed and voted in the minority at the meeting, this does not change the decision taken by the majority. It goes without saying that for a decision to be valid, an assembly must have been convened and conducted exactly as provided by the Regulation.

The “paper” that defines the duties, obligations and rights of the administrator  of the apartment building, whether he/she is one of the co-owners or a company, is the Regulation of the apartment building. Regarding the assignment, you should draft the minutes of the general meeting, which assign the management to the office. If there is no such record/minutes and in case you have never kept minutes in the assemblies of your apartment building, then the assignment may be considered legal, but the authorization of the office is very doubtful especially in cases of dispute by wayward tenants.

I recommend that you check first if the charge and distribution of this expense is correct according to the Regulation. If so, then you have to pay for it. The right way is to raise the issue  in the general assembly, where you will express your opinion and ask for appropriate measures to be taken, or to change a cleaner. Then a decision will be made by a majority that you should respect.

If the Regulation of your apartment building does not mention anything relevant, then the following applies: In order for the above work to be done, a decision must be made, by a simple majority of the general assembly of the co-owners. If the majority of the assembly does not consent to its construction, then you can do nothing but pay for the work by yourself.

Most Regulations of buildings (as simple logic) require the administrator to justify expenses to tenants at regular intervals. During these intervals the administrator has to  present the expenses and justify the way the costs were incurred, to the tenants who have to pay them. In addition, you have the right to ask for clarifications and evidence, including valid documents, and in case you do not have access to them or the documents are incomplete, you  may appeal to the competent courts. Before that, of course, it will be good to discuss all the above in the co-owners’ meeting and ask the administrator to respect certain principles such as delivery of  heating oil in the presence of tenants, validated receipts, etc. If the administrator refuses to convene an extraordinary meeting, the Regulation usually provides for a procedure by which other co-owners can also convene a meeting.

Our practice as professional administrators of buildings is ALWAYS to post copies of documents of ALL the expenses along with the monthly summary statement of common expenses, and also allowing at any time the control of the measurements’  documents and any other data by any tenant who wants to do so. The documents and all the relevant data (measurements, etc.) are archived on a monthly basis in the relevant files, so that a detailed inspection can be easily performed. We still NEVER deliver heating oil without the presence and inspection of at least one tenant of the apartment building.  These  simple and basic rules should be respected by all, so that such problems do not arise.

For the legality of the constructions on the balcony of the penthouse, the urban planning service is only responsible to answer this question, in which you should address your questions. In general, however, that balconies etc. are “semi-open areas” and as such must remain open on at least one side.

Regarding the installation of additional radiators in the space that is created (but also for any change, in any space, concerning the heating and the percentages of cost distribution in general) i can answer you with certainty that in order to complete this task, you should have the agreement of the co-owners’ meeting and in fact by an absolute majority. If the change is approved, the owner who requested it and who benefits, must at his own expense arrange a new research  by a Mechanical Engineer  who takes into account the changes. Then this new research must be approved again by an absolute  majority of the general meeting of co-owners, that will be signed by all co-owners as a notarial act  and legally recorded to the competent  land registry office.

I understand that the above is time consuming and highly bureaucratic, but it is the only way to make this change properly.

The co-owner who wants to make the change can simply ask for the verbal permission of the other co-owners, but he is thus open to future disputes, which, without doubt, will occur sooner or later.

Article 9 of Law 1562/1985 provides that: “If there is already a separate floor or apartment property, but no Regulation of co-owners’ relations has been composed, the majority of at least 60% of the co-owners have the right to take legal action, in accordance with the provisions of the previous articles, in order to create a Regulation if necessary for defining the relations of the co-owners ”.

In case you are not able to create a Regulation, for any dispute between the co-owners, the relevant laws that are applicabe are 3741/1929 and others posterior ones that supplement the previous one in individual issues, such as: 960/1979 and 1221/1981 for parking spaces, 1512/1985 for issues of distribution of heating expenses, 1562/1985 for various issues etc.

Such things are usually not included in the Regulations of apartment buildings. You could ask in the next meeting of the co-owners of the apartment building (by yourself if you are the owner, or the owner of your apartment if you rent it) to set some relevant rules. You could also refer to the articles of the Civil Code regarding the obstruction of the use of neighboring properties.

If the amendment  you want to make either does not affect  the rights and obligations of co-owners or for which the Regulation itself does not require a majority, (eg cost sharing or the use of the property), then they can be modified some parts of the Regulation by decisions of the general meeting. But any amendment that was made in this way is not safe.

In general, no right can be abolished, or an obligation imposed on anyone without their consent. For this reason, for changes concerning rights or obligations, is required  acceptance by all parties, ie the change must be made unanimously.

In order for any Regulation’s amendment to be valid in any circumstance, it must take the form of a notarial act, get signed by all co-owners and legally recorded to the competent  land registry office.