The declaration of division - What must be considered as a buyer?

In principle, it is stated here which shares of a housing estate belong to the owner. This means that the declaration of division describes which areas exactly belong together with a real estate or possibly a property to the common property and which belong to the special property, likewise this describes the rights and obligations of the owners.


Important documents needed for a declaration of division ...

- a distribution plan of the property
- a seclusion statement, here it is noted whether the property/apartment is sufficiently separate from the other real estate/apartments, because the units    must be able to be used independently.
- a community order, which includes the rights and obligations of the owners.

Thus, a divisional declaration is only useful if, for example, a homeowner of a multi-family house wants to sell individual apartments of his property. The used declaration of division then describes that the premises for sale can be used separately. Here can also stand whether underground parking spaces belong to certain apartments, if a land register entry of these underground parking spaces exists, then these can then be used independently.

The validity of a declaration of division is only effective when a notary attests the signatures of the owners and the declaration is certified by him.

In this case, the authentication serves to represent a hedge against disputes.

In addition, the declaration of division includes exactly what costs, in maintenance, repair, renovations and various other structural measures, by whom to bear, so whether these costs are to be borne by the owner community.


What should you pay attention to when buying a property?

• In any case, potential buyers should read the declaration of divorce given to them before buying a property. In doing so, attention should be paid to regulations that could disadvantage a property owner. For example: Does the garden belong to community property? Are there enough parking spaces or garages available? Are there any other special use rights that you, as the owner, could restrict?
• Sellers must be absolutely sure to describe in their housing ad everything synonymous with the rights of use, as it actually is. In doing so, the existing declaration of division should be thoroughly examined.
• It should also be noted whether the declaration of division is entered in the land register, since this is only valid from this date on. Also, any structural changes must be recorded again in the land register.

In 2016, there was a case of someone who bought a share of the attic of an old apartment and wanted to use this, in the knowledge of the seller, as a living space. However, it was stated in the declaration of division that the attic is not intended as a living space and the buyer therefore had to sue. This is associated with a lot of stress and anger and does not always have to be in your favor. So always thoroughly read the divisional statement before making a purchase!