Management of residential communities
The management of the properties of Residential Communities is a specialisation of our Company. We conduct all activities related to property management in close cooperation with the management boards of Residential Communities and owners of individual premises.
We carry out all activities related to the registration of a newly established Residential Community, as well as all activities related to the takeover of the real estate from the current manager and (if necessary) all activities related to the change of the current manager.
In particular, our responsibilities include:
1. representation of property owners
- externally, including, inter alia, before state and local government administrative authorities,
- internally, i.e. between owners
2. legal services
- Preparation of documentation for court proceedings,
- substantive support for the law firm
3. bank and accounting services
- opening a bank account for real estate services and making settlements through this account,
- filing of tax returns
- keeping accounts with utility providers
- maintaining off-book records of property management costs,
- working out the method of accounting for the supply of utilities to the building, presenting a proposal for the rules of accounting for utilities
- collecting and settling the advance payments for the costs of maintenance of the joint property, rents, etc.
- debt collection,
- investing free funds of property owners in term deposits,
- preparing drafts of the economic plan,
- drawing up annual financial reports,
- collection and payment of taxes and other public charges
- monitoring and ongoing analysis of changes in the rates of services and utilities, including gas, electricity and heat, water and sewage, and the regulation of fees and related settlements based on contracts concluded by property owners.
4. administrative services
- keeping the list of premises, premises owners and tenants up to date,
- ensuring the supply of utilities – concluding, possibly terminating and amending contracts with water, heat, electricity suppliers and waste disposal companies
- concluding, amending and terminating building insurance contracts,
- maintaining order and cleanliness in the building and on the premises,
- preparation, convening and servicing of property owners’ meetings, in particular housing communities’ meetings
- representing real estate owners before courts and enforcement bodies and other entities with which the owners have a legal relationship,
- drafting and providing opinions on the content of contracts with contractors,
- drafting resolutions and other legal acts of the communities (regulations, statutes, etc.),
- confirming rights to premises, issuing certificates, etc,
- searching for companies providing services, negotiating prices and contract terms,
- delivery of notices to owners or tenants concerning the amount of fees, resulting from the decisions of owners or other legal regulations,
- securing the property in permanent contracts.
5. technical maintenance
- Maintaining the technical documentation of the property, including the building log book, as required by building law,
- observing the deadlines for compulsory technical inspections of the building resulting from the Building Law,
- Performing mandatory general building inspections,
- carrying out mandatory gas inspections,
- ordering and controlling current repairs and maintenance of the building,
- ordering and controlling the removal of failures and their results,
- preparing renovation plans for the building,
- preparation of investor and blind cost estimates,
- preparing tender materials, searching for contractors, preparing and carrying out tenders, analysing bids preparing and conducting tenders, analysis of offers and tender materials,
- carrying out official, design and executive arrangements with participants in the investment process, handing over the worksite, carrying out acceptance inspections, cost analysis.
Frequently asked questions
The basic legal act governing the management of the joint property of a housing community is the LABEL PROPERTY ACT of 24.06.1994R. as amended (UWL), and in the case of so-called “small housing communities” (up to 3 premises) the Civil Code.
The Law on Ownership of Premises (Article 19) divides communities into small and large ones, depending on the number of separate and non-separated premises. We deal with a so-called small community when there are up to and including 3 premises in the real estate.
The distinction between small and large associations is very important due to the fact that these associations differ dramatically in the way decisions concerning the management of the property are made.
A small community is governed by the rules set out in the Civil Code for joint ownership (Articles 197-221), according to which the consent of all owners (unanimity) is required to perform actions exceeding the scope of ordinary management. In the absence of unanimity, each owner has the right to apply to the court for a decision.
In a large community, for decisions exceeding the scope of ordinary management a resolution adopted by a majority of votes, calculated according to the size of shares, is necessary, unless the agreement or a resolution adopted in this manner stipulates that there is one vote per owner.
Small and large housing association, what is it?
The convening of owners’ meetings is an obligation of the management board, resulting both from the general competence to manage the affairs of the community and representation, as well as from the express provisions of the UWL. The Act obliges the management board or manager appointed pursuant to Article 18 UWL to convene a reporting (so-called discharge) meeting at least once a year, by the end of the first quarter at the latest. Should the management board or manager fail to convene an annual meeting within the required time limit, any owner may do so.
In addition to the mandatory meeting, an extraordinary meeting may be called at any time. Such a meeting shall be convened on the initiative of the management board or at the request of owners holding together at least 1/10 of the shares in the property.
We will be happy to advise you on the procedure for changing the manager of a shared property and, if you are interested, we will prepare the relevant documentation and carry out the relevant formalities leading to the change of property manager.
