Housing communities have been one of the most popular forms of real estate management in Poland for years. As part of them, the owners of individual premises use not only apartments, but also from the common parts of the building – staircases, corridors, elevators, basements or yards. It is these spaces that require constant maintenance, which is associated with the costs separated between the members of the community. The amount of fees sometimes raises questions and controversy, which is why experts of the Gethome.pl portal decided to take a closer look at the mechanisms that determine how much each of the residents pay for the maintenance of the property.
What are common parts and why do they require financing?
Common parts are those elements of real estate that do not belong only to one owner, but serve all residents of the building. In addition to obvious spaces, such as staircases, elevators or corridors, the common parts also include installations – water, sewage, heating, electric – as well as a roof, facade or foundations. All this requires regular maintenance, cleaning, sometimes repairs or renovations.
The funds allocated to the maintenance of common parts cover the costs of cleaning and lighting of the corridors, garbage collection from technical rooms, installation inspections, as well as fees for the services of administrative and management companies. Without a common premium, it would be impossible to ensure the safe and comfortable use of the building by all residents.
The area of the apartment and the amount of fees
The most commonly used principle in Polish communities is to determine the rent in proportion to the size of the premises. The basis of the calculations is the owner's participation in the common property, which is expressed in the land and mortgage register and corresponds to the ratio of the usable area of the apartment to the total area of all premises.
This means that the owner of a large apartment pays higher fees for maintaining common parts than the owner of a studio, although they both use, for example, a staircase or elevator. This rule is sometimes criticized because it seems unfair – a larger apartment does not generate much consumption of common parts. Probably the construction of such a calculation is based on the assumption that a larger number of people live in a larger apartment, which translates into greater “use” of staircases, elevators, etc., but it does not have to be a rule. However, this system is simple, transparent and widely used, and deviations from it are rare.
How is the amount of fees determined?
The amount of monthly fees is usually determined on the basis of the annual economic plan of the community. The management board or manager is preparing a list of planned expenses – from current cleaning costs, through technical inspections to expected renovations. Then these costs are divided in proportion to the shares of individual owners.
The final decision to approve the rates is made at the community meeting, by voting. The owners therefore have a real impact on what expenses will be adopted, and thus – how high their monthly loads will be.
Repair Fund – investment in the future of the building
One of the important elements of fees is the renovation fund. This is a separate pool of money collected for larger investments and repairs – such as roof replacement, facade renovation, installation modernization or renewal of staircases.
The amount of the premium for the renovation fund is determined by the community. Most often it is within 1 to a few zlotys per square meter of a flat per month. Importantly, also here is the principle of participation in the property – the larger the apartment, the higher the payment for the fund.
The renovation fund is extremely important because it avoids the sudden burden on the inhabitants with high one -time costs. Thanks to the systematic postponement of funds, the community can carry out the necessary work without having to collect additional extraordinary contributions.
What exactly is the money from the rent?
By decomposing the rent into individual elements, you can indicate several main categories:
- Maintaining cleanliness and order – cleaning staircases, washing windows, care of green areas, snow removal,
- operation and ongoing repairs – conservation of elevators, intercoms, technical installations, lighting replacement,
- Media for common parts – electricity in corridors, in garages or basements, cleaning water,
- Administrative costs – a manager or administrator's remuneration, accounting and legal service,
- building insurance – protection from random events, e.g. fire or flooding,
- Renovation Fund – funds for larger investments.
Each owner can read the annual financial statement of the community, where revenues and expenses are presented in detail. This ensures transparency and the ability to control how common money is managed.
Rice -free flats – what does it look like?
An interesting phenomenon on the market are the so -called Rental apartments. In practice, however, this does not mean a complete lack of fees, but another way of incurring them.
In such buildings, the owners themselves organize and finance the maintenance of the common property, without the formal share of the manager and without permanent monthly advances. This means greater freedom, but also more responsibility – residents must determine themselves when and for what to allocate funds, and in the case of major renovations they often incur costs once.
The advantage of rent -free apartments is the lack of regular administrative fees, which reduces the current costs of maintaining the premises. The disadvantage, however, is the lack of systematic deposition of money for renovations – in a situation of sudden need to modernize the roof or installation, residents must quickly collect large sums, which can be difficult.
Summary
The rent in housing communities is not only a fee for the apartment itself, but above all for maintaining the common parts of the building, without which the functioning of the property would not be possible. Its amount depends on the area of the premises, i.e. on the share in the common property. Regular payments allow you to finance current needs, and to postpone funds for larger investments within the renovation fund.
The alternative are rent -free flats that offer apparent savings, but require large discipline and responsibility from the owners. Ultimately, therefore, this community system, despite its disadvantages, ensures stability and financial security, as well as care for the value of the entire property in the long run.
Marcin Moneta
