The Homeowners' Association: When It Arises and What It Means for an Apartment Owner
The homeowners' association is the legal form of managing an apartment building, and its most important peculiarity is that it is created by the law itself. Under the Georgian Law on Homeowners' Associations, an association is deemed founded in a multi-apartment building situated on a single land plot which contains more than two apartments held in individual ownership. Membership is therefore automatic — by purchasing an apartment you are already a member of the association, and no separate accession decision is required.
The law also contemplates alternative models: in a building on a single land plot, upon a unanimous decision of all members and with the consent of the municipal executive organ, one or several entrance-based associations may be founded; and upon the decision of all owners of several buildings on adjacent plots, with the same consent, a single common association may be created. The association operates on the basis of the law and its charter, while the conditions of its liquidation are determined by this law and other legislation.
Common Property: What Belongs to the Members Jointly and How Shares Are Calculated
The common property of the association's members comprises the land plot, the parts of the building and the structures, installations, engineering networks and equipment that are not in individual ownership. The law describes this property in detail: the land plot; buildings and engineering-communication equipment intended to service the common property; the load-bearing and enclosing structures of the building — foundations, frame, walls, common-use balconies, interfloor ceilings, parapets, cornices, drainpipes; vestibules, entrance halls, corridors, stairwells, basements, attics, boiler rooms, technical floors, roofs, lifts, shafts, channels and refuse chutes; and transit lines. Acquired movable property, securities and intangible goods may also enter the common property.
The method of calculating the share is fixed by law: an owner's share in the common property is determined by the ratio of the area held in individual ownership to the total area of the apartments in the building. That same share determines the owner's participation in the common costs of maintaining, operating and developing the common property — unless the charter provides otherwise. A larger apartment therefore means a larger contribution obligation, and this circumstance should be factored into your budget before purchasing.
Disposal: What Is and Is Not Allowed
The law protects the link between the apartment and the share at the level of disposal as well: individual ownership may not be alienated without the owner's share in the common property, and the apartment may not even be encumbered by mortgage or otherwise without the corresponding share — apartment and share pass together. An individual object or part of the common property may be transferred to a third person for use only in accordance with the rules established by the charter. Stairwells and stairs, lifts and common-use shafts and channels, common corridors and galleries, technical floors, load-bearing and enclosing structures, roofs, and the building's servicing mechanical, electro-sanitary and other equipment may be transferred for use only upon a unanimous decision of all members, while burdening the land plot with a right of limited use follows the procedure established by the Civil Code.
At the level of management the rule is simple: joint management of the common property rests with the owners unless the charter or a contract provides otherwise. Each owner may, without the consent of the others and within the bounds of reason, take the necessary measures to prevent damage directly threatening the common property, and may demand reimbursement of the expenses incurred; each may also demand that the association's activity be conducted in accordance with the charter — or, in its absence, with the law's requirements and the common interests of the apartment owners.