Under The Immovable Property (Tenure, Registration and Valuation) (Amendment) Law of 1993 – 6(1) of 1993, section 38K (hereinafter referred to as “The law”), common expenses should be shared between all owners, hence it is an obligation of every owner to participate in the payment of common expenses.
Under the Article 38A, common hold property, is any part of the building/project, which has not been registered as a privately owned unit. Generally, the roof is considered to be part of the common property, which is indicated impliedly from Article 38ΣΤ (1), or Model Management Rules in Rule No.8 ((ε) However, it is also advisable in order to determine, whether the roof falls under the scope of common expenses, which should be jointly shared, for the owner to visit the Land Registry and get the registration details of the block – this will indicate whether the roofs are private or shared. Another way is to examine the contracts of sale for the complex of apartments- if the roof forms part of their property (and are therefore private) it will be indicated in the contract. Therefore, building complexes that have their roofs marked as communal assets will attract certain communal expenses, which the owners should share jointly.
Those, who are resistant to comply with the law and participate in the common expenses, will be deprived from rights, which other owners are entitled to have, such as a right to vote at the general meetings. Moreover, the Management Committee can file a lawsuit against the owner, who does contribute to payment of common expenses in accordance with the law.
