Whatever the size and needs of the co-owned building, the choice of the representative ensuring the administration of common areas is a sovereign decision of the general meeting of co-owners. But does it always have the choice? In recent years, as in various other economic sectors, the co-ownership world, and particularly small buildings, has faced a shortage of professional building managers. Yet legal requirements still have to be met. Is the "volunteer" building manager then an acceptable solution?
Who can be a building manager? The legal framework
Article 3.89 of the new Civil Code expressly and unreservedly provides that "when not designated by the co-ownership regulations, the building manager is appointed by the first general meeting, or failing that, by court decision, at the request of any co-owner or any third party with an interest". The same article requires that the building manager be linked to the co-ownership by a written contract of a maximum duration of 3 years.
In line with specialised doctrine, the reading is unanimous. As evidence, Ms Isabelle Durant and Mr Olivier Jauniaux (Le syndic, le conseil et le commissaire, in La copropriete apres la loi du 18 juin 2018, ed. La Charte, 2018, p. 86) expressly write that "the building manager is a natural or legal person, co-owner or not, acting in a professional capacity or not". The law does not require them to reside in or be domiciled in the co-ownership to be managed.
Natural or legal person?
Whether the building manager is professional or not, if it is a legal entity, it is essential that the entity be validly constituted. This also applies to the non-professional building manager who chooses to manage the co-ownership via a family company in which they hold shares.
Non-professional building manager: what to know about the IPI
If non-professional, the (future) building manager must comply with the Royal Decree of 6 September 1993 which protects the professional title and the practice of the real estate agent profession (Belgian Official Gazette 13 October 1993).
To practise the profession of real estate agent, and therefore the function of building manager for co-owned properties as a self-employed person, on a principal or accessory basis, this property manager must be approved by the Institute of Real Estate Professionals (IPI) and listed on the roll.
The two exceptions to this rule
This IPI accreditation requirement does not apply if the aspiring building manager is in one of the following situations:
- Equivalent professional discipline: they are subject to the discipline of a recognised professional body such as that of a lawyer, notary, architect, accountant or surveyor-expert
- Family or personal patrimony: they are only managing their own family patrimony or the patrimony of which they themselves are a co-owner or partner in the company owning the property, in which case they manage the property without bearing the title of IPI-approved real estate agent because they are a co-owner managing "their own assets"
These two categories of persons may in practice, without IPI accreditation, take on the function of building manager.
"Volunteer": a label that says nothing about remuneration
To mark the difference with professional and approved real estate agents or professionals falling under other professional bodies, the co-owner-manager is called "volunteer". But this label of convenience does not prejudge the remunerated or non-remunerated nature of their activity. The financial aspect is organised in the contract that links them to the co-ownership, which will then define their tax and social obligations.
The legal obligations that remain identical
Furthermore, every building manager, professional or not, must fulfil their mission and their legal obligations. Two requirements are particularly structuring:
Standardised accounting
The building manager keeps accounting that respects the Standardised Minimum Chart of Accounts (SMCA) defined by the Royal Decree of 12 July 2012 (Belgian Official Gazette 3 August 2012), and therefore keep accounts using double-entry bookkeeping.
Tolerance for small co-ownerships: for co-ownerships of fewer than 20 units, where cellars, garages and parking spaces are not counted, simplified accounting may be kept while presenting an annual balance sheet to the co-ownership.
Professional liability
The building manager covers their professional liability. This applies even to the volunteer building manager, their non-professional status does not relieve them of the consequences of their acts or omissions.
No legal threshold for mandatory transition to a professional
In any event, Belgian law on co-ownership and the law on the status of real estate agents impose no limit on the number of units in a co-ownership that a non-professional or volunteer building manager may administer. There is therefore no legal provision that would impose a professional building manager from 20 units onwards, that is a persistent myth.
It falls to the volunteer co-owner who offers their services to the general meeting that decides their nomination or appointment to take the measure of its expectations and of the legal requirements that this "volunteer" building manager will be able to meet in light of the candidate who comes forward.
The shortage of professional building managers: a context that forces reflection
For several years, co-owners looking for a new professional building manager have been facing a shortage of service offers and collaboration proposals.
The 2022 IPI survey: structural causes
The IPI conducted a survey in 2022 on the building manager profession. This survey highlights declining attractiveness and identifies the reasons for demotivation and discouragement. Among the causes raised are:
- The imbalance between professional and private life
- Remuneration considered inadequate
- A significant stress factor
- A lack of knowledge and recognition from co-owners
Although many professionals undoubtedly work properly to the satisfaction of the co-ownerships managed and the co-owners, thus actively contributing to preserving their real estate patrimony, a certain number nonetheless no longer convince, hence the active search for a new professional building manager.
The consequence: a crowding-out effect
Co-owners have thus realised that the profession is progressively less attractive and that this lack of attractiveness is gradually becoming, on the co-ownership market, a real shortage. The lack of professionals allows those who practise the profession to choose the co-ownerships they want to work for, at less negotiable fees. That is the hard law of supply and demand.
As a result, the ambient shortage of professional building managers places the co-ownership and the co-owners in front of a real challenge.
The solution: a volunteer building manager in 4 steps
For this transition to succeed, the volunteer candidate must proceed step by step. Any "volunteer" activity answers a spirit of service, a willingness to act for the benefit of one's entire community (of co-owners) but also, more selfishly no doubt, for oneself and one's own assets.
Step 1 - Study the feasibility of the project
On the co-ownership side, they must take an interest in the management of the co-ownership, ask questions, examine the co-ownership documents, questioning the current building manager and the other co-owners.
On the individual side, they must be ready to invest. The activity of volunteer building manager requires dedication, time and availability as well as a certain amount of accessible knowledge. It is not a side job, it is a structuring commitment.
Step 2 - Acquire the basic skills and surround yourself
The building manager must keep themselves informed regularly and continuously. They obtain this information easily thanks to training and various practical tools such as handbooks and software. Indeed, on the information and legal sides, tools exist and are within everyone's reach.
It is crucial to surround yourself with competent co-owners in various fields: technical (maintenance, works), legal (disputes, leases), accounting (statements, charges) and communication (information to residents). The co-ownership is a collective affair, not a reserved domain.
Step 3 - Sign a written contract
Beyond its mandatory and written nature, the contract allows the conditions of remuneration and reimbursement of expenses incurred to be defined. It falls to the volunteer building manager to negotiate with the co-owners, including members of the co-ownership council or the general meeting.
Several professional federations or owner associations make model contracts available that co-owners and volunteer building manager candidates can adapt. The maximum duration is 3 years.
Step 4 - Ensure success and continuity
Rather than formally draped in their legal mission, the volunteer building manager has everything to gain by positioning themselves as Facilitator of the co-owners and Communicator.
- They share the information received (ideally via a dedicated website, respecting GDPR)
- They explain the why and how of decisions, as an educator
- They consult with others rather than imposing
- They delegate: on the administrative side, the building manager may, under their responsibility, interest other co-owners in performing certain tasks (drafting the agenda, sending notices, tracking the attendance list). They may also request formal authorisation to delegate some tasks to their general meeting, which votes by 2/3 majority
On the technical side, this manager can acknowledge their limits. Technical aspects do require expertise and specific knowledge. Bringing together the skills and expertise within the building benefits everyone. Tasking co-owners with carrying out building visits, receiving tradespeople or obtaining quotes saves a lot of time and limits one's personal investment.
In conclusion: a collective investment
In view of the legal and technical requirements as well as the evolution of public policies on energy renovation, the volunteer building manager might doubt themselves or fear feeling alone and helpless. If the co-owners want the volunteer management exercised by a co-owner with prudence, reasonableness and common sense to become a success, the management is no longer the affair of a single individual and becomes collegial.
The co-owners of the building must roll up their sleeves and "play as collectively as possible" since all are working to enhance and preserve their real estate patrimony. Their more or less spontaneous involvement in the management will prevent the volunteer building manager's goodwill from being eroded by being left to their fate when they have not been trained for this activity.
The quality of personal relations and the collaborations developed between co-owners thus enable the volunteer building manager to seriously fulfil a legal mission that is, let us admit it, difficult. This analysis synthesises the observations of Marianne Palamides, lawyer specialised in co-ownership.
For further reading, see also our article on the building manager profession and the shortage of professionals in Belgium, the structural context that makes the volunteer building manager all the more relevant.
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