Flat ownership and registration in Europa, an overview
Falkenbach, Heidi & Katri Nuuja
The objective of this study is to compare flat ownership systems and their legal and organizational structures in Europe. The study is conducted through case studies of ten European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland). Different systems of flat ownership and registration as well as management of flats in the abovementioned countries are described in general. Also transaction procedures in different systems are discussed. Systems of organising and regulating the division of the possession of collectively owned real property have been developed in all the countries of this study. In this text the focus is on commonhold systems, which we have defined as a form of apartment possession, where the ownership is organized through a legal structure dividing the property into private and common areas. Typical form of commonhold in the studied countries is commonhold with direct ownership to real property. Some countries, however, have a different approach. For example, in Finland and Sweden flat ownership is organized through indirect ownership instead of direct ownership to the real property unit. In these countries the ownership of a flat is managed through an instrument (e. g. a company or an association). The instrument retains the ownership of the real property unit and the buildings to itself and gives the shareholders the right of possession to a specified flat. Understanding of these features and their importance to the different real estate markets is important as cross-boarder real estate investment is becoming more common.
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