A terrace on the roof of an apartment building is not only a place for entertainment, there are also things to do, find out

Costs for the terrace are proportional to the share of the property

According to the lawyer, answers to some of the questions related to roof terraces can be found in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania and the Law on Associations of Owners of Multi-apartment Residential Buildings and Other Purpose Buildings.

In accordance with the legal regulation established in the Civil Code, the owners of apartments and other premises have the right of common partial ownership of the common rooms of the house, the main structures of the house, the mechanical, electrical, sanitary-technical and other equipment for common use.

These objects belonging to the right of common partial ownership are detailed in the Law on Associations of Owners of Multi-apartment Residential Houses and Other Purpose Buildings, which defines what general building structures, general engineering systems of the building, common use rooms of the building and other parts of the building, local engineering networks are classified as objects of common use of the building.

“The share of common partial ownership belonging to the owner of apartments and other premises is equal to the ratio of the useful area of ​​the premises owned by him to the useful area of ​​the residential building. Therefore, the costs for maintaining and preserving the house (building), taxes, fees and other contributions, the owners of apartments and other premises must pay in proportion to their share”, she explains.

Even those who do not use it may have to pay for the repair of the terrace

According to legal regulations, the roof, terrace supporting structures, enclosures are classified as general building structures. What if the terrace installed on the roof of an apartment building can only be used by the owners of several apartments? Is it a shared object? Do the owners of all apartments have to reimburse the costs of its repair in proportion to the area of ​​the available apartment?

According to the lawyer, in each case it depends on the structural features of the individual building. No matter how different apartment buildings are, the roof of each house is the upper part that covers the building, protecting the inside of the building from the effects of the atmosphere. Therefore, the circumstances that support and preserve the main function of the roof are taken into account first.

“According to the practice of the court of cassation, the roof structure on which the terrace and other external terrace structures are installed is the common partial property of the owners of all apartments or other premises, if according to the house design, the installation of the terrace on the flat roof is determined by the structure of the building and the terrace structures are the roof, i.e. the main a part of the house structure that protects the interior of the building from the effects of the weather.

Such a terrace is a part of the roof and is the common partial property of all the owners of apartments or other premises and in cases where only the owners of a part of the apartments or other premises have the right to use the terraces. Therefore, the owners of all apartments and other premises have the obligation to pay in proportion to their share the costs associated with both the flat roof structures of the apartment building and the terrace structures installed on such a roof, which according to the house design are part of the flat roof structures that protect the interior of the building from weathering. maintenance and repair”, the lawyer points out.

The costs for repairing the terrace are also determined by the structural features of the roof

The company’s lawyer also points out that in some cases, the terrace structures installed on the flat roof of an apartment building are not part of the flat roof structures that protect the interior of the building from weathering according to the house project.

One of the mentioned examples is when the roof of the house was designed and installed as an independent structure, performing its function of protecting the interior of the building from the effects of the atmosphere, having all the structural elements to function without the terrace covering. Such a terrace is not an object of common use, and the obligation to pay the maintenance and repair costs of the terrace falls only on the owners of apartments and other premises who have the right to use it.

According to D. Stakvilevičiūtė, owners of real estate in an apartment building should not hastily decide or freely interpret how it would be correct to act when making a decision on various roof terrace maintenance works.

“When deciding on maintenance and repair of the terrace installed on the flat roof of the house, the owners of apartments and premises should properly evaluate the project documentation of the house, because it depends on who is responsible for paying such costs,” the lawyer emphasizes.