Condominium ownership is governed by Art. 712a ff. of the Swiss Civil Code. Condominium units can only be self-contained units or rooms. The law regulates the principles of establishing condominium ownership, the disposition of condominium units, management and use, as well as common costs and burdens.
The condominium owners’ meeting is partly regulated in Art. 712m ff. CC. Insofar as these provisions and the regulations on the condominium owners’ meeting leave questions unanswered, the law on associations applies in a subsidiary manner. Each condominium owner has one vote at the meeting unless the regulations provide otherwise. Resolutions of the condominium owners’ meeting may be challenged if the conditions are met. The court may only annul the contested decision, but may not make its own decision in place of the condominium owners’ meeting.
The allocation of costs and the bearing of costs occasionally give rise to discussions, especially when questions of delimitation arise. If a pipe is defective and has to be replaced or repaired, the question arises whether the costs have to be borne by an individual condominium owner (allocation to the condominium unit) or by all condominium owners as a common installation.
When buying and selling condominium units, all previous resolutions of the condominium owners’ meeting must be disclosed to the buyer. If there is a reserve fund, the seller’s share of it must be transferred to the buyer and taken into account accordingly in the purchase price.
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