Apartment Condominium Registration (Etažiranje)

Etažiranje of an apartment is the procedure by which condominium ownership is established. Under the provisions of the Ownership and Other Real Rights Act (Official Gazette 81/15), condominium ownership is defined as ownership of a separate part of a property that arises from, and remains inseparably linked to, the co-ownership share of the property to which it is attached.

Effect of Condominium Ownership

The effect of condominium ownership is that a co-owner, when managing that separate part of the property in place of all the co-owners, exercises all ownership powers and duties as if that separate part were solely their own property, and may do with that part and its benefits whatever they wish and exclude everyone else from it.

Ownership of a Separate Part of a Property

Ownership of a separate part of a property can be established on that part of a co-owned property which forms an independent functional unit capable of being used by a co-owner on their own authority. In practice, the most common object of condominium ownership is an apartment, that is, a set of rooms intended for residential use together with the necessary ancillary rooms, forming a self-contained building unit with its own entrance. In addition to the apartment, condominium ownership can be established on ancillary parts of the property, such as open balconies, terraces, attic rooms and basement rooms. Besides residential use, condominium ownership can also be established on commercial premises intended for carrying out business activities.

Common Areas of a Property and Etažiranje

It is important to note that ownership of a separate part of a property cannot be established on parts of the property that serve all co-owners as common areas, or whose purpose conflicts with the exclusive use by an individual co-owner. Accordingly, the common areas of all co-owners, such as bin and bicycle storage rooms, the land under the building, and the roof, attic, basement, corridors and the like, cannot be the object of condominium ownership. In practice, a single apartment or commercial unit may occupy an entire floor, but it is far more common for one floor to have several apartments in the condominium ownership of individual co-owners. However, the fact that a property contains several apartments does not in itself result in the establishment of condominium ownership over an individual apartment; the conditions laid down by the Ownership and Other Real Rights Act must also be met.

Etažiranje of an Apartment, or Establishing Condominium Ownership

Etažiranje is the procedure by which condominium ownership is established. The legal basis for establishing condominium ownership is the written consent of all co-owners of the property and a certificate from the competent authority. It is important to note that no co-owner may withhold consent to the establishment of condominium ownership by another co-owner who holds a co-ownership share, unless such establishment would abolish or restrict rights that already belong to them on the basis of their previously established ownership of a separate part. The competent administrative body responsible for spatial planning and construction issues a certificate confirming that the apartment or other premises in the building is an independent functional unit suitable for the establishment of condominium ownership.

Who Can Request Etažiranje

The establishment of condominium ownership may be requested by: a co-owner of the property who holds at least the corresponding co-ownership share; joint owners who hold at least the corresponding co-ownership share in their joint ownership; several co-owners, or all co-owners, on the basis of a joint request, if their co-ownership shares together amount to at least the corresponding share; the owner of the land on which the building is constructed, or the holder of the right of construction, when dividing the property into co-ownership shares that correspond to the parts required for establishing ownership of a separate part.

In addition to the request of authorised persons to establish condominium ownership, the written consent of all co-owners and the certificate of the competent authority, it is necessary to determine whether the co-ownership share of the property is appropriate, that is, what its area is relative to the area of the entire property. The court determines this useful value of the apartment by a decision in non-contentious proceedings. However, a court decision is not required if all co-owners have, by a deed, restricted their co-ownership rights so as to establish ownership of a separate part on a specific co-ownership share.

Etažiranje and Registration in the Land Registry (Zemljišna Knjiga)

Ownership of a separate part of a property is established by registration in the land registry (zemljišna knjiga) as a right linked to a specific co-ownership share of that property. Registration is therefore a constitutive element, and condominium ownership does not exist in legal transactions until it is entered in the land registry. Ownership of a separate part of a property is entered in the ownership sheet (Section B) alongside the co-ownership share of the co-owner for whom ownership of the separate part has been established, with an indication of the separate part of the property and the ancillary parts to which it extends, and the inscription “Condominium ownership” (Etažno vlasništvo) is placed on the property sheet.