Taking a condominium into the company’s management

This article is published in the Omakiinteistö magazine.

In certain situations, a housing corporation may decide that a condominium of a shareholder must be taken under control of the housing corporation for a maximum of three years. This is a significant interference on the rights of a shareholder, and cannot be executed on the basis of a minor offense. The decision to take control is always made at the Annual General Meeting, although the initiative is usually made by the Board of Directors.

The apartment can be taken over by the company if the shareholder does not pay matured maintenance charge or the costs of giving him a notice. Neglecting the payment of maintenance charge is probably the most common criterion for taking a condominium under control. However, a small single neglect cannot lead to these actions, but we have to speak about arrears of at least a few months.

Secondly, the company may have the right to take control of an apartment if the condominium is handled so badly that the company or another shareholder is inconvenienced. A shareholder must maintain the internal parts of the condominium and manage his condominium carefully. On the other hand, a shareholder has a large right to keep the apartment in the condition as he or she wishes. Inadequate care must have a concrete disadvantage for the company or another shareholder.

The third ground might be the use of a condominium fundamentally contrary to the purpose or other provision of the Articles of Association or against an endorsement approved by the company or otherwise established. For example, a residential apartment cannot be used for business.

A condominium can also be taken over by the company if in the condominium will be spent disturbing life or a shareholder or other resident does not comply with what is necessary to keep order in the premises. This is a relatively general reason for taking control over a condominium. In addition to the owners also his tenants or even guests can cause disturbance in the apartment. If the housing company wishes to take control of the apartment on this basis, the company should be prepared to show its claim. In practice, the company must collect evidence of harassment and interview the residents of the house. The distracting life should have lasted for a while. With a shallow, low threshold, control should not be taken.

In this procedure, the company, in practice, gives the shareholder a warning about his behavior. If the shareholder fails to correct his or her habits, the company may decide to take control at the general meeting. On the other hand, if the situation is corrected, the procedure cannot be resumed. In general, an extraordinary general meeting needs to be held for taking over an apartment. There is often a need to vote among other shareholders.

A shareholder has the right to bring the matter of control taking to a court of law. A shareholder has a short response time of 30 days from the date of receipt of the decision.

Ultimately, the company can take over an apartment with the assistance of authorities. Thereafter, the apartment is rented to a third party and rental income covers, for example, unpaid management charges and costs incurred by the taking over process. The condominium can be taken over by the company for a limited period of up to three years. In practice, the control time is almost always the maximum permitted by law.