According to the Civil Code, the statutes of the JVU must contain, in particular, the name, the seat, the designation of the bodies and the rules of administration of the house. If some of the mandatory elements are missing, this may complicate the formation or functioning of the community. Which are they?
Quick overview
According to the Civil Code, the articles of association of an HOA must contain at least:
the name and registered office of the community,
the designation of the bodies (assembly and statutory body),
the rights and obligations of the unit owners,
the rules for the management of the building and the use of common parts.
Without these elements, the HOA may not be duly registered in the public register. In practice, we recommend that the statutes be adjusted in more detail to avoid disputes between owners. If you are not sure whether your articles of association comply with the current legislation, you can use our check of the articles of association of the HOA.
The bylaws regulate the basic rules and relations between the unit owners and the HOA bodies. They are essentially the founding document, so no HOA can exist without bylaws. The bylaws are a separate document from the owner’s declaration and the development agreement. However, they must of course be consistent with them, which must be taken care of.
Previous legislation offered so-called model articles of association, which applied automatically if the HOA was established by law and had not yet approved its own articles of association. However, this option is no longer valid; the HOA is established by the adoption of the statutes and is created by registration in the public register.
We will review all your documents and ensure that the bylaws of your homeowners’ association (HOA) or condominium meet the needs of the building and comply with the law. We will check the draft of your statutes or create complete documentation tailored to your needs.
The approval of the statutes establishes the unit owners’ association. A notarial record must be made of the establishment of the association (however, it is no longer required when the statutes are amended). However, the new Civil Code also allows the establishment of an HOA by a single owner of all units. In this case, the statutes do not have to be in the form of a notarial deed. Subsequently, the articles of association are registered in the public register and the date of registration is deemed to be the date of establishment of the owners’ association.
A majority of all unit owners must approve the first bylaws.
The bylaws must be delivered to the registration court together with the application for registration in the public register. An electronic form, preferably in PDF format, is also required. In addition, an invitation (specifying the date and place of the meeting), an attendance list with signatures of the attendees and the minutes of the meeting with the result of the vote on the adoption of the bylaws are sent.
According to the new Civil Code, the mandatory elements of the statutes are at least:
From 2020, they are no longer mandatory parts of the statutes:
Tip: We have covered the rules on house management contributions and the repair fund in our separate blog post.
Recommended elements of the statutes:
In practice, we often deal with situations where the statutes contain only the minimum legal requirements but do not address specific problems of the house – for example, the procedure for non-payment of dues or voting outside the assembly. It is these gaps that then lead to disputes between owners. Not sure if your bylaws contain all the legal requirements? We’ll be happy to check them for you.
A unit owners’ association is a legal entity that is responsible for the management of the apartment building and the land. However, the law expressly prohibits the establishment of a business. It may not even participate directly or indirectly in the business or other activities of entrepreneurs.
The system of HOA bodies is based on the principle of a pair of mandatory bodies that each HOA must have. The highest body of the HOA is always the assembly. The statutory body may be the committee or the chairman of the HOA, which depends on the will of the owners. Other (voluntary) bodies may also be provided for in the statutes. These may be, for example, an inspection committee, an auditor or a caretaker. In practice, however, this is rather uncommon.
The statutes do not represent any immutable dogma. If the need arises to change them (for example, the length of the term of office or the voting method, etc.), they must again be approved by a majority of the unit owners. However, the previous bylaws may specify a higher number of votes for approval of amendments. In such a case, however, there is a risk that certain unit owners will block the amendments on purpose.
If you are preparing to amend the bylaws, it pays to do a legal review before voting.
If you are interested in what and how your HOA’s bylaws regulate, the easiest way is, of course, to contact the chairman or one of the committee members. Should it happen that he or she does not communicate with you, or for some reason does not have the bylaws, you can either go to the relevant registry court where the bylaws are kept, or you can consult the documents at www.justice.cz. Here you can click directly to the articles of association in electronic form.
The basic difference if you are a freeholder and a cooperative owner is that in the latter case you are not the real owner of the flat. That in this case is the housing association, and so-called “condominium owners” are by law only tenants. However, they cannot be evicted from the lease as with a normal lease.
The by-laws of the housing cooperative must also stipulate under what conditions the right of a member to conclude a lease agreement for a cooperative apartment arises. The bylaws may restrict the cooperative members in the disposal of the flat, for example, prohibiting them from renting out the flat. An HOA cannot restrict apartment owners in such a way.
If owners violate the bylaws, theoretically they can, for example, be fined. However, there are legal disputes about the possibility of fines being set by private parties. If you nevertheless decide to go down this route, you should define exactly what the penalties are, who decides on the imposition of the penalties and the amount of the penalties (which must be proportionate to the offence).
The actual violation of the statutes by the chairman is more relevant within the JVU. If the members of the JVU want to go to court, for example, they need to prove that the chairman acted contrary to the will of the assembly, i.e. that the assembly did not approve his actions (even after the fact) and that the chairman caused damage.
In addition to the established approved house rules, many HOAs have house rules that apply to all residents of the building, regardless of the property relationship to individual units. It may regulate, for example, issues relating to cleaning, night-time quiet, waste sorting, etc. However, its enforcement is not entirely straightforward.
If, by not respecting it, the neighbours are at the same time violating a generally binding legal regulation (disturbing the night peace, disturbing the peace or assaulting neighbours), then the police can of course be called. However, if the neighbour is not sorting her waste or cleaning up her dog friend’s puddles, you can take up the matter with her and reproach her, but that is as far as your powers go.
The bylaws of the HOA are the basic document without which the community cannot function properly or be registered in the public register. It must contain, in particular, the name and registered office, the designation of the bodies, the rights and obligations of the owners and the rules for the management of the building. However, the legal minimum is often not enough – in practice, it is also advisable to regulate the budget, dues, voting or recovery of arrears. Well-set statutes prevent disputes and facilitate the daily functioning of the house.
Yes. Without the statutes, the SVJ cannot be properly registered in the public register.
Usually a majority vote of the owners’ meeting, unless the bylaws require a higher quorum.
Not always. It depends on the specific situation and the extent of the change.
The statutes cannot generally restrict ownership beyond the law, but they can regulate the rules for the use of the common parts.
Provisions contrary to the law are null and void and shall not apply.
We will review your HOA or housing cooperative bylaws or we will write them up for you from scratch. We will always ensure that they comply with current legislation. Our bylaws are always tailored to the needs of the residents of the building. We can also set up your HOA or housing association on a turnkey basis. We will arrange everything quickly, flawlessly and at pre-determined prices. You can pay only after the service has been provided.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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