Splitting condominium (PPE) costs: from the per mille shares to the year-end settlement

What are the per mille shares, and who decides them?

In a building under condominium ownership (PPE in French, Stockwerkeigentum in German), each unit owner has the exclusive right to use and fit out the inside of their unit (art. 712a) and shares the common parts with the others: stairs, roof, façade, land. Each owner's part of the common areas is called the quota. It is written as a fraction over a common denominator, often 1000: these are the per mille shares (‰). A unit with 210 ‰ has 210 parts in 1000, which is 21% (art. 712e).

For common expenses there is one rule: each owner pays in proportion to their quota (art. 712h para. 1 CC).

Quotas are not adjusted in the settlement. Changing the quota of a unit needs the agreement of the owners directly concerned and the approval of the owners' meeting (art. 712e). If a per mille share looks wrong, that is the way to fix it, not a discount in the accounts. In simple co-ownership, without floors, quotas are presumed equal (art. 646) and charges are split by quota, unless agreed otherwise (art. 649).

Splitting an expense across the units, to the cent

An invented building, with six units and 1000 ‰ in total. Type another expense, or change a per mille share, and see each unit's part. You can add units or remove some.

With CHF 24’000 the sum is exact. It rarely is: most expenses are not a neat multiple. Try CHF 1’000.10 as the total. The sum still has to equal the total, and the leftover cents go to the larger fractions, with a tie favouring the upper row. Here, units 2, 3 and 4 get one cent more (their exact share ends in .9, .7 and .6 of a cent), and the sum is CHF 1’000.10.

The remainder rule. Each unit starts with the whole cents it is entitled to. The leftover cents are given, one by one, to the units whose share had the largest fraction. Nobody pays more than one cent of difference, and the total always closes.

What counts as common charges?

The law gives a list of examples (art. 712h para. 2 CC). Common charges are, above all:

• Maintenance, repairs and renovationsOf the common parts: roof, façade, stairs, lift, shared pipes.
• AdministrationIncludes the administrator's pay.
• Public fees and taxesThose on the common parts.
• Debts secured on the buildingThe interest and the repayments.

A yearly budget for an invented building, with the same CHF 24’000 as above:

The renovation fund exists only if the owners' meeting creates it (art. 712m para. 1 no. 5 CC). For big works, see the guide Renovation fund of a condominium.

Is every expense split by per mille?

Not every one. The law says that if a part of the building or an installation serves some owners not at all, or very little, this is taken into account in the split (art. 712h para. 3 CC). Answer for an expense in your building:

The condominium year, from the budget to the settlement

An example for a condominium whose year is the calendar year. The right dates are those of the regulations and of the owners' meeting.

1. January, April, July, OctoberAdvance paymentsEach unit pays a part of the budget, every quarter
2. January to FebruaryClosing the accountsInvoices, statements, meter readings, the year's real total
3. February to MarchFinal statementEach unit's real expense, by per mille
4. AprilOwners' meetingApproves the accounts and the split, and votes the budget (art. 712m)
5. MaySettlementEach unit pays the difference, or receives it
6. October to NovemberNext year's budgetThe administrator prepares it, the meeting approves it

The budget is a forecast. The units' advance payments give the community money to pay with during the year. At the end, the real accounts say who paid too little and who paid too much.

Advance payments against the real cost: one unit's settlement

In the example, the budget was CHF 24’000 and the year cost CHF 25’800. Maintenance and energy came out dearer than forecast.

Now one unit's settlement. Type the year's real total, the unit's per mille share and what the unit has already advanced. The example unit is the ground-floor one (150 ‰), which advanced CHF 3’600.

Before you send the statement to the owners, here is a list to tick off. It is saved only in this browser.

• The per mille shares add up to 1000. If they add up to 998 or 1002, a unit is missing or extra.
• Each unit has the right quota. The one in the PPE documents; changing it needs the owners' meeting (art. 712e).
• Each expense has a supporting document. An invoice, a receipt or a note with the reason.
• Expenses with their own key are kept apart. Lift, garage, consumption (art. 712h para. 3 CC).
• Each unit's advance payments match the statement. All the quarters, unit by unit.
• The sum of the shares equals the total, to the cent. If not, the remainder was spread wrongly.
• Each unit's difference has the right sign. Positive: to pay. Negative: to receive.
• Everything goes to the owners' meeting and the minutes. The accounts and the split are approved there (art. 712m para. 1 no. 4 CC).

What the owners' meeting approves, and the minutes

The owners' meeting decides several things; three of them touch the accounts directly (art. 712m para. 1 CC). The rules on associations apply to the meeting (art. 712m para. 2 CC).

1. The budgetThe year's plan and the advance payments (no. 4)
2. The accounts and the splitWhat it cost, and what each unit owes (no. 4)
3. The renovation fundCreating a fund for repairs and renovations (no. 5)
4. The insuranceInsuring the building (no. 6)

Each decision goes into the minutes, the written record of what was decided (art. 712n). The minutes are what you show an owner who asks why they pay that amount.

Works: how many owners have to agree?

For works, condominium ownership follows the rules of co-ownership (art. 712g). The majority needed depends on the kind of work. Choose one.

If in doubt, ask. The line between a useful work and a luxury one is not always clear, and the regulations may have their own rules (art. 712g). For big works, the money often comes from the renovation fund: see the guide Renovation fund of a condominium.

One QR-bill per unit, every quarter

1. The owners, onceName and email of each unit
2. The per mille shares as weightsThe total is split by them, to the cent
3. One QR-bill per unitEach with its own reference
4. Who has already paidYou tick it off; you resend only to those missing

This is what QR Quota is for, an app for iPhone. The condominium is the group (the “association” in the app), the owners are the members and the per mille shares are the weights.

• The total split by per milleYou type the quarter's total; the app splits it by the weights, to the cent.
• The year's settlement, as an expense reportThe year's expense lines, sent by year and month. After the first send, the lines are locked. The advance payments already made, you deduct yourself.
• One reference per unit and per sendSCOR with the normal IBAN; QRR with the QR-IBAN. It follows the Swiss Payment Standards (IG v2.3).
• From your emailThe app sends from your account, Gmail or another provider. Automatic sending is part of Pro.
• The data stays on the iPhoneNo account. The app does not talk to your bank: who has paid, you tick off.

Frequently asked questions