Before a quote request and before the insurance decision there is one bundle of papers always worth picking up: the deed of foundation and the organisational and operational rules (SZMSZ). This resource gives you a tickable list of points for that – what the property manager should look for in them through insurance eyes. The background: the house rules and insurance. One important frame: the list is an aid to orientation, not a legal analysis – where the wording is open to interpretation, the building's lawyer is the one to ask.
- Three areas: what counts as common property (deed of foundation) / who may decide and how (SZMSZ) / whether there is an insurance requirement.
- The list yields the two basic inputs of a quote request: the scope to be covered and the decision-making route.
- Where the rules are vague or out of date, updating the documents belongs on the agenda alongside the insurance work – that is a lawyer's territory.
In the deed of foundation
- ☐ Do you have the deed of foundation in force, in consolidated form?
- ☐ Is the list of common and private property unambiguous? (background)
- ☐ Can you read off how the “grey zones” (windows and doors, balconies, radiators, pipe branches) are classified?
- ☐ Have later changes (loft conversion, extension) been recorded in it?
In the house rules
- ☐ Who decides on taking out or switching insurance – the general meeting, or is there a mandate for the property manager (and within what limits)?
- ☐ Is a written vote possible, and what can it be used for? (background)
- ☐ What are the rules for convening the general meeting and sending out the notice (deadlines – for the timetable)?
- ☐ Do the house rules set out an obligation to maintain insurance, or the principles for it?
- ☐ Are the manager's claims and contract-handling duties spelled out?
What comes out of it in practice
- ☐ The description of the scope to be covered (the common property) is ready for the quote request (data list)
- ☐ The decision-making route and the mandates needed are clarified (resolution template)
- ☐ Copies of the documents are in the insurance file (document file)
If the deed of foundation and reality have drifted apart (conversions, outdated lists), then alongside the insurance questions it is also time to put the documents in order – and that calls for a lawyer's involvement.
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