In 2016 the president of the Hungarian Curia set up a new jurisprudence analysing working group for the purpose of examination of the lower courts’ practice in condominium related cases. The analysis involved cases between the period of 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2015, and covered 25 different questions.
The working group was unable to reach a common understanding about the question whether the condominium shall claim the common charges arrears from the seller, the buyer or from both of them in case of the sale of a unit in the condominium. In order to solve this problem and to strengthen the legal certainty in this area, the members of the working group have entitled the leader of the group to take the necessary measures at the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture.
According to the recommendation, a so-called ‘zero certificate’ should be required from the common representative of the condominium and filed with the land registry for the registration of the ownership of the buyer, and such certificate shall be listed as a condition in the Hungarian Land Registry Act to prove that the seller has no common cost arrears at the time of the sale. This certificate would serve as a security for both parties.
In case the initiative of the Curia for the new legislation does not succeed at the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, a uniformity decision should be rendered to resolve which viewpoint will be applied by all Hungarian courts.
By Gabriella Galik, Partner, KCG Partners Law Firm
