Keeping a jointly owned house: which rules should you put in writing?

# Keeping a jointly owned house: which rules should you put in writing? To keep a house together, prepare an agreement on its use, budget, decisions and changes in circumstances. The notary will then check how to formalise these rules according to your rights and the applicable regime. A shared calendar or expenses spreadsheet does not replace that agreement. ## What do you actually own together? An undivided share concerns the whole house: it does not, on its own, reserve a floor or an outbuilding for you. The [notaries distinguish undivided ownership from dividing a building](https://www.notaire.be/immobilier/le-logement-et-la-famille/acheter-plusieurs-division-et-indivision). Gather the purchase or inheritance deeds, existing agreements and loan documents. Mention any usufruct or bare ownership. Then write down your common objective: living there, accommodating a relative, sharing holidays or taking time to decide. Two people may want to keep the same place without envisaging the same use. If the house was inherited, our [guide to inheritance and property in Belgium](https://youhome.immo/journal/droits-succession-immobilier-belgique/) covers that separate context. ## How should you organise use and expenses? Prepare the practical points before the appointment: - Occupation: calendar, guests, keys, accessible spaces and maintenance after a stay. - The running budget: insurance, consumption, garden, equipment and taxes to identify. - Works: known interventions, quotations, a reserve to fund and contingencies. - Accounts: supporting documents, advances and repayment terms to formalise. If only one owner lives in the house, have any compensation examined alongside the bills they pay. Do not confuse use, ownership share and an advance of funds. Start with the building's actual condition. A roof needing repairs or an ageing heating system calls for quotations before deciding everyone's contribution. Have the allocation of expenses checked and keep decisions with the evidence of payment. ## Who can decide and commission works? The person contacting contractors does not necessarily have authority to bind the others. Separate requesting quotations, deciding, ordering and paying. A spending limit in a spreadsheet is not enough to establish a valid delegation. For incidental co-ownership, articles 3.72 and 3.73 distinguish acts of preservation and provisional administration from other acts of administration and disposal. Article 3.76 governs voluntary co-ownership. [Book 3 of the Civil Code](https://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/eli/loi/2020/02/04/2020A20347/justel) enables the notary to check the powers applicable to your situation and contract. Illustrative example: water ingress appears while several owners are discussing a complete roof renovation. Documenting the damage, limiting water entry and choosing a renovation are not a single decision. Organise contacts and advances, then have the powers and treatment of expenses clarified. ## How can you prepare for an owner leaving or a disagreement? Moving home, a death or financial difficulty may change the project. Prepare how to inform the others, consider a buyout and assess the value of the rights concerned. Also schedule regular discussions about the budget and use. Do not copy a duration from a template. Articles 3.75 to 3.77 distinguish incidental from voluntary co-ownership for division and termination of the agreement. Ask the notary which duration, formalities and exit conditions correspond to your regime, deeds and their dates. ## What are the answers to frequently asked questions? ### Is a verbal agreement enough to organise the accounts? It does not replace appropriate formalisation. Keep supporting documents and have the purpose of each payment clarified, including an advance for works. ### Can you let the house occasionally? Present this project separately to the notary and insurer before committing. An agreement between owners does not settle all the conditions of the activity. ### What should you prepare for the appointment? Gather the deeds, everyone's rights, intended uses, budget, accounts and changes to anticipate. Separate agreements already reached from questions still open. For a character home in the Province of Liège, our method weighs attachment to the place against its maintenance and property value. If a sale or buyout is being considered, you can [request your valuation report](https://youhome.immo/estimation/demande/). The notary formalises the appropriate legal arrangement.