How Ownership By Floor works: share and thousandths calculation

In Ownership By Floor, the share of each of the co-owners, in other words the share of charges that he will have to pay to the administration of the ownership by floor, is expressed in thousandths. These thousandths represent the value of each floor unit in relation to the total value of the building. The number of thousandths therefore determines the share that the co-owner will have to pay for the share areas and their maintenance, the structure of the building, the land on which the building is established. The thousandths also make it possible to calculate the quorum* during a general meeting so that people can deliberate. In the event of damage to the building, it is also on the basis of thousandths that the insurance will pay compensation to the co-owners. At the end of this article, we will explain what a quorum is and what are the different majorities required at a general meeting.

Reminder of what ownership by floor is

Ownership by floor is a special form of co-ownership where each co-owner has an exclusive right to use and fit out certain interior parts of a building.

In an Ownership By Floor, a distinction is made between the private parts over which the co-owner has an exclusive right of use (his apartment, the non-load-bearing interior walls, the front door, etc.) and the common parts, of which the members of the Ownership By Floor are co-owners (the plot on which the building is built, the load-bearing walls, the roof, the elevator, the green spaces, etc.)

Each floor unit corresponds to a number of thousandths. Remember that a floor unit corresponds to all the premises (the apartment itself but also the cellar, the closed box, the attic) over which the owner has exclusive enjoyment and use rights. The thousandths are used to distribute the charges between the co-owners (the share to be paid on the entire co-ownership) and the number of votes each has to make decisions at general meetings.

What is taken into account when calculating thousandsth?

The calculations are entrusted to an expert who will determine, for each floor unit, the areas and their weighting, select the rating criteria and the importance given to each of the criteria while taking into account any easements. Each co-owner’s share is then entered in the Land Register.

The calculation of thousandths does not depend solely on the area of ​​the apartment. Thus two apartments of the same area will not necessarily have the same number of thousandths, the share will therefore be different and the charges higher or lower.

Among the criteria taken into account are:

• The surface in square meters of the units subject to an exclusive right (in other words units of which you are the exclusive owner), but also the position of the apartment in the building, its orientation, the view, possible nuisances, etc. For the same surface area, accommodation on the top floor with a view will represent more thousandths than an apartment on the first floor with a view of the car park or the motorway.
• The surface area of ​​ancillary premises such as an attic, a cellar, an individual garage, etc.
• The surface area of ​​the units subject to a right of use, such as a parking space, for example.

In order to meet the evaluation criteria, the USPI (Swiss Union of Real Estate Professionnals) issued recommendations on the calculation of shares (document in French).

Is it possible to request a modification of the number of thousandsth?

Changing the number of thousandths, and therefore of shares, is a long procedure that must be validated by all the co-owners at a general meeting. It can be requested by an owner, or more, in the event of an error when setting up the Ownership By Floor or in the event of an expansion of the building with the constitution of new lots.