Guides · 2026-08-23
Service fees are not split equally between apartments. The legal rule is that an owner contributes to shared-area costs in proportion to the area of the partitioned unit they own relative to the total area.
And the amount is not set by the manager or the board alone: setting the subscription amount and how it is paid falls to the general assembly. This guide shows how to reach a number you can defend in front of owners.
Many associations start by dividing the cost by the number of units because it is easiest. It contradicts the stated rule and is a recurring source of disputes — the owner of the smallest apartment sees themselves subsidising everyone else, and they are right.
Working out any unit's share takes three steps, with no guesswork required:
The result is the unit's share. When areas come from title deeds rather than estimates, any owner can verify the figure without argument.
The common mistake is counting only visible maintenance contracts, then discovering a shortfall mid-year. The items most often forgotten:
The executive regulation allows the general assembly to decide on forming a reserve amount to meet costs exceeding the association's approved budget.
A reserve approved by the general assembly means a major failure does not turn into a surprise mid-year demand on owners. Its absence is the first reason associations run into financial trouble.
The general assembly. It sets the subscription amount and payment methods and approves the spending rules. The manager collects owner subscriptions and the association's other lawful revenues, and spends from the approved budget.
Because owners pay more readily when they can see a documented return. An association that can show what was done on shared assets, what was assigned to contractors, and what resident requests were closed is discussing data rather than impressions.
In MRFQ, work orders are linked to the asset they were performed on and to the contractor responsible, so the report on where the money went is an output of the operating record rather than something assembled before each meeting.
The rules on cost sharing and subscriptions are published in the Real Estate Unit Ownership, Partitioning and Management Law and its executive regulation at the General Real Estate Authority.
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To see spending on assets become a report ready to show owners, book a demo with the MRFQ team.
No. The legal rule is that an owner contributes to shared-area costs in proportion to the area of the partitioned unit they own relative to the total area, so a larger unit carries a larger share.
The general assembly. Setting the subscription amount and payment methods is its competence, while the manager handles collection and spending from the approved budget.
The executive regulation allows the general assembly to decide on forming a reserve amount to meet costs exceeding the association's approved budget. It is therefore a decision the general assembly takes.
Start with documentation: an amount calculated on the area rule, approved by the general assembly, and a spending record showing what was delivered for it. Documentation underpins any later claim, and it also persuades most non-payers before escalation.