10.2 Units, Common Parts, Car Parks and Building Management Regulations

10.2 Units, Common Parts, Car Parks and Building Management Regulations

Many disputes in jointly owned property start with a simple question: is this mine or common? Law No. 6 of 2019 answers it with detailed lists, and those lists drive repair costs, parking sales and renovation approvals.

1. What is common (Article 7)

For a building, common parts include, without limitation:

1. Structural components: main supports, foundations, columns, structural walls, ceilings and joists, staircases and stairwells, facades and roofs.
2. Unless the site plan says otherwise: thresholds, halls, parking aisles, entrances, emergency exits and windows in external walls.
3. Unless the site plan says otherwise: watchmen rooms, recreational facilities, swimming pools, gardens, storage, offices and car parks for the management entity, the owners committee or visitors.
4. Main utility equipment: generators, lighting, gas, water, heating and cooling systems and equipment, air conditioning systems, waste collection and treatment.
5. Lifts, tanks, pipes, generators, chimneys, ventilation fans and ducts, and mechanical ventilation.
6. Water mains, sewer and gas pipes, and electrical and telecom wiring serving more than one unit.
7. Meters for utility services.
8. Anything outside unit boundaries needed for the property's existence, maintenance, safety or operation, and anything else shown as common on the site plan.

For land subdivided into plots, common parts include roads and pathways, drainage, lakes, canals and water features, parks and landscaping, and the cables and pipes that serve the units.

2. What belongs to the unit (Article 9)

Unless the site plan says otherwise, a unit includes:

• Floors and flooring down to the base of the joists, and structures supporting the unit's floor.
• Ceilings and spaces between them, and walls separating the unit from other units or common parts.
• The internal area, non-load-bearing internal walls and surrounding walls.
• Windows, glass, lighting, doors and door frames, and fixtures serving the unit.
• Bathrooms and integral parts such as balconies allocated to the owner.
• Facilities allocated to the unit such as gardens, car parks, storage rooms or watchmen rooms, even if not adjacent, provided their area is not included in the unit's net area.
• Internal connections, fixtures fitted by the occupant, and later improvements.

A unit does not include utility services within it that serve common parts or other units (Article 9(b)). Dividing walls between two units are shared by both owners where they form part of the common parts (Article 9(e)).

3. Designated common parts and car parks

• Designated common parts are parts or facilities of the property reserved for the exclusive use of certain owners (definition in Article 2).
• Car parks (Article 10): car parks allocated to a unit under the competent authority's rules are an integral part of the unit and may not be separated or sold independently. A unit may not be sold without its designated car parks. An owner may buy additional car parks only if they exceed those designated for all units, in cases the DLD Director General prescribes.
• Common parts generally (Article 17): common parts may not be converted into private property, subdivided or disposed of independently of their units without approval from DLD and the competent authority.

4. Shares, co-ownership and leasing

5. Building management regulations and alterations

• Building management regulation (BMR): a document prepared under DLD bylaws and entered in the JOP register, setting procedures for maintaining common parts and owners' contribution percentages. The developer issues it for major and hotel projects (approved by RERA before units are sold); RERA issues it for other projects that lack one (Article 20). It forms part of the title deed (Article 6).
• Alterations (Article 39): an occupant may make substantial alterations to the structure or external appearance of a unit or the property only with approval from the master developer, DLD and the competent authority. An occupant who breaches this must remedy any damage at their own cost, failing which RERA or the master developer may do it at the occupant's expense. Common parts must be used only for their intended purposes and without disturbing others.

Typical matters in a BMR include move-in procedures, noise and pet rules, use of amenities and the approval process for renovations and short-term letting.