Homeowners' Association and Roof Terrace: Legal Advice

Questioner

Our new upstairs neighbours want to build a roof terrace on the roof of the VVE. The VVE doesn't object to that (they live directly underneath it), but we are going to cover the roof sooner than necessary. The bitumen roof has been there for 17 years now, one roofer says that bitumen lasts 15 years, the other says 20 years and with good maintenance even 25/30 years. A construction expert says that the roof needs to be replaced between now and 5 years. Because the quote from the roof terrace builder is not too high (he makes his profit from building the terrace:) we have decided to have it done now. A VVE manager advised us not to ask them for compensation for this (then they can appeal to things), but for the other VVE members it still feels a bit one-sided. We are covering the roof earlier (of course nobody knows how much earlier, but let's go by the report of the building expert) and we are having a user declaration drawn up by a VVE manager. However, they indicate that we are not allowed to ask rent for the use of this roof terrace (right of superficies), but how can we now ensure that the rest of the VVE does not lose out? Just to be clear: we do not want to change the deed of division and are OK with the user declaration (obviously paid for by the new neighbours), but real estate agents are again indicating that their house will be worth much more and that they will have to make a deposit into the VVE pot. But how much? We hope you can advise us on this. BVD

Lawyer

This can only be arranged in a good way, both for the new neighbours and for the other members of the VvE, by changing the division. A right of superficies is not possible on a common roof and no compensation can be requested for an exclusive right of use. If the division is not changed, the buyer will not be able to finance the construction of the terrace from a mortgage and there is indeed no increase in the value of his home. In practice, all kinds of constructions are used to prevent the division from having to be changed. Sooner or later, these constructions always cause problems; just scroll through the questions in this area on this forum. It is precisely to prevent these problems that the law is clear: the division must be in accordance with the actual situation. Rules regarding the maintenance and use of the terrace and the underlying roof can be included in the deed of amendment of the division.