Homeowners' association contribution to new construction: What are your rights?

Questioner

I bought a new apartment in an existing building. The building consists of 7 floors, with 1 to 3 occupied by companies and 4 to 7 consisting of apartments. Floor 3 is now also being converted into apartments. Now the existing VvE asks me to pay the monthly VvE contribution. According to the contractor I have to pay these costs from the passing of the deed of sale at the notary. Is this indeed the buyers' responsibility or does the contractor have to pay for this until the actual handover of the keys? The contractor hides behind: 'then I must refer you to the deed of delivery (article 4 paragraph 1), which states that from the moment of delivery the benefits and owner's costs are for the account of the buyer (read: including you). I find it a strange situation, especially because the delivery has not yet taken place and the delivery date is not yet known. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, T.

Lawyer

It is very possible that the contract documents state that the costs of the VvE must be paid by you from the moment the deed of transfer is signed. If it is stated that these costs are for your account from the moment the purchase/construction agreement is signed, then these must be paid by the contractor/developer until delivery and these costs must be settled with you at the moment the deed of transfer is signed; as long as the deed of transfer has not been passed, you cannot be obliged to make such a payment, but subsequent settlement is possible if this has been agreed. However, it is also very possible that it is stated that you must first pay these costs from the moment of delivery and that therefore no settlement needs to take place. I gather from your reference to the deed of transfer that this is the case. You are then liable for these costs during the period in which you are already the owner but delivery has not yet taken place. How exactly this is arranged should be apparent from the contract documents.