VvE and Common Areas: Law and Information

Questioner

Can a VvE board close off a common area, in this case the technical area where hydrophore, electricity, gas and elevator are located. The elevator is quite broken and needs to be reset. In addition, I regularly check for leaks in this area. I am a co-owner of this space and a VvE board cannot simply close it off (they alone have the key). The reason is that residents do put things down but that is a violation of the house rules, but closing it off is in conflict with my co-ownership right, isn't it?

Lawyer

What do the HH regulations and the VVE statutes state regarding the technical area, particularly with regard to closing off common areas?

Lawyer

All owners are entitled to co-use of the common areas in accordance with the purpose of those areas. This concerns a technical area and not a common storage space; precisely to prevent the area from being used as storage space and damage caused by residents operating the equipment in the area without knowledge, the board is authorised to close off the area. This does not affect the right to co-use because this right does not so much concern the use of the area but the use of the equipment in the area (lift, hydrophore, etc.). It seems to me that clear rules for resetting the lift should be made within the VvE; for example, one of the residents could be appointed as (unpaid) 'caretaker'.