How can I convince co-owners to make joint energy-efficiency investments?

As the owner of an apartment, you need permission from the joint owners’ association if you want to invest in energy-efficiency measures that affect the communal parts, that could violate the rights of other co-owners or that could impact the aesthetics or harmony of the building. An effective approach is to propose a joint investment. In most cases this is more favourable from a financial perspective, it benefits the uniform appearance of the building and it anticipates any future problems. Although interesting your co-owners in a joint approach is no easy feat, there are ways to increase your chances of success.

Plans for joint energy-efficiency investments are often rejected because not all owners see the need, are equally wealthy or have the same wishes. Co-owners all too often have differing interests, too. Landlords want to maximise rental income and don’t have to pay energy bills, whereas others intend to move at some point or dread the long payback period.

To get all parties concerned on the same page, you might try the following tips. Once approach would be to sound out your neighbours’ views before submitting your proposal to the trustee, as this allows you to listen to their concerns beforehand and to incorporate them into your proposal. Alternatively, request a few quotations and add them to the convening notice. The general meeting of the joint owners’ association will then have all the information it needs for an in-depth discussion.

The more information you provide to the general meeting, the higher your chances of the proposal being approved. You should keep the information as simple as possible. Try proposing several scenarios and let the co-owners choose between drastic measures and less drastic measures. Alternatively, you could propose carrying out the measures together with substantial scheduled maintenance work or dividing the work into small, affordable parts to implement the measures in stages.

If major joint investments are to be made, the joint owners’ association should engage an architect or expert to monitor the proper and efficient planning and performance of the work.