Moving into a co-ownership: hours, lift, common areas, what the building rules impose
A foreign buyer purchasing a flat in Paris, Lyon or Nice rarely arrives thinking the building has rules, still less that those rules have a say on the day they move in. Yet it is an enforceable document. This dossier says what it governs, how to obtain it, when to notify the managing agent, and how to protect yourself against damage to common areas.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home SelectUpdated · 5 min read
What do the building’s rules say about a move?
It varies from one building to the next, but the same themes recur: permitted hours, excluded days, an obligation to protect the common parts, reserved use of a lift or a service staircase, and sometimes prior notice to the managing agent or the caretaker.
There is nothing exotic about these rules: they protect a shared asset everyone uses. But they have an immediate practical consequence, which is that a delivery date is not settled between you and the removal firm alone.
How do you obtain the building rules?
It was handed to you with the sale papers, and it sits among the building documents annexed to the deed. If you cannot find it, the managing agent will supply it.
The useful reflex is to ask for it before fixing the date, not after. Hunting for the rules the day before to check whether Saturday is allowed is an uncomfortable exercise, especially from another time zone.
Must the managing agent be told, and when?
Yes, in writing, and several weeks ahead where the rules require it. The message is short: your name, the lot concerned, the date, the time slot, the company attending, and a request for access if a lift or service entrance is set aside for this.
That notice does two things. It puts you in order, and above all it informs the caretaker, who is the person who will open the door on the day. A refusal at the foot of the building almost always comes down to information that never reached them.
The lift, and what it governs
This is the point that decides how long the day lasts, and therefore the bill where the service is charged by time spent. Three figures are enough to tell the removal firm what they need: the dimensions of the car, the maximum load, and the width of the landing door.
A lift that is too small means carrying up the stairs, or a furniture hoist, with the highway permit that goes with it. That is exactly the kind of discovery that costs money when it happens on the morning itself, when it would have fitted in a photograph sent three weeks earlier. It meets here the parking permit, which is applied for in the same movement.
Dinard, Bretagne
Who answers for damage to the common parts?
The professional who causes it, but the building will come to you first, because you are the one who let them in.
Hence a simple and rewarding gesture: photograph the common parts before work starts, entrance hall, stairwell, lift car, and keep those dated images. The same reflex as reservations on delivery, applied to the building’s walls rather than to your boxes.
What the arrival of a new co-owner sets off
Beyond moving day, joining the building has its own consequences: the managing agent is told of the transfer, your details are passed on, and you enter the cycle of charge demands and general meeting notices.
For an owner not living in France, the point to settle early is the address and the language: give an address where you genuinely read your post, and name the person who can open and handle what arrives in your absence. A general meeting notice sitting in a letterbox for six weeks is a lost vote and sometimes a works budget approved without you.
What Home Select organises for moving in
Settling in is prepared during the search: the date of the deed sets that of the delivery, and the contracts are opened before the arrival. Your Home Select property finder keeps that calendar with you, from the preliminary contract to the first night.
We introduce the international remover, the tradespeople of the fit-out and the concierge service that receives deliveries and prepares the house. Transport, customs and works are theirs, under their responsibility: our role is that you arrive in a house that is ready.
Frequently asked questions
Can you move on a Sunday or a public holiday?
Many building rules forbid it, and those that allow it often restrict the hours. Add the fact that the parking permit follows its own rules depending on the commune, and you have a date that needs checking in two places before it is confirmed to the removal firm.
Can the caretaker refuse access to the service lift?
They apply the rules and the managing agent’s instructions, they do not decide alone. A refusal on the day almost always reflects information that never came through, not ill will. Which is why written notice to the managing agent, several weeks ahead, beats a word in passing the day before.
Who pays if the lift breaks down during the move?
It depends on the cause, and that is exactly why a photographic record of the common parts is worth the trouble. An obvious overload engages whoever caused it; an unrelated breakdown remains a building charge. Without photographs or a record, the discussion runs on memory, and rarely in your favour.
What do the building’s rules say about a move?
It varies from one building to the next, but the same themes recur: permitted hours, excluded days, an obligation to protect the common parts, reserved use of a lift or a service staircase, and sometimes prior notice to the managing agent or the caretaker.
How do you obtain the building rules?
It was handed to you with the sale papers, and it sits among the building documents annexed to the deed. If you cannot find it, the managing agent will supply it. The useful reflex is to ask for it before fixing the date, not after. Hunting for the rules the day before to check whether Saturday is allowed is an uncomfortable exercise, especially from another time zone.
Who answers for damage to the common parts?
The professional who causes it, but the building will come to you first, because you are the one who let them in. Hence a simple and rewarding gesture: photograph the common parts before work starts, entrance hall, stairwell, lift car, and keep those dated images. The same reflex as reservations on delivery, applied to the building’s walls rather than to your boxes.
Should you notify the managing agent before a move, and when?
Yes, in writing, and several weeks ahead where the rules require it. The message is short: your name, the lot concerned, the date, the time slot, the company attending, and a request for access if a lift or service entrance is set aside for this.
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