The amendments to the Limited Liability Housing Companies Act entered into force on 1 October 2026. They give housing companies more effective tools to address disturbances and problems arising from short-term letting, clarify access to apartments and responsibility for maintenance, and strengthen shareholders’ rights to obtain information about their own apartments.
For the Board of Directors, the key priority is to review current procedures. The new tools are only useful if decisions are based on careful documentation and the procedures prescribed by law. Here, we outline what is changing and what your housing company should address first.
Short-term letting remains permitted. What is new is that the General Meeting may decide that the housing company will take possession of an owner apartment if short-term letting causes the housing company or other shareholders harm or additional costs beyond those associated with ordinary residential use. Typical examples include repeated disturbances, wear and tear in shared facilities, and additional cleaning or repair costs.
The Board of Directors must document:
A shareholder who makes an apartment available for use by others must keep records of its users and provide the information to the housing company upon a justified request. This makes it possible, for example, to direct a claim for damages to the appropriate person.
Other grounds for taking possession of an owner apartment are also clarified. In addition to disturbances, grounds may include failure to comply with obligations necessary to safeguard health or maintain order, such as breaching a smoking ban in force. Housing companies will also be able to address repeated disturbances caused by visitors.
Grounds for taking possession include:
Taking possession remains a measure of last resort, with a maximum duration of three years. The decision is always made by the General Meeting. Mere suspicion is not sufficient: the harm and its connection to a specific apartment must be demonstrable. The Board of Directors must gather sufficient evidence, assess the seriousness of the situation and strictly follow the statutory procedures for issuing a warning and making a decision.
A warning concerning the taking of possession and the General Meeting’s decision may now also be served electronically. Service must be effected in a reliably verifiable manner prescribed by law.
A shareholder is entitled, without delay, to a copy of a document held by the housing company that concerns their owner apartment and affects its use, maintenance or costs, or the shareholder’s rights and obligations. Examples include moisture measurement reports, condition investigation reports and records of repair work.
The housing company may refuse disclosure if it would cause substantial harm to the company. It may charge a reasonable fee for the copy, as approved by the Board of Directors.
The change highlights the importance of document management. Apartment-specific notices, reports and repair records must be stored systematically so that they can be retrieved promptly when needed.
When disclosing information, the housing company must also ensure compliance with data protection requirements so that documents do not disclose personal data unnecessary for the matter concerned.
A Member of the Board of Directors, the Manager or a person authorised by either may access an apartment where this is necessary to monitor its condition or to carry out or supervise maintenance or alteration work. The time of the visit should primarily be agreed with the resident.
If a time cannot be agreed for a reason attributable to the resident, the visit may take place at a notified time, provided that the resident has first been given a reasonable period to respond. A notice must then be left in the apartment stating the reason for the visit, the name of the person giving the notice and the contact details of a person who can provide further information. If access is denied, executive assistance may be requested from the police.
The Act now expressly states that the housing company is responsible for the building structures, insulating materials and windows of apartments, as well as the building’s basic utility systems, such as heating, electricity, water, sewer and ventilation systems. Sinks, tubs, bowls, basins and similar fixtures located in apartments do not fall within the housing company’s responsibility.
Shareholders, in turn, are responsible for maintaining alterations they have carried out and for any additional costs these subsequently cause the housing company. It is therefore important to retain notices of alteration work, plans and supervision records carefully.
Shareholders must also exercise due care in looking after any housing company premises or area available for their use where the right of use is not based on the Articles of Association or a lease agreement. This could include, for example, a yard or terrace area used by a shareholder.
Two significant clarifications concern the allocation of costs:
The Articles of Association may still allocate responsibility for maintenance differently from the Act. The provisions of your housing company’s own Articles of Association determine the applicable allocation.
The amendments make it easier to convert vacant commercial premises into residential apartments and simplify decision-making on placing a housing company into liquidation. Decisions to file for bankruptcy will now be made by the General Meeting after shareholders have been given an opportunity to be heard.
The amendments are already in force, so the following matters should be addressed at the next meeting of the Board of Directors:
The amended Act gives the Board of Directors more tools, but also greater responsibility for following the correct procedures. Retta’s property managers help update your housing company’s procedures, document templates and shareholder communications to reflect the amended legislation.
Would you like to discuss what the changes mean for your housing company? Contact your own Retta property manager or request a quote for our property management services.
This article provides a general overview of the legislative amendments. Each housing company’s circumstances, procedures and provisions in its Articles of Association must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.