- Your monthly contribution is set in proportion to your share, not per apartment.
- A reserve fund is legally required, based on a maintenance plan or on the rebuild value.
- The MJOP is the ten to fifteen year maintenance plan the reserve should be sized against.
- A special levy lands on top of the monthly amount when the reserve falls short.
- Before buying, compare the reserve balance to the maintenance plan — not to your instinct.
Two apartments in the same street, similar size, similar price. One has a monthly service charge twice the other's. Most buyers read that as one building being expensive. Often it means the other one is quietly deferring a bill. This guide explains what you are paying for, what the law requires and how to tell the difference before you commit.
What the monthly contribution covers
| Item | What it is | Varies with |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings insurance | Cover for the structure, arranged collectively | Rebuild value and building type |
| Day-to-day maintenance | Repairs, cleaning, gardening, minor works | Size and standard of the building |
| Shared utilities | Lighting, lift power, sometimes shared heating | Facilities present |
| Management | Administration, meeting preparation, accounts | Whether a professional manager is appointed |
| Lift maintenance | Servicing and inspection | Presence and age of the lift |
| Contribution to the reserve | Saving for major works | The maintenance plan — the key number |
The first five are fairly predictable. The sixth is where buildings genuinely differ, and it is the one that determines whether you get a large bill in year three.
Your share of all of this follows the share set out in the deed of division. It is not per apartment and not always proportional to floor area, so two similar flats in one building can pay different amounts.
The reserve fund and what the law requires
Dutch law requires an owners' association to maintain a reserve fund for maintenance and repair of the communal parts. There are two accepted ways of sizing it:
- Based on a multi-year maintenance plan — the association calculates what is due over the coming years and saves accordingly. This is the better method, because it reflects the actual building.
- Based on a percentage of the rebuild value — a fallback for associations without a current plan. Simpler, but blind to the specific condition of the building.
The money must be held separately from the operating account. What this does not guarantee is that the amount is adequate: an association can comply with the minimum and still be far short of what its roof will cost.
Not "is there a reserve fund?" but "what does the maintenance plan say is due in the next ten years, and does the reserve plus the annual contribution cover it?"
The MJOP: the document that tells you the truth
An MJOP — meerjarenonderhoudsplan — is a multi-year maintenance plan, typically covering ten to fifteen years. A surveyor inspects the building and sets out, element by element, what needs doing and roughly when.
A useful MJOP covers at least:
- Roof covering, insulation and roof details.
- Facades, pointing, balconies and concrete condition.
- Window frames, glazing and painting cycles.
- Lift, if present, including the major overhaul.
- Main pipework, drainage and any shared heating installation.
- Stairwells, entrance and communal finishes.
Two red flags. First, no MJOP at all — then nobody knows what is coming. Second, an MJOP that is more than a few years old and has never been updated, particularly one written before recent construction cost increases; the figures in it will understate reality.
Special levies
When major work is needed and the reserve does not cover it, the meeting can decide on a special levy: a one-off amount payable by every owner in proportion to their share. In Dutch this is a bijdrage or, more colloquially, an extra heffing.
What you should know:
- It can be substantial, particularly for roof replacement, facade renovation, concrete repair to balconies or a lift overhaul.
- It is decided by the meeting, so a majority can bind you even if you vote against.
- Timing matters when buying. A levy decided shortly before completion may still fall to you depending on how it was framed, so ask specifically and get the answer in writing.
- Some associations can arrange financing for major works, spreading the cost. Whether that is available is a question for the manager.
"Has any special levy been decided, proposed or discussed in the last three years, and is any planned?" The minutes will tell you, but a written answer from the manager is worth having.
Warning signs of an underfunded association
- A conspicuously low monthly contribution relative to comparable buildings.
- No MJOP, or one that has not been updated in years.
- A reserve balance that has barely moved across successive annual accounts.
- Deferred maintenance you can see: flaking paint on frames, cracked pointing, damaged balcony edges, a tired stairwell.
- Minutes recording repeated postponement of the same item.
- Owners in arrears, which pushes costs onto everyone else.
- No professional manager in a building large enough to need one.
- A dormant association with no meetings and no accounts at all.
None of these is automatically a reason not to buy. They are a reason to adjust what you expect the first few years to cost, and possibly the price you offer.
What to check before you buy
- The annual accounts for the last three years, and the current budget.
- The reserve fund balance, and how it has developed.
- The MJOP, its date, and whether the reserve is sized against it.
- Minutes of the last three meetings, read specifically for planned works and levies.
- Confirmation that the seller has no arrears.
- Whether the association is professionally managed, and by whom.
- Whether the building has had, or is due, any statutory inspection that could trigger obligations.
- Whether any legal dispute is running, with a contractor or between owners.
Your notary or purchase adviser will request much of this. The part that is often skipped is actually reading the minutes, and that is where the useful information is.
Summary
Your monthly contribution covers insurance, day-to-day maintenance, shared utilities, management and — crucially — a contribution to the reserve fund. Dutch law requires that reserve, sized either against a maintenance plan or against the rebuild value, but compliance with the minimum is not the same as being adequately funded. The document that tells you the truth is the MJOP: what is due, when, and roughly at what cost. Compare that with the reserve balance and the annual contribution. A low service charge with no maintenance plan is not a saving; it is a deferred bill.
Next: the VvE explained or the Dutch structural survey.