Keeping ledgers in a residential building is not a matter of preference but a legal duty. The Condominium Law deals with the decision ledger in Article 32, with what goes into the ledger and its closing at a notary at year end in Article 36, and with the audit ledger in Article 41. This page explains which ledgers are compulsory, how they are kept, the notary step every January and what follows if a ledger is not kept.
Which ledgers are compulsory?
| Ledger | What goes in it | Who keeps it | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owners’ assembly decision ledger | Assembly resolutions, protocols, summaries of notices served, expenses | The manager | Articles 32, 36 |
| Audit ledger | Auditors’ reports and decisions | The auditor / audit board | Article 41 |
Under the law the manager writes the assembly’s resolutions, a summary and dates of notices served, and all expenses into the ledger of Article 32 in date order, and keeps the documents for the expenses and other papers in one file (Article 36). In practice many managements also keep income and expense records in a separate operating (income-expense) ledger, and in everyday speech people call it a “cash book”, “dues book” or “expense book”. That separate ledger is not one the law requires and it does not have to be notarised; the statutory ledger is a single one, and the ledger certified at a notary and closed at year end is the decision ledger.
The owners’ assembly decision ledger
Under Article 32 of the Condominium Law, the resolutions of the owners’ assembly are written into a ledger each page of which is certified with a notary’s seal, and are signed by the owners present at the meeting. Owners who voted against a resolution sign, stating the reason for their dissent.
Who forms the assembly? The assembly is made up of the owners, meaning the people whose names are on the title deed. So only title-deed holders, or representatives they have authorised by power of attorney, can sign the decision ledger. Tenants are not members of the assembly and cannot sign in their own name.
Why it matters: In a dispute, the first document a court asks for is the decision ledger.
How is the decision ledger filled in?
For each meeting the ledger records the following, in order and without gaps:
- Date, time and place of the meeting
- Type of meeting: ordinary or extraordinary; the first meeting, or the second one held because a quorum was missed
- Attendees: owners present and their representatives; a power of attorney is noted
- Agenda items
- Each resolution and its vote: votes for, against and abstaining, and the land-share proportion
- Reasons for dissent, if any
- Signatures of the owners present
Nothing is erased or scraped out; a mistake is struck through, the correction written beside it and signed. How meeting and decision quorums are worked out is explained in The Owners’ Assembly, Meetings and Quorums.
Is the January closing (interim certification) compulsory?
Yes. Under Article 36 the ledger must be closed at a notary by the manager within a month from the end of each calendar year, that is, within January. In practice this is called the interim certification. In practice notaries refuse to act on a ledger whose yearly interim certification has not been made: for example, when the owners want a resolution in the decision ledger certified at a notary to give a lawyer power of attorney, the notary will not process it if the ledger has no interim certification for that year.
A manager who does not meet this duty is subject to the administrative fine in the last paragraph of Article 33 (Article 36).
What to do in January:
- Prepare the ledger and the expense documents and check that every entry for the year is complete.
- Take the ledger to the notary before January ends.
- Keep the notary’s closing certificate in the ledger; if the ledger is not full it carries on into the next year, and if it is full a new one is opened.
How are income and expenses recorded?
Entries run in chronological order and every line rests on a document. A typical entry carries the following:
| Date | Document no. | Description | Income | Expense | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05.03 | Receipt 112 | Flat 3, March service charge | 3,000.00 | 3,000.00 | |
| 07.03 | Invoice 48 | Lift maintenance, March | 800.00 | 2,200.00 |
The figures in the table are an example; in a real ledger each item is tied to its own document (receipt, invoice, bank statement). Income (service charges, rent, other receipts) and expenses (staff, maintenance, energy, insurance) are tracked as separate items. How these are shared among owners is explained in Common Expenses and Service Charges.
The audit ledger
Article 41 gives the owners’ assembly the power to audit the manager. Unless the management plan sets another interval, the accounts are audited every three months, and an audit can be made at any time for good cause. The assembly may entrust the audit to an auditor chosen from among themselves or to an audit board.
The auditor’s reports and decisions are written into a notarised audit ledger with numbered pages and signed.
Notary fees
For the ledger certification fee and the resolution certification fee, a notary charges by the number of pages in the ledger. Because the tariff is updated every year, the best way to learn the current amount is to ask a notary where you are. The more pages the ledger has, the higher the fee, so the page count suited to your building is worth weighing together with the management plan.
What if a ledger is not kept or is lost?
- A ledger not kept, or not closed in January: The manager has failed a duty the law gives them and faces an administrative fine; owners can hold the manager responsible and change the manager.
- A lost ledger: The loss is documented in a written record, a new ledger is opened and the entries are rebuilt from the remaining documents. Because the steps depend on the case, we recommend asking a lawyer.
- An incomplete or untidy ledger: The most common problem when management changes. What to check at handover is covered in What to Watch For When Management Changes.
Can an owner see the ledgers?
Yes. The ledger and documents are kept ready for owners to inspect. If the manager refuses, first make a written request and keep its date. If that fails, take the matter to the assembly’s agenda or to a lawyer. The manager’s duties and powers are explained in Appointing a Manager and the Manager’s Duties.
Does a digital record replace the ledger?
No. Digital systems do not replace the ledgers, but they make preparing them much easier. In the buildings we manage, all income and expense movements and assembly resolutions are held in NovaBina; the legally certified ledgers are then written up from those records, completely and consistently. That keeps the ledger compliant and gives owners instant access to information in between. For the scope of our accounting service see Financial Management and Accounting.
This page is general information. Take legal advice before any legal step on a specific dispute or on a ledger.
Disclaimer: this page is general information and is not legal advice. In a specific dispute, consult a lawyer. Last updated: 21 October 2026.