Types of Acquisition

Types of Acquisition

Sole Ownership

The sole ownership of a movable or immovable object belongs to one person without restriction. They alone are entitled to dispose of it and thus decide for themselves what they want to do with the object.

In the case of a property, only the sole owner is registered in the land register. They can also decide whether to build on it, rent it out, etc.

Co-ownership

In the case of co-ownership, several people are owners of an object. Each co-owner is entitled to a fraction (quota) of this object. This is also referred to as “ideal shares”. Co-ownership is not divided into real parts, i.e. no one is assigned a part of the object, but the individual is a co-owner of the entire object.

Co-ownership can be acquired by law, contract or testamentary disposition. Simple co-ownership is the standard case in Austria (§ 825ff ABGB). In addition, there is also real divided ownership and joint ownership. In the case of the latter, there is neither a real nor an ideal division, which only recognizes special private rights. The former is an obsolete practice that can no longer be justified in Austria (for example: storey ownership).

Condominium Ownership

The special regulations on condominium ownership are regulated in the Condominium Ownership Act (WEG).

“Condominium ownership is the right in rem granted to a co-owner of a property or an owner partnership to exclusively use a condominium property and to dispose of it alone.” (§ 2 Para. 1 WEG)

Condominium ownership can be established by a condominium ownership agreement, a court decision or a court division. The condominium owner is the co-owner of a property who has “ideal shares” in the property. In contrast to a simple co-owner of a property, the condominium owner has the exclusive right to use a specific apartment in the property. The “ideal shares” are determined by a parification/usufruct calculation. The usufruct calculation must be carried out by the expert opinion of a civil engineer responsible for structural engineering or a generally sworn and court-certified expert for structural engineering or real estate (§ 9 WEG). The calculation is important, for example, for determining the operating and maintenance costs of each individual owner, as it would be unfair if an owner of a smaller residential unit would pay the same as an owner of a large apartment. In order to establish condominium ownership, it is absolutely necessary to have it registered in the land register.