Summary

Apartment ownerships are very important in economic terms in Estonia since a little over one-half of the registered immovables (approximately 470,000) entered in the land register are apartment ownerships. That is why it is important that the legislation on apartment ownerships meet the needs of society. The Apartment Ownership Act is based on the German WEG and, as a result, it suffers from similar legislative problems as the German law. The Apartment Ownership Act of Estonia has a distinctive characteristic that the common administration related to apartment ownerships can take place on the basis of an obligation arising from law or via a legal person separately established for administration, and as a result, there can be significant differences in the organisation of administration.

In this article, the author provides an overview of the law of apartment ownership: its development, nature and problems. The topics discussed include the composition of an apartment ownership, definition of a community of apartment owners and the analysis of its passive legal capacity and liability. The author also seeks an answer to the question of what could be the best scheme for reforming the concept of passive legal capacity and liability of a community.