Works in a co-ownership: approvals, hours and common areas

What depends on the owner and what depends on the building

Inside the flat, you generally decide: kitchen, bathroom, floors, paint, non-load-bearing partitions. The moment you touch a load-bearing wall, a façade, a window opening, a chimney flue or a shared pipe, you leave private property and enter the building’s rules.

The distinction matters because the request does not go to the same person. Inside work is declared to the managing agent; work on common parts or the structure requires a decision by the co-ownership, sometimes a general meeting vote, and always a written trace.

What the managing agent asks for

In practice: the nature and duration of the works, the company’s insurance certificates, the working hours, how materials will be carried and stored, who protects the lift and the stairs, and how waste leaves the building. Four pages are enough — but they are asked for at the start, not in the middle.

A firm used to working in buildings provides this without being pushed. If you have to explain it yourself, that is information about the firm.

• Written declaration of works, with dates
• Insurance certificates (ten-year and public liability)
• Working hours and noisy phases
• Lift and staircase protection
• Waste removal route and skip location
• Contact on site for the concierge and the neighbours

The hours are not negotiable

Demolition at eight in the morning on a Saturday is the fastest way to turn a building against a project. The règlement de copropriété sets the hours; the town may add its own for noise. Both apply, and the stricter one wins.

We plan the noisy phases — demolition, drilling, tile cutting — in the authorised windows, and we tell the neighbours in advance, in writing, with a phone number. It costs an hour and avoids most complaints.