A courtyard in a block of flats where you want to spend time: who is responsible and what can residents do about it?

A courtyard in a block of flats where you want to spend time: who is responsible and what can residents do about it?

As the weather warms up, we are spending more and more time in the courtyards of apartment buildings, where the melting winter snow has exposed potholed walkways and driveways and winter-weather damaged yard equipment. Gintaras Stanišauskas, Building Maintenance Specialist at Civinity Namai, a company involved in the maintenance and management of apartment buildings, explains who is responsible for the regular cleaning of the courtyard of an apartment building and what opportunities residents have to renew it.

Keeping the yard tidy is mandatory

The famous phrase “My house is my fortress” is only partially valid for apartment dwellers.

City municipalities have established rules on urban cleanliness and tidiness that lay down specific requirements on how and with what regularity courtyards of apartment buildings should be cleaned, passageways cleaned, rubbish removed and grass mowed in the warm season.

For example, the cities of Klaipėda and Kaunas have a procedure for cutting the grass periodically so that the height of the grass is no more than 12 cm. In Klaipėda, the territory of an apartment building must be cleaned at least 3 times a week.

These and other grounds maintenance works in all municipalities are the responsibility of and paid for by the owners of the flats and other premises in the block of flats and other premises, who are liable to fines of between €10 and €140 for breaching the rules.

The quality of driveways, paths and equipment is the responsibility of those who own the site

The residents or the municipality are responsible for the maintenance of driveways, pavements, passageways and yard equipment.

Responsibility depends on whether a separate plot of land has been created for the area around the apartment building and assigned to the apartment building.

If the territory is assigned to an apartment block, the owners of the flats and other premises in the block are fully responsible for the management of the territory, and shall organise the management work at their own expense. If the land plot is not created, the area around the apartment block belongs to the municipality and the city takes care of the condition and management of the infrastructure therein.

“If the territory of the apartment building is owned by the owners of the apartments and other premises, the owners shall organise and carry out the management of the passageways and pedestrian walkways at their own expense. The same applies to the playground equipment and other infrastructure in the courtyard of the building,” says Mr Stanišauskas.

Residents can find out who owns a yard plot in a multi-apartment building by contacting their building’s administrator or association, and they can also get this information from the Register Centre.

Residents are always responsible for the benches in front of their apartment blocks

According to G. Stanišauskas, regardless of who owns the courtyard area of a multi-apartment building, it is the owners of the apartments and other premises who are responsible for the maintenance of the benches in front of the multi-apartment building:

“The benches at the entrance staircases of the apartment building are assigned to the building, so the residents are responsible for their regular maintenance, as well as for the regular maintenance of other common-use objects. Repairs or replacements are subject to a vote, which requires the approval of the majority of residents,” comments a Civinity Namai specialist. 

Kaunas residents can benefit from the Courtyard Renovation Financing Programme

Kaunas residents who want to overhaul the courtyard of their apartment building can take advantage of the “Svajonių kiemas” financing programme, which partially finances the installation of parking, playgrounds, sports grounds, pavements, walkways, entrances and courtyard pavements, storm water drainage systems, site lighting, bicycle shelters and electric vehicle charging stations, as well as the installation of tree plantings.

The programme reimburses residents between 40% and 90% of the cost of the works.

To benefit from the programme, you first need to make sure that the apartment building has a plot of land. If the land is already allocated to the residents, it is up to the majority to decide to undertake the landscaping work and to draw up a project for the landscaping work.

“Currently, more than 10% of the houses under our management in Kaunas have benefited from the yard management programme, and another 8 houses are currently in the project preparation or implementation phase. This programme is a great opportunity to renovate the territory of your house, which becomes especially important for residents after the completion of the renovation/modernisation of a block of flats, which does not include yard management works,” says G. Stanišauskas.

Currently, Vilnius and Klaipėda do not have such or similar programmes. Residents who wish to renovate their own courtyards can do so only at their own expense, and if the courtyard belongs to the municipality, they can apply to the municipality to carry out the renovation work on the municipality’s own initiative and at the municipality’s expense.