Keeping your co-ownership accounts yourself in Belgium

Yes, a volunteer syndic can keep a Belgian co-ownership's accounts without an accountant. Below twenty lots (cellars, garages and parking spaces not counted) simplified accounts are enough; from twenty lots the minimum standardised chart of accounts is compulsory. The two funds need separate accounts, and the reserve gets at least 5% of ordinary charges yearly.

"Am I really allowed to do this without an accountant?" It is the first question a newly elected syndic asks when the previous one hands over the folders. The answer lies in two articles of the Belgian Civil Code, 3.86 and 3.89, plus a royal decree for larger buildings. Everything here applies to Belgium, not to the French or Dutch systems.

Can a co-owner really do the accounting themselves?

Yes. Keeping the books is one of the syndic's duties, and the syndic can be a co-owner serving unpaid: the volunteer syndic. No rule requires a chartered accountant. Article 3.89 § 5, 15° only asks for accounts kept in a clear, precise and detailed way (Civil Code, article 3.89, official text in French). An auditor of the accounts appointed each year by the general meeting checks them, and the meeting then approves them by absolute majority, as our guide to the Belgian general meeting explains.

Simplified or standardised accounting: which one applies to you?

Everything turns on those twenty lots.

Below the line, the simplified accounts must show at least the income and expenditure, the cash position, the movements in cash and bank accounts, the amount of the working capital and the reserve fund, and what each co-owner owes or is owed. A tidy spreadsheet can do that, and so can community management software such as Vecinly, which links every payment to a unit and an account.

From twenty lots up, the Royal Decree of 12 July 2012 imposes the minimum standardised chart of accounts, and that is a different level: double-entry bookkeeping, a journal with no blanks or gaps, a full inventory of assets and debts at least once a year, and supporting documents kept for seven years. The classic mistake is the building that crosses the line after a unit is split and carries on with the old cash book. The law sets no switchover date; we move to the standardised chart from the next financial year, so no single year is kept in two systems.

Two separate accounts: working capital and reserve fund

The association's assets consist at least of a working capital and a reserve fund, held in two separate accounts opened in the association's name (article 3.86 § 3). The working capital covers recurring costs such as heating and lighting of the common parts and management fees. The reserve fund pays for non-recurring work like a new boiler or lift.

The building's money never goes through your personal account. Open both accounts in the association's name in the first week of the mandate.

The reserve fund: why 5% is the floor

No later than five years after the provisional acceptance of the common parts, the association must build a reserve fund with a yearly contribution of at least 5% of the previous year's total ordinary common charges. Only a four-fifths majority of the general meeting can decide not to set it up.

When a flat is sold, the seller's share of the reserve fund stays with the association, while their share of the working capital is refunded for the period after they lost the use of the common parts (article 3.94 § 5).

Start by recounting your lots, leaving out cellars, garages and parking spaces. Under twenty, choose the simplified version; at nineteen with a split on the horizon, set up the standardised chart now.

Updated September 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice.