English Commonhold and Swiss Condominium – a Comparison

There has been a steadily growing interest in the question of apartment ownership over the last few decades, due to a lack of housing. This development is common to civil law as well as to common law countries, as both experienced similar economic and social pressures. The conceptual approaches to face them, however, were and are quite different.

This paper will outline the general concept of apartment ownership, which consists of a tripartite structure. It will then point out that neither apartment ownership in Switzerland, termed condominium, nor apartment ownership in England and Wales, referred to as commonhold, perfectly fits within this tripartite scheme. By means of case law, this paper will show the concrete impact of the different concepts and theories. A specific focus will be placed on remedial works on common parts of a building divided into apartment ownership, and on the sale of apartments based on building plans. 

Lunch will be available from 12.30.