Koinochrista explained: what to ask before you move in

Most Athens apartment buildings (πολυκατοικίες, polykatoikies) share the cost of keeping the building running. The word for those shared expenses is κοινόχρηστα, written koinochrista or kinochrista in Latin letters. Each flat pays a share, usually every month.

Typical items include cleaning the stairs and entrance, the lift and its maintenance, lighting in the common areas, water used by the building and, where there is one, central heating. A small building with no lift and no central heating may have very low shared charges, or almost none.

For tenants, koinochrista are normally separate from the rent. What you actually pay, and for what, depends on the building documents, the lease and the applicable rules. If a listing says “shared charges included”, ask what that covers and how winter heating is handled.

A statement usually shows two things. First, the building's total for the period, broken down by item: cleaning, lift, electricity, water, heating fuel and so on. Second, a table with each flat's share of each item and the total each flat owes. Find your flat's line and read across.

Shares are not necessarily the same for every item. A building can use different allocation tables for general costs, the lift and heating, and heating can include a fixed part as well as a part based on use. Rather than assume how your share is worked out, ask.

• Which table applies? Ask for the allocation table that applies to this flat, for each kind of charge.
• How is this line assigned? Pick one charge on the statement and ask how this flat's share of it was calculated.
• Fixed, usage or both? Ask whether the heating has a fixed component, a usage component or both, and how each is worked out.
• What is the evidence? Ask for this flat's itemised statements and the supporting invoices, shared privately or with other residents' details removed. You do not need anyone else's financial details.

If a management company runs the building, its fee is usually one of the items shared out. Ask how statements reach residents: on a noticeboard, by email or through an online account.

• Regular. Cleaning, lift maintenance, common lighting and water. These tend to be similar each month.
• Seasonal. Central heating fuel and its running costs, which usually appear on winter statements only.
• One-off. Repairs, replacing equipment, painting the stairwell, a new lift or roof works. These can be large, so ask whether any are planned.

One building-management company lists cleaning, lift maintenance, common-area electricity and water, and blockages caused by use among a building's everyday running costs (ATLAS FAQ). That is a useful starting checklist when you read a statement, not a rule about who pays. For repairs and works, ask what the proposed charge covers and check the building documents and the lease. Responsibility can depend on the type of work and the applicable rules, so get advice if the allocation is unclear.

In a building with central heating, the heating costs are shared out during the heating season. A summer statement can look modest and a winter one much higher for the same flat. Neither is wrong; they show different parts of the year. Timing matters too: heating fuel may be bought and billed in a different month from when it is used, and one-off items can land in any month.

Ask a few heating questions too. When does the building switch the heating on, and for how many hours? Is there a thermostat or valve in the flat? Is the cost split by fixed shares, by use in each flat, or both? Even if you expect to use the heating rarely, do not assume your share would be zero; ask how any fixed part would apply to this flat.

Copy the figures from the two statements into a table like this one. It is blank on purpose: amounts vary from building to building, and only the statements tell you what this flat pays.

• Check the period. A statement may cover one month or two. Compare like with like, and note the dates.
• Flat versus building. The building total is shared by every flat. Only this flat's line is the amount it was asked to pay.
• Current versus arrears. Ask whether the flat's line includes anything carried forward from earlier periods, and keep that separate from the current charges.
• Fuel bought versus used. A large heating line may reflect a fuel delivery for the weeks ahead, not just the heating used that month. Ask which it is.

Ask from which date your share starts, and how the first statement will reach you. If the building has central heating, ask how fuel bought before you arrive, or still in the tank when you leave, is settled. Buildings handle this in different ways, so it is worth agreeing in advance.

Agree how charges covering your occupancy will be reconciled when you leave, including statements issued after you have moved out. Keep your payment records, ask in writing how any unresolved items will be handled, and do not assume that older arrears are yours.

1. 1

   See two statements.

   One winter, one summer, itemised, for this flat.

2. 2

   Understand the heating.

   Central or autonomous, any fixed and usage parts, and when it runs.

3. 3

   Agree who pays what.

   Running costs, works and any reserve. Check the lease and building documents, and get qualified advice if responsibility is unclear.

4. 4

   Know who to contact.

   The building manager's name and how statements reach you.

Viewing a flat soon? Our rental viewing checklist covers the rest of the visit. If you are buying, our guide to older apartments looks at the building as well as the flat.