Homeowners’ Associations in Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunities & Challenges for the Real Estate Market

Homeowners’ Associations in Central and Eastern Europe: Opportunities and Challenges for the Real Estate Market Two Decades After Privatization

Resource Library | Author Carol Rabenhorst | Date December 2012

Housing privatization was one of the first steps taken in the transition that began in the early 1990s from socialism to a market economy in the former socialist republics of Central and Eastern Europe. The most successful privatization programs mandated or at least strongly encouraged the formation of legal entities known as Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs) that were authorized to represent the individual residents; could plan, finance, and implement repairs and capital improvements through contracts with third parties; and could enforce the owners’ obligation to pay their share of common area expenses. Common problems and obstacles result from an inadequate legal framework, lack of enforcement of the law, and the absence of a private property management sector.