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One co-owner collects all the rent: obtaining an account in Bulgaria

Check the lease, rent actually collected and documented expenses when one co-owner receives all income. This differs from personal occupation compensation.

Kalchev Law FirmA law firm publication
1 min readPublished: Legal review pending

The essentials

  • Benefits are shared according to ownership fractions.
  • Rent, deposits and utilities need separate treatment.
  • An accounting dispute does not justify self-help against a tenant.

Under Article 30(3) of the Bulgarian Ownership Act, each co-owner participates in benefits and burdens in proportion to their share. If one receives the rent, the others can seek an account and the amounts due to them. Establishing actual receipts is central.

Rental receipts differ from personal occupation

A co-owner living alone in the apartment raises compensation questions under Article 31(2). An outside tenant paying rent raises the allocation of benefits actually received. Do not automatically transfer the conditions or starting date from one situation to the other.

Request the lease, amendments and monthly payment records. Separate rent, security deposit and reimbursement of utilities. A deposit that may need to be repaid is not necessarily income available for distribution.

Expenses require evidence too

Saying that everything was spent on repairs is not an account. Match invoices, payments and agreements to the property. Expenditure chosen unilaterally is not automatically recoverable from every other owner.

Examine management authority and the lease's effect separately. A dispute among owners does not justify changing the tenant's locks yourself. Future arrangements can specify a recipient, reporting interval and distribution method without giving contradictory payment instructions to the tenant.

Practical guidance

What to do, step by step

01 / 03

Request monthly records

Start with actual receipts.

  • Obtain the lease and amendments.
  • Separate rent from deposits and utilities.
02 / 03

Examine deductions

Each item needs a basis.

  • Request invoices and evidence of payment.
  • Compare repairs with consent or established necessity.
03 / 03

Organise future receipts

Prevent the same dispute recurring.

  • Agree a reporting interval and receiving account.
  • Provide coordinated written payment instructions to the tenant.

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This article is for general information only. It does not constitute or replace individual legal advice.