What are common charges?

Known in Greek as the koinochrista, they are a fine opportunity for everyone living in a building to exhibit the very worst side of their nature. Koinochrista means "common use," and the koinochrista are the bills for shared costs—the electricity to light the hallways, the cleaning of the stairs, repairs, etc. The building administrator, who should normally be an owner of an apartment elected in rotation by the general assembly of owners, should coordinate the payment of these bills.

Chaos ensues when:

a) Nobody wants to be the administrator, because a campaign of passive-aggressive whinging will inevitably induce them to quit in tears of rage. Or the administrator is a misanthropist who refuses all communication.

b) The owners do not live in the building and do not care what happens in it as long as their rent is coming in.

c) Owners have literally forgotten that they own an apartment in the building. This happened to us.

d) Someone didn't do something or didn't pay something ten years ago and because of that even though all the other owners have changed since then we must bear resentment and not have electricity today.

e) The maintenance laws are changing so fast that nobody knows what they are now. Or now. Or now.

f) People believe others should pay for them as compensation for a cosmic wrong they have suffered.

g) An owner is murdered. This also happened to us.

A building that can peacefully organise and pay its own koinochrista is a rare gem, and ought to get a plaque.