Service charge regularisation in a co-ownership

The régularisation des charges (service-charge reconciliation) is done at least once a year: you compare the advances your tenant paid with their actual share of the recoverable charges, then you refund the overpayment or claim the shortfall. In a copropriété (co-ownership building), do it after the accounts are approved by the assemblée générale (owners' general meeting), send the breakdown by type of charge one month before, and keep the supporting documents available for six months. A claim for arrears is time-barred after three years.

This guide covers a home let unfurnished as the tenant's main residence, in a co-ownership building. Rules in force on 9 November 2026.

Why regularise#

The lease usually provides that the tenant pays a monthly advance on charges (provision sur charges) with the rent. It is an advance, worked out from the previous year's results and, in a co-ownership, from the forecast budget. The law requires it to be compared each year with the actual expenses: advances "must be subject to an annual regularisation" (article 23 of the law of 6 July 1989).

Only the charges on the list in decree no. 87-713 count in the calculation; how to sort the syndic's (building manager's) statement is explained in Recoverable co-ownership charges: the list.

When to do it#

The law sets no date, only a yearly rhythm. In a co-ownership, the year's actual expenses are only known once the accounts are approved by the general meeting the following year: that is the right moment. Regularising on the forecast budget would just replace one advance with another.

Two limits then apply:

• if the regularisation is not done before the end of the calendar year following the one in which the charges were due, the tenant can insist on paying the arrears in twelfths (article 23);
• after three years, the claim is time-barred: "all claims arising from a lease are time-barred after three years" from the day the holder of the right knew or should have known the facts (article 7-1 of the law of 6 July 1989). The rule works both ways: a tenant can claim back an overpayment for three years.

Service-public.gouv.fr adds that a court may refuse a late regularisation if it is found to be unfair or abrupt and linked to a fault by the owner.

Step by step#

1. Get your unit's individual statement from the syndic after the general meeting, and the year's taxe foncière (property tax) notice for the household waste tax.
2. Isolate the recoverable charges, item by item, using the decree's list.
3. Apply the occupation period if the tenant did not occupy the home for the whole year.
4. Send the breakdown one month before asking for payment or refunding. It details the charges by type (water, heating, lift…) and, in a block of flats, the allocation method between the homes; if heating or hot water is collective, attach an information note on how it is calculated (article 23).
5. Keep the supporting documents available for six months after sending the breakdown. On request, also send the summary of the home's charges, by post or electronically.
6. Settle: refund the overpayment, or ask for the shortfall, possibly in twelfths.
7. Adjust the monthly advance for the current year based on the actual expenses.

Worked example#

A tenant occupies the home for the whole of 2025 and pays €120 a month in advances, i.e. €1,440. After the general meeting in spring 2026, the syndic's statement shows €1,320 of recoverable charges for the unit, and the 2025 property tax notice €160 of household waste tax, excluding management fees.

	Amount
Recoverable co-ownership charges	€1,320
Household waste tax	€160
Charges due	€1,480
Advances paid	€1,440
Balance owed by the tenant	€40

You send the breakdown in May 2026, then ask for the €40 in June. For 2026, the advance can go up to €1,480 ÷ 12 ≈ €125 a month.

Same home, tenant moved in on 1 April 2025. They paid 9 × €120 = €1,080. On a pro rata of 9 months out of 12, their share of the charges is €1,480 × 9 ÷ 12 = €1,110. They owe €30. A pro rata by time of occupation is, in our reading, the simplest method to justify; consumption read on an individual meter (water, heating) is better split according to the readings.

When the tenant leaves before the accounts#

The security deposit is returned within one or two months, but the co-ownership's accounts will only be approved the following year. In a block of flats, the law allows you to draw up provisional accounts and keep back an amount of at most 20% of the security deposit, duly justified, until the accounts are approved. The final regularisation and the return of the balance take place within the month following that approval; the parties can also agree to settle everything immediately (article 22 of the law of 6 July 1989). See also our guide Security deposit.

Common mistakes#

• Regularising on the forecast budget rather than on the approved accounts.
• Asking for payment the day you send the breakdown, without leaving the month the law provides for.
• Including charges not on the list: the syndic's fees, building insurance, works fund.
• Forgetting the household waste tax, which is not in the syndic's statement but on the property tax notice (see Household waste tax).
• Letting several years go by: after the end of the following year, the tenant pays in twelfths; after three years, nothing can be claimed any more.

For the overview, see Landlord in a French co-ownership: charges and tax.

Sources#

• Article 23 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (advances and regularisation), Légifrance
• Article 7-1 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (three-year time limit), Légifrance
• Article 22 of law no. 89-462 of 6 July 1989 (security deposit in a block of flats), Légifrance
• Annex to decree no. 87-713 of 26 August 1987, Légifrance
• Rental charges, service-public.gouv.fr (in French)

Last checked on 9 November 2026