Recent years have seen a proliferation of new apartment
developments in the Island and sales of apartments account for a
substantial proportion of residential property sales – over
45% in 2017 and again in the first three-quarters of 2018 according
to the latest Jersey House Price Index report.
Very many Jersey residents are therefore buying into a communal
property-holding arrangement, whether a 'flying freehold'
or a 'share transfer' structure. Whilst there are important
legal differences between these two bases of dividing up a property
for multiple ownership, there are some key questions to be
considered which apply in either case:
Is the constitution clear and equitable?
In the case of a flying freehold property, each apartment owner
has the absolute ownership of their apartment together with an
interest in common with the other owners in the common parts. The
constitutional document is known as a declaration of co-ownership.
In the case of a share transfer
