Owners' Representative in a Slovak Building: Duties, Pay, Eligibility

The owners' representative (zástupca vlastníkov) is an owner whom the owners elect to deal with the building's manager on their behalf. Only an owner of an apartment or non-residential unit in the house can be one. The representative informs the owners about the manager's activity and presses their requirements on the manager, but does not decide matters reserved to the owners. The owners decide the amount of the representative's pay; the Act sets no sum. This is Act No. 182/1993 Z. z. on the ownership of apartments and non-residential premises, in the version in force from 1 April 2025, for a house with a manager. The quotations are the Slovak text of the Act.

What does the Act say about the representative?

„Komunikáciu vlastníkov bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome so správcom zabezpečuje zástupca vlastníkov zvolený vlastníkmi bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome. Zástupcom vlastníkov môže byť len vlastník bytu alebo nebytového priestoru v dome. Zástupca vlastníkov informuje vlastníkov bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome o činnosti správcu a o dôležitých otázkach týkajúcich sa správy domu. Zástupca vlastníkov je povinný uplatňovať voči správcovi požiadavky vlastníkov bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome v súlade so zmluvou o výkone správy a prijatými rozhodnutiami vlastníkov bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome. Zástupca vlastníkov nie je oprávnený rozhodovať o veciach, o ktorých môžu rozhodovať len vlastníci bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome podľa § 14 až 14b.“ (Act 182/1993 Z. z. § 8a(5))

In short: who - only an owner in the house (anyone who is not one, for example a tenant or the manager, cannot be); how - elected by the owners; what - handles communication with the manager, informs the owners and presses their requirements; what not - decide matters reserved to the owners. The last sentence matters in practice: the fund advances and the management contract belong to the owners (§ 14b(1)(e) and (i)), not the representative, who can prepare a proposal but the owners decide by vote.

Who sets the representative's pay?

The owners - not the manager and not the representative:

„Vlastníci bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome prijímajú rozhodnutia nadpolovičnou väčšinou hlasov všetkých vlastníkov bytov a nebytových priestorov v dome, ak hlasujú o“ (Act 182/1993 Z. z. § 14b(1))

„h) výške odmeny zástupcu vlastníkov,“ (Act 182/1993 Z. z. § 14b(1)(h))

The Act as quoted sets no sum. It says only that the owners decide the amount by more than half of the votes of all owners, not just those present. It also does not say pay must exist: it names "výška odmeny" (the amount of remuneration), not a duty to pay. A house that agrees the representative works unpaid is not in conflict with the quoted provision. In practice the amount is decided by an owners' vote under § 14b, not by agreement between representative and manager, and it helps to write down what the pay covers.

Electing a representative and agreeing the terms

The Act says only that the owners elect the representative; the quoted provision gives no further procedure beyond the general voting rules. Decide three things together: the name; the pay, in euro per month or "none", and how it is paid; and how the representative informs owners, how often and where.

The representative is not on their own here. The Act gives the role the task of pressing the owners' requirements on the manager. The manager must give owners an activity report each year (see our article on the manager's activity report), and the representative is naturally the person who reads it, explains it to the owners and speaks up when something is missing.

First steps for a new representative

The Act gives the role communication and information duties, so the first steps are practical. Ask for the management contract, since it is what you press the owners' requirements under. Note the manager's two deadlines: the repair plan by 30 November and the activity report by 31 May. And agree with the owners where you will collect their requirements, so you can pass them to the manager together and show when you did.

What the representative can ask the manager for

An owner, and so the representative, may look into the documents on the management of the house and on the use of the fund:

„umožniť vlastníkovi bytu a nebytového priestoru v dome na požiadanie nahliadnuť do dokladov týkajúcich sa správy domu alebo čerpania fondu prevádzky, údržby a opráv, robiť si z nich výpisy, odpisy a kópie“ (Act 182/1993 Z. z. § 9(5)(d))

Start with next year's repair plan, last year's activity report and the settlement of the fund. The manager's deadlines are in our articles on the repair plan and the activity report.

What Unitify does

A representative needs one place to see what is going on in the house: owners' requests and their status, advances and arrears per apartment, the house's documents, and notices to owners in the resident app. Owners can vote in the app and the manager, and a representative the manager gives access to, see participation and votes per apartment. The app records votes; whether such a vote meets the Act's requirements for owners' decisions is for a lawyer. The app interface is in English for now and is set up for each project; there is no Slovak interface yet.

If you are an owners' representative, send this article to the manager and suggest an overview in Unitify: the manager can start free from the Unitify page for Slovakia. If you are an owner, ask the manager who the owners' representative is and what the pay is.

Sources: Act No. 182/1993 Z. z., version in force from 1 April 2025, Slov-Lex; checked 7 November 2026. Later amendments were not confirmed: open the current version on slov-lex.sk before relying on it. This is not legal advice.