Companies that manage homeowners’ associations should be properly regulated to make the service more professional and financially responsible, watchdog organisation Vereniging Eigen Huis (VEH) has said.

Everyone living in an apartment building is required by law to form a homeowners’ association (VVE) to agree on communal costs, such as buildings insurance and repairs, and deal with disputes between owners.

Many VVEs outsource the day-to-day management to external companies, but the sector is currently unregulated, meaning anyone can set up a VVE management company without professional qualifications.

VEH said the lack of an industry standard for VVE management meant there were vast differences in the quality of the service. “The prices for various types of labour varied considerably and in most cases the dispute resolution mechanism was inadequate.”

The organisation also called for bank accounts to be subjected to rules preventing VVE managers from taking control of the collective finances through a bank mandate.

“Every year we read about a manager running off with the VVE savings,” VEH director Cindy Kremer told NOS. “Never give managers absolute authority over the VVE’s money and certainly not the reserve fund.”

VEH’s call was backed by BVVB, the industry body representing VVE managers. BVVB said it was investigating how the profession could be given protected status, which would restrict access to people who are certified to practise, in the same way as doctors and lawyers.

“There are a lot of managers who do not behave professionally or focus on providing a service, but just want to earn easy money,” chairman Daan Fons said.