Apartment rights (in Dutch: appartementsrecht) mean that you become a partial owner of an entire building, while having the exclusive right to use a specific part of it, your own apartment. As a buyer, you are co-owner of the full property, which comes with shared responsibility for costs like building maintenance and collective insurance.
At the same time, you hold the sole right to occupy your own apartment unit. To divide a property into apartment rights, a notarial deed must be drawn up and registered in the public land registry. This legal structure is common in Dutch cities and essential when buying an apartment in a larger complex.
