Method
Method and scope
This paper describes the transfer controls as they are implemented in Domera, names the legal instrument each control responds to, and marks where the legal position differs by country. It draws on the product's own rules (the balance engine, the transfer check, the audit trail) and on the primary legislation listed under sources. It contains no customer data and no survey figures; every number is illustrative.
The worked example is Cyprus, where the clearance certificate is established practice before a Land Registry transfer. Elsewhere the document and the remedy differ: in France the notaire obtains an état daté from the syndic and the syndic may oppose payment of the sale price to recover charges; in Spain the unit itself answers, as we read it, for unpaid charges of the current and preceding years; in Germany the community pursues the seller for Hausgeld arrears. Confirm the position with a local lawyer before you rely on it.
Risk review
The problem with ownership transfers today
Across Europe, a change of ownership is where a building's finances go dark. Four failures recur, whatever the jurisdiction.
Outstanding debts disappear at transfer
When a unit changes hands, spreadsheet workflows often lose the unpaid common expenses with the old row. The new owner starts from zero and the building absorbs the loss.
Former owners lose sight of their account
Once ownership ends, the departing owner is usually deleted from the register. If they still owe money, or hold a credit, there is no self-service way for them to check what became of it.
Clearance has no audit trail
In Cyprus, practice is for the management committee to confirm that the seller has settled before the Land Registry transfer. That confirmation is often a phone call or a signed note with no traceable record.
Partial transfers are error-prone
Co-ownership is common across Europe. When one co-owner sells their share, a manual process struggles to close only the departing share without disturbing the remaining owners' records.
Control framework
Five principles that protect every transfer
Each principle is a rule the software enforces, not a policy the manager has to remember. The detail under each one says where the rule comes from.
- 01
Money stays with the building
Contributions to the common fund are treated as the building's money, not an owner's deposit. When an owner sells, their financial history stays on the building's ledger: contributions do not transfer to the buyer, and an overpayment shows as a credit on the departing owner's account until it is settled.
In Cyprus, owners are bound to contribute to common expenses in proportion to their share under Part IIA of the Immovable Property Law, Cap. 224. Whether unspent contributions are refundable on sale depends on the building's regulations and on legal advice; the default described here keeps them with the building.
- 02
Debts block transfers
When an ownership change is started, every departing owner's balance is checked against the balance engine: common fund plus reserve fund, including opening balances. If the total is positive (the owner owes money) the transfer is refused, and the message names who owes what across both funds.
The check runs for a full transfer of the unit and for a partial transfer of one co-owner's share. It cannot be overridden from the interface; the balance must be settled and recorded first.
- 03
Clearance certificates record the position
Before a transfer, a clearance certificate can be issued showing the owner's exact position: common fund balance, reserve fund balance and the total, taken from the latest final statement and the owner's share of the unit. The certificate carries a timestamp and the name of the person who issued it.
Both 'cleared' and 'not cleared' certificates can be issued. Each is written to the audit trail, so the history of what was certified, by whom and when is available if the sale is later questioned.
- 04
Former owners keep read access
When ownership ends, the departing owner's balance history, statements and payment records stay on file. A former owner can still sign in to the owner portal and read their own historical statements and any open obligation.
Visibility follows the transactions, allocations and payments attributed to the person, not the current ownership flag. A former owner reads only their own history, never the new owner's, and appears in management reports with a former-owner marker.
- 05
Partial transfers are a first-class workflow
A change among co-owners is handled as its own operation. Only the departing co-owner's record is closed; the remaining co-owners continue without interruption. The total of ownership percentages across all owners of the unit is validated so it never exceeds 100 %.
Each co-owner's balance is checked on its own: one co-owner's debt blocks only their transfer. The new record starts from the transfer date with the agreed share percentage.
Process map
The transfer workflow
Five steps, each leaving an audit trail entry. A worked example: an owner in Limassol sells with €412.50 owing on the common fund and €80.00 on the reserve. Step 1 shows €492.50; step 2 issues a 'not cleared' certificate; step 3 records the payment; step 4 runs the transfer once the balance reads €0.00.
Step 1
Pre-transfer balance check
Open the departing owner's account. The common and reserve fund balances are shown per building, with the statements and payments that produced them.
Step 2
Clearance certificate
Issue the certificate. It states the balance on the date of issue and whether the owner is cleared. In Cyprus it is the document the committee hands to the seller or the buyer's lawyer before the Land Registry appointment.
Step 3
Settlement
If the owner owes money, record and reconcile the payment before proceeding. Payments settle the oldest charges first, and the split between common and reserve fund is kept to the cent.
Step 4
Transfer
Run the transfer. The departing owner's record is closed with a valid-to date and the new owner's record begins. The departing owner's financial history is kept, not archived away.
Step 5
Continuity after the transfer
The former owner keeps portal access to their own statements and payments. The building's balances carry straight through, with no orphaned transactions and no gap in the period.