Is a separate account mandatory for your VvE?

A separate account is mandatory for a VvE (owners' association) with a residential building, because the law prescribes where the reserve fund is held. Under article 5:126 BW (Dutch Civil Code), contributions to the reserve fund go into a separate payment or savings account in the VvE's name. A personal account of the treasurer or a joint account of two board members does not meet that requirement.

Apart from the law, the money belongs to the association and not to a board member. With a business account in the VvE's name, the owners' contributions stay visibly separate. That overview stays in place when the board changes.

What do you need to open a VvE account?

To open a VvE account, the VvE must be registered with the KVK and you need the details of the board members authorised to sign on behalf of the association. The difference from a company lies in the board: the provider wants to know who represents the VvE. So have these details ready:

• The VvE's KVK number: without registration in the Trade Register, the VvE cannot open a business account.

• Recent extract from the Trade Register: this shows who is on the board and who is authorised to sign.

• Passport or driving licence: of the board member making the application.

• Details of the authorised board members: who may pay and decide on behalf of the VvE.

• UBO statement: a statement that the VvE has no UBOs, or the details of the UBOs if there are any.

Who is the UBO of a VvE?

A VvE usually has no UBO in the ordinary sense, and a VvE does not need to register in the KVK's UBO register. Still, when opening an account a provider must know who counts as the ultimate beneficial owner. Who that is depends on how the votes in the VvE are divided.

One owner has more than 25% of the votes

If one owner has more than 25% of the votes, that owner counts as the UBO. In a small VvE with two to four apartments, this is quickly the case. The provider then asks for that owner's details.

Nobody has more than 25% of the votes

If nobody has more than 25% of the votes, the board members are usually designated as UBOs. This also applies if they themselves have no larger stake in the VvE than the other owners.

At GoDutch, in both cases you provide a statement that there are no UBOs, or the details of the UBOs if there are any. Registration in the UBO register is not needed for this.

How do you open a VvE account?

You open a VvE account fully online, in four steps. The first step is about the board, because that is what a provider looks at first.

• Check the board at the KVK: see whether the registered board members are still correct, especially after a recent general meeting.

• Start the application: a board member enters the VvE's details and verifies their identity with a passport or driving licence via the camera.

• Provide the documents: you upload the extract and the board details, and the review team contacts you if anything is missing.

• Set up the account: you set up a separate IBAN for the reserve fund, give the other board members access and connect your accounting software.

How do you arrange an account for a small or dormant VvE?

You only arrange an account for a small or dormant VvE once the VvE itself is in order: a board, a KVK registration and agreements recorded in the meeting. For a small VvE this is usually done quickly. With a dormant VvE you start from scratch.

A small VvE

In a small VvE, every owner is often on the board, or one owner is the board member on behalf of the rest. Record in the meeting who manages the account and who has view access, so the agreements don't only exist in someone's head.

With few payments a month, it is tempting to run the contributions through someone's personal account. For the reserve fund, the law requires an account in the VvE's name even in a small VvE.

A dormant VvE

A dormant VvE has existed since the building was divided into apartment rights, but has no board, no registration and no account. You make the VvE active in this order:

• Invite all owners to a meeting: there you decide together to make the VvE active.

• Appoint a board and register the VvE: the board registers the VvE and itself in the Trade Register.

• Set the contributions and open the account: only with a KVK number and agreed contributions can the money come into an account in the VvE's name.

How much does your VvE set aside in the reserve fund?

How much your VvE sets aside in the reserve fund has been set by law since 2018 as a minimum annual reserve contribution. Which route applies depends on whether your VvE has a long-term maintenance plan.

With a long-term maintenance plan

With a long-term maintenance plan you reserve at least the amount the meeting sets on the basis of that plan. The plan is at most five years old and looks at least ten years ahead, with the expected work and costs per year.

If you update the plan, the annual reserve contribution changes with it. So have the meeting set the new amount again.

Without a long-term maintenance plan

Without a long-term maintenance plan you reserve at least 0.5% of the building's rebuild value each year. That rebuild value is often stated in the VvE's buildings insurance policy.

Split the contributions as soon as they come in between running costs and the reserve fund. That way you see straight away at the end of the year whether the reserve target has been met.

How do you handle a board change on the VvE account?

You handle a board change on the VvE account by first reporting the change to the KVK and then adjusting access. The account itself simply carries on, in four steps:

• Decide at the general meeting: the owners' meeting appoints the new board member.

• Report the change to the KVK: the new board member is registered and the departing one deregistered.

• Add the new board member: you give the new board member their own access with the right permissions.

• Remove the old access: you remove the access and any card of the departing board member.

Take the last step straight after the meeting. Otherwise a departing board member who still has access can make payments on behalf of a VvE they are no longer responsible for.

How do you prepare the financial audit with the VvE account?

You prepare the financial audit (kascontrole) with the VvE account by letting the audit committee view the account all year, instead of gathering everything just before the meeting. In most VvEs an audit committee checks the figures before the meeting approves the annual accounts. With these habits everything is ready:

• View access for the audit committee: the members can view the account without being able to transfer money.

• Receipt with every payment: you store invoices and receipts digitally with the transaction they belong to.

• Fixed descriptions: every payment gets a description with the budget item, such as insurance, energy or cleaning.

• Reserve fund visible separately: deposits into and spending from the reserve fund sit on their own IBAN, separate from the running costs.

Fixed costs such as buildings insurance, energy and maintenance contracts are easiest to pay with automatic invoice payment, so every debit has an invoice. If your property manager or treasurer uses accounting software, the connections to your accounting software make sure the annual accounts are ready without retyping.

What does a VvE account at GoDutch give your board?

A VvE account at GoDutch gives your board one overview in which the reserve fund and running costs are kept separate, every board member has their own access and the audit committee can view without being able to pay. If the board changes, that overview stays in place and only who has access changes.

You notice it at the first meeting after opening: you show in one overview how much is in the reserve fund and where the money for running costs went, while the audit committee has already done its check.