MANAGING OF NEIGHBOURHOODS AND HOUSE RULES
In Slovenia, interventions on a building such as glazing of balconies, replacement of windows and doors of apartments, installation of outdoor air conditioning units, etc., fall under the maintenance works. These works are deemed to be carried out by the owners of the flats themselves, and can also be carried out without a building permit. Since these works mean interventions on the envelope of the building – facades, they can significantly change the appearance of the entire building and its architectural character. All interventions on the exposed facades perceptible in public space contribute to the changes of appearance and atmosphere of it, therefore any inadequate intervention on the building’s exterior has also negative impact in the public area.
Therefore, all maintenance works with an impact on the exterior of buildings must be covered by the “house rules” which should be obligatory for every multi-dwelling building. Exact definitions of permitted interventions in the form of written architectural guidelines for the building and it’s surrounding are indispensable to preserve the neighbourhood’s character and consequently property values. Residents of neighbourhoods are a mix of people with the diverse social economical background and have differing views of what is attractive and nice, and visual appearance of a building/settlement can steadily aggravate if the uniform standards are not established.
House Rules, as a legal protocol, should be very accurate and precise, and binding for the building’s manager and all residents. Furthermore, adequate supervision and sanctioning of violations should be ensured, penalties for breaches of the house rules should be declared in the document. Restrictions must be taken seriously, and all major violations must be strongly sanctioned.
Neighbourhoods, which have been uniformly planned and built, must remain in harmony in their entirety, also after all necessary interventions for maintenance, technological improvements and renovations.For every neighbourhood, a pre-set maintenance plan should be prepared in the cooperation of residents and managers of all buildings in the area. Agreed permitted interventions on the buildings and in the common public open space should be binding for all residents and manager of the neighbourhoods.
The implementation of effective management of estates, which would ensure the preservation of the coherent appearance of neighbourhoods, comprehensive building renovations, with a special emphasis on the preservation of the architecture’s authenticity, managing of buildings and regular maintenance of the public spaces, could be achieved by introducing a single manager or an association for managing the entire neighbourhood (e.g. Spanish Lake Home Owners Association Rules).
