Reliable condominium managers, they exist!
A survey by Vereniging Eigenhuis reported that 76% of respondents were dissatisfied with their VvE Beheer. Back in 2006, this prompted several parties to set certification as the benchmark for VvE Managers.
Already that year, the first assessment guideline for VvE Managers was drawn up, the instrument whereby the manager is tested on components such as expertise and experience, affiliation with an independent disputes committee, the financial administration and accessibility. With over 17,000 BoEs now having found their way to a certified administrator, this is a successful instrument that separates the wheat from the chaff.
To maintain the certificate, certified VvE Managers are tested annually by SKG-IKOB Certification based on a comprehensive set of requirements, the assessment guideline 5016. This set of requirements consists of three parts, how does the organization function, how are the BoEs managed in daily practice and how does the manager manage the properties structurally. Administrators who do not meet the requirements are given the opportunity to make improvements. If they fail to do so (or fail to do so on time), they will be suspended or even have their certificate withdrawn and be removed from the database of certified managers.
Initiators for the guideline were the municipalities of The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam, Woningbeheer NV, the Stuurgroep Experimenten Volkshuisvesting (now Platform 31), VvE Belang, Aedes association of housing associations and SKW Certificatie (now SKG-IKOB Certificatie). The NVM participated as an interested party. Following the introduction of the certificate in 2006, these parties, through the Board of Experts, are involved in the ongoing development and fine-tuning of the guideline. The Board, led by its chairman Mr. Paulus Jansen, gives binding advice to SKG-IKOB regarding certification requirements and the intensity of inspections.
"More and more often our company is asked if we are SKG-IKOB certified because of good experiences from other VvEs regarding independent checks on our working methods" said Jaap Keijzer of SKG-IKOB certified Keijzer VvE Beheer."
Small administrators also certified
Last decision of the college is to make the certificate more accessible to managers with smaller portfolios. Despite the fact that there are already certified managers who manage few VvEs (the smallest portfolio of a certified manager consists of 7 VvEs), the college believes that the entry level for managers should be made more accessible. These changes have already been identified and are now being incorporated into a newer version of the guideline.
SKG-IKOB Certification is a certification body active with mostly certification schemes in construction and real estate, www.skgikob.nl.
