The Fund leases its property investments in the form of non-cancellable operating leases. The nature of the theoretical rent has an indefinite duration because there are no fixed contract periods.

In 2018, € 0.6 million (2017: € 0.5 million) of the maintenance expenses related to unlet properties.

Where administrative expenses relate directly to the operation of the property portfolio, they are charged to operating expenses. Where administrative expenses relate directly to the development of the property portfolio, they are capitalised.

The Fund had no external loans and borrowings during 2018. The Fund was subject to the negative interest rate development for its bank balances.

The Fund has opted for the status of Fiscal Investment Institution (FII). Although an FII is not transparent for tax purposes the FII regime is based on the principle of tax transparency.

The Residential Fund has no employees.

The Fund’s investment properties are valued by independent external appraisers on a quarterly basis.

The investment property under construction relate to acquisitions and is being developed by third parties. For a list of the investment properties under construction and investment commitments, see Note 20.

The bank balances of € 25.0 million are freely available to the Fund as at 31 December 2018. In order to minimalise the costs of the negative interest rate on the bank balances, in 2018 the Fund used 30-day bank deposits.