Is it permissible for any of the apartment owners in a building with shared services to refrain from paying their share of the maintenance costs for these services while still benefiting from them, and do these costs remain their responsibility if they refuse to pay?

If a jointly owned property requires maintenance and repair, all partners are obliged to contribute according to their shares, whether the maintenance is urgent or routine, as this removes harm. If one partner abstains and another pays on his behalf with the intention of recourse, the money becomes a debt owed by the abstaining partner. A partner is compelled to undertake the renovation (maintenance) with his partner if the property collapses or there is fear of harm, in accordance with the hadith (definition): "There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm." If a partner abstains, the ruler shall take from his money and spend on it, or sell from his belongings, or take a loan on his behalf. If the other partner spends with the intention of recourse, he shall recover what he spent on his partner's share. It must be noted that one who does not benefit from certain services (such as an elevator for a ground-floor resident) is not obliged to participate in its maintenance. The governing principle for the obligation to participate is the removal of common harm or the maintenance of what provides common benefit.