Until July 31, 2022, the law allows trustees to hold general meetings of co-ownership by videoconference, Covid obliges, so you can for example participate remotely. But there are other ways. You cannot (or you do not want) to participate in the general meeting of your co-ownership, how to go about it? The details of Charlie Cailloux, legal adviser for Particulier à Particulier and the PAP.fr site,
franceinfo: Is it serious not to participate in the general meeting of your condominium?
Charlie Pebbles: No, it doesn’t matter, as long as you are ready to accept the decisions made by the other co-owners. I would say that at the very least, you have to take an interest in the agenda that is sent to you by the trustee at least three weeks before the general meeting is held.
If there is a facelift or renovation work on the building to vote on, it’s still worth taking a look and participating in the final decision. Once the decision is made, you will not be able to disassociate yourself, you will have to pay your share like everyone else.
And how to participate in votes, even when you can’t be present at the meeting?
There are three solutions. First, the Covid-19 episode has accelerated the implementation of videoconferencing within condominiums, so that in many condominiums, you can participate in the GA without having to travel. Videoconferencing, until now, made it possible to minimize the risk of contamination, but the co-owners can decide to perpetuate the holding of the GA by videoconference.
The second solution is to be represented by another co-owner, or moreover by any person around you even if he does not belong to the co-ownership (your tenant for example). All you have to do is fill out a power of attorney to the person you designate, and he or she will give it to the trustee at the start of the general meeting. On the occasion of each of the questions, she will vote in your place according to your voting instructions.
You spoke earlier about postal voting, is this the third solution when you are unavailable for the general meeting of co-ownership?
Yes, in the invitation to the general meeting, the trustee must provide you with a form allowing you to vote on each of the resolutions that will be debated during the meeting. You return the completed form to the trustee and voila, you have voted.
Postal voting has two limits: on the one hand, you do not take part in the debates, and it is not always easy to decide on works for example, without having additional explanations. And on the other hand, if at the end of the discussion in the GA, the resolution is amended, your vote will not be taken into account.
Can we challenge the decisions that were taken by the GA while we were absent and did not participate in the vote?
No, the principle is that you are involved even if you did not participate, co-ownership is a small democracy. There is still an exception, it is when you realize that the meeting has not respected the rules of form: the notice periods have not been respected, it has decided by the wrong majority . It is then necessary to seize the court very quickly, it is all the same very heavy. It’s still easier to follow, even from a distance, the life of the condominium!