Definition : Declaration of co-ownership - Description of the fractions

  La déclaration de copropriété est le document maître d'un syndicat de copropriétaires. Elle définit les fondements mêmes d'une copropriété, et indique le code de vie à y adopter.

The declaration of co-ownership is an agreement that organizes and regulates the collective life of the co-owners and occupants of the building. This convention defines in particular their rights and obligations. As it is an authentic act, it must be received by a notary. The declaration of co-ownership is often signed by the developer who acts as sole proprietor, or sometimes, by co-owners who wish to subject their immovable (held in joint ownership) to the regime of divided co-ownership, as well as by hypothecary creditors. This document must subsequently be published in the land register. Its publication gave rise to co-ownership and the syndicate. Any new co-owner is obliged to adhere to it. A look at the different aspects of the declaration of co-ownership.  

Divided co-ownership is a housing formula that usually has more than one owner.  In order to assess and quantify the interest of each person in the building, the legislator has provided that the right of ownership of each owner in the common portions is proportional to the relative value of his fraction.  To determine the relative  value of a unit, it must be compared with the value of all the other units of the co-ownership.  The relative value is calculated and usually expressed as a percentage or thousandths.  Its distribution is recorded in the declaration of co-ownership, (the  constituting act of the co-ownership). Finally, it should be noted that the relative value determines the voting power in the meeting of co-owners and serves in particular as a basis for calculation in the distribution of the co-owners of the common expenses.

The declaration of co-ownership includes the set of rules ensuring the efficient organization of a co-ownership. Its knowledge by the members of the board of directors and by each co-owner is essential to the proper operation of the co-ownership. This co-owners reference document is consulted, for example, in the case of work. For a promisor-buyer, the declaration of co-ownership contains a wealth of useful information regarding the conditions of use and enjoyment of the private and common portions. Hence the necessity of reading this document before buying, to avoid unpleasant surprises, especially as to the use one intends to make of his private portion.

In divided co-ownership, the right of ownership is divided, among the co-owners, by "fractions", each comprising a materially divided private portion (e.g. a residential unit, a parking or storage space, and sometimes even a plot of land) and a share  of the common portions. To each fraction is attached an undivided right of ownership in the common portions, and sometimes the right to use the common portions for restricted use. The fraction is the result of the division of a building to create a co-ownership. In other words, the addition of all the fractions constitutes, by the effect of the publication of a declaration of co-ownership, the co-ownership building.

The characteristic of divided co-ownership is to divide the building into various lots that will be the exclusive property of the co-owners (private portions), and for others that will be the property of all the co-owners (common portions). These lots are identified by an individual number, which was assigned during the cadastral operation. Each of the private lots of the co-ownership thus constituted becomes a unique property. The distinction between the common and private portions is essential, particularly from the point of view of maintenance, which is the responsibility of the syndicate of co-owners for the common portions and of the co-owners for the private portions.   

Co-ownership is a collective property in which the co-owners have a right of ownership over their respective fraction: each co-owner has an undivided right to the common portions while he will have an exclusive right of ownership over his private portion. This is how you purchase an apartment in a building in divided co-ownership, you become the owner of your dwelling (private portion), but also owner of an undivided part of the building called common portion  (for example: the ground, balconies, major components such as foundations and main walls). This, taken as a whole, including the common and private portion, is designated in legalese as: a fraction.  

The declaration of co-ownership is a document that encompasses all the rules specific to a syndicate of co-owners, in order to ensure the proper functioning of an immovable and cohesion between its occupants. It also specifies the conditions of use and enjoyment of the common and private portions. Co-ownership living is not static. It is evolutionary and subject to change, which will sooner or later be claimed by co-owners. This evolution will sometimes lead to amendments to the declaration of co-ownership, subject to compliance with the terms and conditions set out in the Act. Thus, any amendment to the declaration of co-ownership is generally the subject of a vote at a meeting of co-owners. The vote to make such an amendment differs according to the nature of the change to be made.