Definition : Meeting of co-owners - Quorum

The minutes of the meeting are a document of paramount importance to ensure the execution of the decisions of the meeting. Therefore, the decisions taken by co-owners in a general meeting must be recorded and entered in the minutes. This document is essential for a co-ownership because it ensures the written preservation of the deliberations or consultation of the general meeting, as well as the result of each vote so that any co-owner and director can refer to it in due course. It also allows to ascertain that the general meeting was conducted in accordance with the rules. Given its importance, this document must respect a certain formalism.

The meeting of co-owners is the gathering of all the co-owners, to make the decisions necessary for the sustainability of the building and the proper functioning of the co-ownership. It is one of the two decision-making bodies of the syndicate. This should be held at least once a year, but it can take place as often as necessary. You should be aware that co-ownership life implies that the co-owners or their representatives meet, occasionally, to discuss and vote upon important decisions. This must be done at meetings of co-owners, where the members of the syndicate can make their voice heard by exercising their right to vote. Their conduct obeys certain rules of form and substance. An overview of the various specific aspects of meetings of co-owners.  

It is possible to make a decision without having a meeting. Article 354 of the Civil Code of Québec recognizes the value of a written resolution: "Resolutions in writing signed by all the persons qualified to vote at a meeting are as valid as if passed at a meeting of the board of directors, at a general meeting or at a meeting of any other organ”. Co-owners and directors may make a decision by the means of a resolution in writing, without any general meeting of the board of directors or meeting of co-owners being held as such. This mechanism is provided by law, when it is not essential for a meeting or a general meeting to be convened, since the salient points of the subject to be discussed have already been dealt with, to everyone’s satisfaction. This is to avoid cumbersome formalism, although written resolutions should be used with caution and parsimony.

In our co-ownership, there is a clear disinterest of the co-owners which results in a very low attendance at the meetings of the co-owners. For a number of years now we have had difficulty reaching the quorum. The situation is difficult because decisions that sometimes happen to be made are not followed. Question: What is there to do with such disinterest?

In order for a Meeting of co-owners to deliberate and adopt decisions, the Law provides that the co-owners (present or represented), eligible to vote, must hold the majority of votes. This requirement is called a quorum.It is also necessary that the quorum be maintained for the duration of the meeting. In the event that it cannot be reached or maintained, the Law provides for holding a second Meeting of co-owners (Make-up Meeting) during which the rules for calculating the quorum will be less stringent. An overview of the various requirements to obtain a quorum.

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.