Definition : Ownership right - Bare owner

The owner of property upon which another person holds a usufruct. The voting right attached to a fraction of co-ownership belongs to the usufructuary. However, the bare owner may exercise such voting rights when the object of the vote is modifying the substance of the property held in co-ownership, changing its destination or terminating the syndicate of co-owners. This allocation of voting rights is not opposable to the syndicate; it is to be discussed only between the usufructuary and the bare owner.

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    The right to vote is a founding principle of democracy. Citizens of a democracy   can express their will in a ballot.  In principle, this right is equal amongst all voters. Practically speaking, it is equivalent to the «one person, one vote" rule, which means that every vote   has the same weight. However, co-ownership derogates from this principle, namely in that the number of votes held by the co- owners is in direct correlation with their rights of ownership in the immovable. An overview of the various aspects of voting in General Meetings of co-owners.          
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The first sentence of article 1090 of the Quebec civil Code states that "Each co-owner is entitled to a number of votes at a general meeting proportionate to the relative value of his fraction." The number of votes is related to the share of property rights each co-owner holds in the building. Therefore, the co-owner of a private portion whose relative value is higher will have more voting rights. In return, he or she will have to contribute to a larger portion of the costs related to the preservation of the immoveable and the maintenance and administration of the common portions, since common expenses are also distributed among all the co-owners according to the relative value of each portion.
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