Definition : Board of directors

Question: The board of directors wishes to vote on a by-law to limit the number of swimmers at the pool and to prohibit the presence of dogs in the building. Could we implement it immediately? It goes without saying that this by-law will be voted on at our next annual meeting of co-owners.

The director plays a leading role in a co-ownership. As a mandatary of the syndicate of co-owners, he ensures the smooth running of the immovable’s day to day business, which implies a working knowledge of the tasks related to this key function. As such, directors must act with prudence, diligence, honesty and loyalty. The members of the board of directors thus evolve in a legal environment where their personal liability can be sought as part of their mandate on behalf of the co-ownership as well as towards third parties. The civil liability of the directors with regard to the tasks incumbent upon them is largely ignored. Thousands of Quebeckers who sit annually on a board of directors, maybe including yourself, are unaware of this state of affairs.

At a meeting of the board of directors, directors must not make any decision that is biased, or with the intention of harming the co-owners (or any of them) or disregarding their rights. In case of defect, the co-owners (or a director) can now take legal proceedings to oppose decisions taken by the ​Board of directors. Article 1086.2 of the Civil Code of Quebec, which came into force on January 10, 2020, allows the court to set aside or, exceptionally, to correct a decision of the board of directors. The proceedings must be initiated within 90 days of the decision of the board of directors. In order to promote stability of the Board’s decisions, the legislator allows to bring such recourses only in certain circumstances.

The COVID-19 health crisis and its procession of government restrictions to limit gatherings have often made it impossible to regroup. The legislator was forced to organize the rescue of legal persons, banned from assemblies, to preserve, at least for a time, their functioning. The syndicates of co-owners have thus adopted alternatives to face-to-face meetings of co-owners. Social distancing obliges, COVID-19 has given rise to a phenomenon in co-ownership: virtual meetings of co-owners, also called remote meetings. In order to perpetuate this way of doing things, the law now authorizes syndicates of co-owners to hold meetings by technological means.

The board of directors is one of the two decision-making bodies of the syndicate of co-owners. It is a mandatory decision-making body for any syndicate of co-owners. Composed of one or more directors, it is the cornerstone of any well-managed co-ownership. In principle, it is the board of directors as a group that makes the decisions and not the directors individually. Its mission is to administer and ensure the preservation of the immovable. Its operation and decision-making process are governed by the declaration of co-ownership. An overview of the various specific facets of the Board of directors.

Relocations and move-ins involve going through the common portions of the building to transport furniture, boxes and other personal belongings. These operations could turn into a real mess or nightmare if, in a co-ownership, the framework for managing them has not been clearly established. While certain provisions of the Declaration of Co-Ownership are universal on this issue, nothing prevents a syndicate of co-owners from improving its content in order to adapt them to its own reality.    

The Board of Directors (the Board) is made up of members called directors. Their appointment is subject to certain formalities. In this regard, article 1084 of the Civil Code of Québec provides that the composition of the Board of the syndicate, the method of appointment, replacement or remuneration of the directors, as well as the other terms and conditions of their office, are fixed by the by-laws of an immovable. Each director acts as a mandatary of the syndicate of co-owners. This person must comply with the obligations imposed on him by law and the constituting act of co-ownership and act within the limits of the powers conferred on him. A director sits on the syndicate's board of directors.   

In order for the board of directors to validly deliberate and make decisions, the declarations of co-ownership generally provide that a minimum number of directors must participate to the meeting. This requirement is called the quorum. Unless the board of directors is composed of a single director, the quorum at a meeting of the board of directors is generally set by the By-laws of the immovable by a majority of the current directors. Recall that the quorum is defined in order to ensure the representativeness and authority of the board of directors. It avoids decision-making by a limited number of directors. Therefore, it must be checked at each board meeting.

Co-owners must be called at least once a year to a meeting known as an annual meeting. This assembly, like all other types of assembly, must bring together all the co-owners. With the notice calling the meeting, the board of directors notifies all the co-owners of the list of points to be studied and decisions to be voted on at the meeting of co-owners. This document is the agenda of the assembly. The summons has to respect a procedural frame, otherwise the assembly of the co-owners could be irregular. That is why it is up to the one who takes the initaive to summon her to respect rules  

December 11th 2015 - The main duty of the board of directors in a condominium is to manage the Syndicate’s business. This means first to ensure the maintenance and conservation of the building, secondly to see to it that everyone respects every disposition of the declaration of co-ownership.