Definition : Declaration of co-ownership - Constituting act of the co-ownership

The law does not establish an exhaustive list of the duties and obligations that the members of the board of directors must assume. It is the declaration of co-ownership (constituting act of the co-ownership) and certain articles of the Civil Code of Québec which, for the most part, determine them. Furthermore, the administrators are considered to be agents of the syndicate. Directors must therefore act within the limits of the powers conferred on them by law and by the declaration of co-ownership. As such, they are required to act with care, diligence, honesty, loyalty, efficiency, fairness, and in the interest of the union.    

  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.

Co-ownership law has underwent significant changes in recent years. The adoption of Bill 141 of 2018, Bill 16 of 2019, Bill 41 of 2020, Bill 103 of 2021 and Bill 96 of  2022  have significantly amended the Civil Code of Quebec with respect to divided co-ownership. These have allowed several changes in the insurance of co-ownerships and created many additional obligations for syndicates of co-owners, including those to keep a maintenance log of the building and to obtain a study of the contingency fund establishing the sums necessary for this fund to be sufficient to pay for major repairs and the replacement of the common portions.

Any co-owner may have the relative value of their fraction, as well as the allocation of common expenses, revised according to certain conditions and formalities. To do so, it is necessary to proceed with an appeal to revise the relative value of the fractions. Furthermore, a co-owner may wish to modify the relative value of their fraction. Therefore, they will have to request the prior consent of the Board of directors or the general meeting of co-owners, depending on what is required. This revision or modification of the relative value has an impact on the proportionate share of the right of ownership (which the co-owners hold in the common portions), the number of votes they can cast at the meeting of co-owners and the allocation of common expenses. On this question, Article 1064 of the Civil Code of Québec stipulates that: “Each co-owner contributes to the common expenses in proportion to the relative value of his fraction.”

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.  

Electric vehicles (EV) are increasingly seen as one of the ways to reduce the impact of car traffic on the climate. With the effort to be made to substantially reduce Quebec's greenhouse gas emissions and to contain the increase in temperatures by the end of the century, the sale of EV has become a must. In Quebec, in 2030, the number of EV is expected to increase to 1.5 million, or 30% of the Quebec car fleet. In 2035, the sale of new gasoline cars will be banned in Quebec and Canada. Paradoxically, the majority of buildings held in divided co-ownership are not equipped to allow EV charging. In addition, the declarations of co-ownership of these buildings have not provided for anything on this issue.

It is to the board of directors as a whole, as a decision-making body, that the Civil code of Quebec confers the power to administer the affairs of the syndicate. Individual directors do not have any powers unless they have been specially authorized to do so. All decisions concerning the syndicate, the co-ownership or the immovable which is not under the jurisdiction of the meeting of co-owners, are the competence of the board of directors. Its main role is to ensure the preservation of the immovable. As a general rule, it is the decision-making body that ensures the maintenance of its common portions. If necessary, it must undertake the necessary work to ensure its sustainability.

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.

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.   

The Meeting of the co-owners is one of the two decision-making bodies that governs a co-ownership.The major decisions that can potentially concern each member of the co-ownership are in principle taken in assembly. Whether for the work of alteration or improvement of the common portions, the election of the members of the board of directors or the meeting officers, it is up to the co-owners to decide. To ensure the proper functioning of the co-ownership, this body must act impartially in the interest of the community of co-owners and the preservation of the immovable. It must not adopt any decision with the intention to injure the co-owners or some of them or in contempt of their rights.

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.