Obligation to repair a building, particularly following a loss, by carrying out work in accordance with the new construction standards applicable. The jurisprudence has established that the execution of upgrading work in the common portions, being necessary for the conservation of the building, does not require the prior authorization of the meeting of co-owners. These are subject to a decision of the board of directors and not of the meeting of co-owners.
Works for the alteration, enlargement or improvement of the common portions are subject to a special regime. On the one hand, such work must be the subject of a formal authorization from the meeting of co-owners, by the enhanced majority of article 1097 of the Civil Code of Quebec. On the other hand, this kind of work must be compatible with the destination of the immovable and not infringe the rights of the co-owners over their private portions. This strict framework is directly derived from the legal conception of divided co-ownership, namely: the building must, in principle, be maintained as it is. This is why, for work that goes beyond the simple maintenance or retrofitting to standards of the common portions of the building, it will require the approval of the meeting of co-owners.
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The Law and the overwhelming majority of declarations of co-ownership require that syndicates of co-owners insure their building. This may seem surprising at first glance as the syndicate does not own the private portions nor the common portions. However, its main object is to ensure the preservation and the longevity of the building and to manage and administer it diligently following rules of the trade. This is why the legislator has given to the syndicate an insurable interest and has made it compulsory that it subscribe building insurance.
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The contingency fund is set up on the basis of forward planning limited to certain works, namely those aimed at the conservation of the common portions. This collective savings thus makes it possible to finance the execution of works allowing the rehabilitation of the common portions as well as the common portions for restricted use. The contingency fund must be used to pay the cost of very specific work, namely those relating to major repairs or the replacement of the common portions of the building. The board of directors must therefore be able to clearly identify what constitutes the common portions and what the notion of major repairs and replacement of the common portions means.
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