What is a condominium General Assembly?
The General Assembly is the official meeting of the co-owners, organised at least once a year. It allows all matters relating to the condominium to be discussed and voted on. The General Assembly is made up of all the co-owners.
It is the decision-making authority that approves, validates or rejects the actions proposed by the property manager or by the co-owners.
The General Assembly is mandatory and governed by the Belgian Civil Code (Book 3 – Title IV), which sets out the rules on convening, voting, majorities and representation.
What is the purpose of a General Assembly?
The General Assembly allows essential decisions to be taken for the management of the building.
It is also the moment when co-owners can ask questions and request explanations.
When does the General Assembly take place?
In Belgium, an ordinary General Assembly must be held every year.
It is generally organised during the same period each year. This period (known as the statutory fortnight) is determined in the internal rules of procedure. The fortnight may be modified during the General Assembly in accordance with the law of 18 June 2018.
Extraordinary General Assemblies may also be organised in cases of urgency, such as:
essential works, technical compliance, structural issues, a change of property manager, etc. In short, anything that cannot wait until the ordinary General Assembly.
How does a General Assembly take place?
Here are the main stages of a condominium General Assembly:
1. The convening notice
According to the Belgian Civil Code, the property manager must send the convening notice at least 15 clear days before the meeting, together with a detailed agenda.
Co-owners may request the addition of items to the agenda, but only within the prescribed time limits, namely no later than three weeks before the first day of the statutory period during which the General Assembly is held.
2. Attendance and representation
Each co-owner may attend the General Assembly in person or be represented by another person by means of a proxy.
Decisions are not taken based on the number of people present, but on the basis of the ownership shares held by the co-owners who are present or represented.
For the General Assembly to be valid, certain quorum conditions must be met.
It is considered valid if the double quorum is reached: 50% + 1 of the co-owners are present or represented and they represent at least 50% of the ownership shares of the building.
Failing this, the General Assembly may still be held if the simple quorum is reached, meaning that 75% of the total ownership shares of the building are present or represented.
With regard to proxies, a co-owner may not hold more than three voting proxies. However, an exception is provided: a proxy holder may hold more than three proxies provided that the total ownership shares represented, including their own, do not exceed 10% of the total ownership shares of the condominium.
Finally, in order to prevent an excessive concentration of voting power, a limitation rule applies: when a person, alone or through the proxies they hold, represents more than 50% of the ownership shares present or represented at the General Assembly, their voting rights are automatically limited to 50% of the ownership shares of the meeting.
3. Voting on resolutions
Each item included on the agenda and submitted to a vote is adopted according to a specific majority, in accordance with the provisions of the Belgian Civil Code (Book 3).
For routine decisions, such as approval of the budget, the granting of discharge, elections or financing decisions, a simple majority is sufficient. This means that more than half of the co-owners present or represented must vote in favour of the proposal.
For more significant decisions, such as the carrying out of works, the law requires a two-thirds majority. This rule ensures that such decisions benefit from broad support within the condominium.
Where decisions have a major impact on the building, such as amendments to the statutes, a change in the use of the building or part of it, or structural alterations, a four-fifths majority is required by law.
Finally, certain particularly sensitive decisions, such as changes to the allocation of ownership shares or the dissolution of the association of co-owners, require unanimity. In this case, all co-owners must agree, including those who are not present at the General Assembly, as these decisions directly affect their fundamental rights.
However, where unanimity is required by law but cannot be achieved due to the absence of one or more co-owners, a new General Assembly must be convened at least thirty days later. At this second meeting, the decision may validly be taken by the unanimous vote of the co-owners present or represented.
4. The minutes
At the end of the General Assembly, minutes are drawn up and signed.
The minutes are sent to the co-owners within one month of the date of the General Assembly.
They set out all the decisions taken, the voting results and the remarks made.
What is the role of the property manager at the General Assembly?
The property manager organises the General Assembly, prepares the documents, presents the items on the agenda, drafts the minutes (Art. 3.87 §10) and implements the decisions taken.
They must also ensure compliance with the law, propose a realistic budget, present quotations or technical reports, and guarantee financial transparency.
The property manager may be a professional or a co-owner, also referred to as a non-professional property manager.
What are the rights and obligations of the co-owners?
Each co-owner has the obligation to be convened and to take part in the vote. They must also be able to access the condominium’s documents, propose items for inclusion on the agenda and contest a decision within a period of four months, provided that the decision is irregular, fraudulent or abusive.
Each owner is also required to contribute to the common charges and to comply with the decisions adopted, even if they do not suit them. Finally, each co-owner has the duty to comply with the internal rules of procedure as well as the rules governing the condominium.
