02 Feb New rules regarding the General Assemblies of condominiums

The law of 20 December 2020 changed the rules regarding the General Assemblies of condominiums:

– General assemblies to be held by 9 march 2021 may be postponed for one year: that is, during the fortnight provided for in the statutes of the condominium for holding the ordinary General Assembly. In order to ensure the continuity of all condominiums, all mandates of property managers, board members and auditors have been extended;

– If an urgent decision is required or upon the request of one or more co-owners who represent at least one-fifth of the shares in the common areas, the property manager remains obliged to convene an extraordinary General Assembly within one month of the reception of the said request;

– Taking part in the decisions of the General Assembly on remote has been made possible since 24 December 2020, but only as long as the convocation provides for it and the co-owners are authorized to attend the meeting in person. (Please bear in mind that for the time being and until 1 March 2021, it is formally forbidden to convene General Assemblies in person);

– Finally, until 9 March 2021, the conditions for using written ballots have been eased up. Until then, decisions can be made via written ballot based on the terms and majorities provided for by the law on co-ownership applicable to votes cast in person while attending a General Assembly meeting (half of the co-owners with at least half of the quota participates in the vote, and vote on the majorities provided in the law of 2018 on condominiums).

Voting per written ballot is to be made within three weeks of the convocation, either by post of electronically. In case of an emergency, to be specified in the convocation, the deadline can be reduced to eight days from the date of issue of the convocation.

For further information, please feel free to contact Carole DE RUYT esq. (carole.deruyt@cairnlegal.be).