Condominium general meetings: when a decision is unlawful

Decisions of the general meeting bind all owners, including those who did not attend. That is why the procedure for convening and holding the meeting is formal, and breaches of it make decisions challengeable.

The most common failures

• the notice was not posted in a visible place in the building within the statutory period;
• the agenda is drafted in general terms and decisions are taken on items that were never announced;
• no list of attendees with signatures is drawn up;
• the minutes do not record the votes for, against and abstaining on each item.

The deadline to challenge

Court challenges are subject to a short preclusive period running from the moment the owner learns of the decision. Missing it makes the decision final, whatever the procedural breaches.

Keep a dated photograph of the notice and a copy of the minutes — they are the key evidence in a dispute.