Advantages Condo

In the previous issue, we discussed recommendations to simplify the representation of the co-owners who can not attend meetings in person, and thus allowing a quorum to be reached easier.

In this article we will discuss recommendations for the period in which the syndicate must submit the minutes of a meeting of co-owners, along with an extension of the time given to a co-owner to challenge a decision of the assembly.

According to the report of the Advisory Committee on co-ownership it was noticed by the latter during the public hearings that the distribution of the minutes to the co-owners is characterized by an uneven practice in co-ownerships in Quebec. Many co-owners simply do not receive the minutes or they often receive them a year later.

Based on the testimonies of co-owners on this subject the Committee proposed that the Civil Code of Quebec be amended in order to include a provision to the effect that the syndicate and the members of the Board of Directors are required to distribute to the co-owners the minutes of an assembly of co-owners within a time period of thirty days from the date of holding it. Currently, there is no time limit to do so.

Also in this regard, the Committee had initially said that it “would be appropriate that the adoption of this recommendation would be subject to a penalty in order to discourage administrators to override their obligation of distribution beyond their civil liability which could be initiated.” However, it would seem that the only recommendation for the imposition of a deadline has been retained in the final recommendations.

As a corollary to the above recommendation the Committee recommended that the deadline for challenging a decision of the assembly of co-owners, under Section 1103 of the Civil Code of Quebec, because it is biased, if it was taken with the intention of harming the co-owners or in violation of their rights, or also if an error occurred in the calculation of the votes, be extended from sixty to ninety days from the date of holding this meeting. Despite this extension, the deadline will remain problematic, that is to say that, if the dispute is not submitted to the Court before the end of the deadline, the co-owner will lose his right of appeal.


However, the Committee recommends that this deadline for reproval would not be not applicable to a decision of the assembly erroneously adopted by a majority smaller than the one required by the Civil Code of Quebec (e.g. a decision to change the common portions of the building taken by a simple majority of the votes present or represented, instead of the double majority required necessarily by the current section 1097 of the C.c.Q.

We would like to emphasize to you that all the recommendations of this committee should be studied in detail by the Minister of Justice of Quebec, and if they are retained, they should follow the usual path of any change in law before receiving final approval of the National Assembly for their entry into force.

We'll come back to you in a future article on other recommendations that we consider important to the co-ownership.

In the meantime, we invite you to communicate with our team of lawyers specializing in real- estate law for any questions on this topic.