Co-ownership building works: deciding, funding and overseeing the job

A boiler at the end of its life, a cracking facade, a lift out of service three times a year: co-ownership building works almost always start from a problem everyone can see, then run into the same two questions. Who decides, and with what money? The Civil Code answers both, but not with a single rule: the majority depends on the kind of job, and the funding depends on what the general meeting (GM) has set aside in previous years.

A job succeeds or fails as much on the order of the steps as on the technical side. A vote without a specification, a quote signed before the decision, a forgotten funding plan: each of these mistakes costs you later. This page therefore follows the real sequence of a job in an apartment building in Flanders or Brussels: getting the item on the agenda, identifying the applicable majority, comparing bids, raising the money, overseeing the work, handing over. The articles cited are federal law and apply in every region.

What majority do you need to vote on works?

The principle fits in one line. Works affecting the common partsGlossaryParts of the building or land that belong to all co-owners according to their shares, such as the roof, the entrance hall or shared pipes. Where the title deeds are silent or contradictory, parts intended for the use of all or some co-owners are deemed common. See the glossary are voted by a two-thirds majority of the votes. Two categories escape that threshold and fall under the absolute majority of the co-owners present or represented.

“of all works affecting the common parts, with the exception of works required by law and protective works and acts of provisional administration, which may be decided by an absolute majority of the votes of the co-owners present or represented”

Art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, b), Civil Code

The first category covers works that a regulation makes compulsory: the general meeting does not choose whether to carry them out, it chooses how and when. The second covers protective measuresGlossaryMeasures intended to protect the building or the rights of the association without waiting for a decision of the general meeting, such as a temporary repair after an insured loss. The syndic is responsible for carrying them out. See the glossary and acts of provisional administration, meaning whatever cannot wait for the next meeting without making the damage worse. The property manager (syndic) is in fact required to carry these out on their own initiative (art. 3.89, § 5, 2°).

Above that, a four-fifths majority applies to decisions that affect the legal structure of the building rather than its upkeep: rebuilding or restoring after partial destruction, changing the use of the building or part of it, acts of disposal of common immovable property, splitting or merging units, and any other amendment to the articles, including the allocation of charges (art. 3.88, § 1, 2°). Complete demolition and rebuilding fall under the same threshold where they are justified by reasons of health or safety, or by a cost of bringing the building up to standard that is excessive compared with the value of the existing building; without those reasons, unanimity is required (art. 3.88, § 3).

A single job can therefore call for two separate votes: the works themselves by two thirds, and the change to the allocation key they bring with them by four fifths. How votes, abstentions and proxies are counted is set out in the page on voting rules and majorities.

Getting the project on the agenda and writing the specification

A co-owner does not have to wait for the syndic's goodwill to put a job on the table. At any time, one or more co-owners, or the co-ownership council if there is one, can notify the syndic of the items they want placed on the agenda of a general meeting. If the request arrives too late for the meeting being prepared, the item is carried over to the next one (art. 3.87, § 4). So write early, and keep proof that you sent it. The form of the notice is described in the page on the notice of general meeting.

Next comes competitive tenderingGlossaryObligation to compare several offers for contracts above the threshold set by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority. The syndic must then present several quotes. See the glossary. The general meeting sets, by a two-thirds majority, the value of contracts above which it becomes mandatory (art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, c)). Above that threshold, the syndic presents several quotes drawn up on the basis of a specification prepared in advance (art. 3.89, § 5, 11°). That specification is the document that makes the bids comparable: without it, three contractors price three different jobs and the general meeting compares figures that mean nothing.

Ask for every bid to list the items in the same order. An item-by-item comparison table, attached to the notice, is better than reading quotes during the meeting.

Who pays, and with what money?

Each co-owner contributes according to the criteria set by the co-ownership regulations, usually their shares (quotités), sometimes a separate key for a group of units when the works only concern one wing or one stairwell. The starting point is always the same: reread the regulations before working out the shares, not afterwards.

Then the money has to be found. The assets of the owners' association (VME/ACP) include at least a working capital fund, which covers recurring expenditure, and a reserve fundGlossaryTotal of the periodic contributions intended for non-recurring expenditure, such as replacing the heating system or the lift. It becomes mandatory no later than five years after provisional acceptance, with an annual contribution of at least 5% of the previous financial year's ordinary service charges, unless the general meeting decides otherwise by a four-fifths majority. See the glossary, meant for non-recurring expenditure such as renewing the heating system, repairing or renewing a lift, or laying a new roof covering (art. 3.86, § 3). The association must build up this reserve fund no later than five years after the provisional acceptance of the common parts, with an annual contribution of at least five per cent of all ordinary common charges for the previous financial year, unless decided otherwise by a four-fifths majority.

In practice, three levers are combined: the reserve fund already built up, an exceptional call for funds spread over several instalments, and the inclusion in the budget of the foreseeable extraordinary costs that the syndic prepares each year (art. 3.89, § 5, 16°). When issuing the call for funds, the syndic tells the parties concerned what share will go to the reserve fund. How the two funds work is covered in the page on the working capital and reserve funds, and the annual preparation of the amounts in co-ownership budget.

Our position is clear: vote the funding plan at the same time as the job. A decision that approves works without saying where the money comes from leaves the syndic alone with the invoices, and the co-owners surprised by a call for funds they did not see coming. If a unit changes hands during the job, the question of who bears what is settled on the basis of the statement the syndic provides: see documents required for a sale.

Works inside a private apartment: can the general meeting decide?

Yes, under strict conditions. With specific reasons, the general meeting can decide by a two-thirds majority that works to certain private parts will be carried out by the association, for technical or economic reasons (art. 3.88, § 1, 1°, d)). The typical case is a batch replacement, window frames or valves for instance, where working unit by unit would cost more and give an uneven result.

Two limits are worth knowing. The specific reasons must appear in the decision itself and cannot be inferred from the context. And the decision does not change how the cost of those works is split between the co-owners: it organises the execution, not the bill.

Overseeing the job and taking handover without nasty surprises

Once the vote is won, the syndic implements the decision and signs the contract. The co-ownership council, compulsory in buildings with at least twenty units not counting cellars, garages and parking spaces, oversees the proper performance of the syndic's duties: it is the natural body to follow a job between two general meetings, as the page on the co-ownership council explains.

Decide in advance what happens if extras arise. Unforeseen work discovered behind a facade does not exempt you from going back to the general meeting if the overrun goes beyond the budget voted. It is better to write a figure for the margin into the decision, and the threshold above which a new vote is needed.

The handover is the moment that commits the association. Carry it out jointly with the contractor, record the snagging points in writing, and do not pay the balance until they have been cleared. The syndic keeps the post-intervention file in the manner set by the King (art. 3.89, § 5, 10°): that file stays with the building and is used for future interventions. Add to the same file the quotes, the general meeting decision, the invoices and the handover reports. The next job will start there.

Deadlock, emergency, challenge: the ways out the law provides

Three situations fall outside the ordinary route.

Where the required majority cannot be reached, any co-owner can ask the court for authorisation to carry out, alone and at the association's expense, urgentGlossaryNecessary and urgent works to the common parts. If the general meeting cannot reach the required majority, any co-owner may obtain court authorisation to carry them out alone, at the association's expense. See the glossary and necessary works affecting the common parts (art. 3.92, § 5). The court's authorisation is the condition, not the urgency you feel.

Where the danger allows no delay, the syndic acts by way of protective measures, then reports to the next general meeting. If the damage comes from a leak or water ingress, the order of the steps and the insurance question are dealt with in the page on water damage and leaks.

Where the decision seems irregular, fraudulent or abusive, the co-owner who suffers personal harm applies to the justice of the peace within four months of the general meeting (art. 3.92, § 3). The procedure is described in challenging a GM decision.

For an energy renovation, planning ahead matters more than procedure: audit, topping up the reserve fund, applications for support. The page on energy renovation and grants puts these steps in order, and the routine upkeep that spaces out major jobs is covered in maintenance of common parts. For the overall picture, go back to the page on apartment building management.