Organise a general meeting: preparing your GM without missing a deadline

The ordinary meeting is approaching and the question falls to you: who sends what, and by when? Perhaps you are the volunteer syndic of a small building and this is your first meeting. Perhaps you are simply a co-owner, with an item you would like to see voted on this year. Either way, everything turns on a few dates.

To organise a general meeting is the job of the property manager (syndic). The syndic calls the meeting, prepares the agenda and then writes the minutes, and these tasks quickly add up, especially the first time. As a co-owner, knowing the timetable lets you get your items added in time and spot a badly prepared meeting. The rules come from Articles 3.85, 3.87 and 3.92 of the Civil Code, the same in Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia; your house rules (ROI)GlossaryRules drawn up by private agreement that set out at least how the general meeting operates, how the syndic is appointed and the fortnight in which the ordinary general meeting is held. They are kept at the association's registered office and can be consulted free of charge. See the glossary supplement them, in particular on the period for the ordinary meeting.

When must you hold the ordinary meeting?

Not whenever you like: within the fifteen-day period set by your house rules. The house rules must contain the annual fifteen-day period during which the ordinary general meeting is held (Art. 3.85 Civil Code). The syndic is required to convene the meeting during that period (Art. 3.87, § 2). So the syndic does not freely choose the month.

In practice the period is often placed a few months after the close of the financial year, to allow time to prepare the accounts and the statement. Check what your house rules say. If they say nothing, or if the period no longer suits, the meeting can change it.

This ordinary meeting deals with the recurring items: approval of the accounts, discharge of the syndic, budget, appointment or renewal of the accounts auditor, report of the co-ownership council if there is one. For details of the budget, see co-ownership budget.

When can an extraordinary meeting be called?

A leak, a letter from the municipality, a neighbour demanding a vote: nothing obliges you to wait for the next ordinary meeting. The syndic may convene the meeting at any time when a decision must be taken urgently in the interest of the co-ownership. A roof leak or an order from the municipality typically falls into that category.

Co-owners also have a lever. The syndic must hold a general meeting at the written request of one or more co-owners holding at least one fifth of the shares in the common parts. The syndic has thirty days from receipt of that request (Art. 3.87, § 2).

If the syndic does not act on it, the Civil Code provides a direct solution: one of the co-owners who co-signed the request may call the meeting themselves. They must then follow the same formalities as the syndic, in particular the notice period and the way the notice is sent. Another, heavier route: ask the justice of the peace to order a meeting to be called on the proposal you set, where the syndic neglects or wrongfully refuses to do so (Art. 3.92, § 4).

Building the agenda

The starting point: the agenda sets what can be voted on, and nothing else. A decision taken on a subject that was not on it is open to challenge. Each item must therefore be worded precisely: ‘Roof repair works, choice of contractor from the three attached quotes, maximum budget and funding from the reserve fund’ is better than ‘Roof’.

One or more co-owners, or the co-ownership council if there is one, may notify the syndic of the items they want added. The syndic adds the written proposals received at least three weeks before the first day of the period set for the ordinary meeting. Those that arrive too late are carried over to the following meeting (Art. 3.87, § 4).

Think about the occupants too. The syndic must inform people who occupy the building without voting rights, tenants for example, of the date of the meetings, so that they can put their requests or comments in writing (Art. 3.89, § 5).

As for documents, the notice must state how the papers relating to the items on the agenda can be consulted (Art. 3.87, § 3). Quotes, accounts, the auditor's report, a draft contract: prepare them before sending the notice. Its exact form is covered in general meeting notice.

A room, video conference or written decision?

The physical meeting

Choose an accessible venue, large enough, close to the building. An entrance hall or a shared room is enough for a few units. Beyond that, ask your municipality or a local association about a hall.

Prepare an attendance list showing, for each unit, the name of the co-owner and their shares (quotes-parts)GlossaryTerm used by the Civil Code for the fraction of the common parts attached to each unit, also called quotités. It is set in the deed of division according to the respective value of the private parts and determines each co-owner's number of votes at the general meeting. See the glossary. It is used to check the quorum at the start of the meeting and to count the votes. The rules on quorum and majority are set out in detail in voting rules and majorities.

Remote attendance

Since the law of 20 December 2020, Article 3.87, § 1, of the Civil Code provides that co-owners take part in the meeting in person or, if the notice provides for it, remotely. It is therefore the notice that opens this option.

Our reading: remote attendance comes in addition to the room, not instead of it. Until a lawyer has approved anything else for your building, we do not recommend holding the meeting by video conference only.

A tool that only lets people watch the meeting is not enough: remote participants must be able to debate, ask questions and vote. Also organise how participants are identified and how their votes are collected, so that the minutes can state who voted against or abstained.

Each co-owner may also be assisted by a person, a lawyer or an architect for example, provided they notify the syndic by registered post at least four working days before the meeting (Art. 3.87, § 1).

The written decision

Co-owners may take, unanimously and in writing, any decision that falls within the powers of the general meeting, except those that must be executed by authentic deed (Art. 3.87, § 11). Unanimity means all co-owners, not just those who reply. This route suits small buildings where everyone knows each other, for a simple decision. The syndic then records the decision in the register, like a meeting decision.

The day of the meeting

The meeting opens with the signing of the attendance list and the checking of proxies. The quorum is assessed at the start of the meeting. If it is not reached, a second meeting must be convened after a period of at least fifteen days (Art. 3.87, § 5).

The meeting is chaired by a co-owner. A secretary is appointed at the opening, because they will sign the minutes with the chair. The syndic, for their part, cannot act as proxy for a co-owner.

Follow the agenda, vote item by item and announce the result of each vote with the votes for, against and the abstentions. These figures feed directly into the general meeting minutes, which must be read out and signed at the end of the meeting.

The standard timetable for an ordinary meeting

For an ordinary meeting, work backwards from the first day of the period set in the house rules.

In practice, a volunteer syndic benefits from fixing these dates once and for all in a table shared with the co-ownership council or, failing that, with one or two co-owners. The period between closing the accounts and sending the notice is often the tightest: the accounts auditor must have finished their check before the meeting that approves the accounts.

For an overview of the meeting, from preparation to remedies, go back to the page general meeting.