Secondary association: when several blocks no longer share interests

Two blocks, one lift, one meeting: those who never use it still vote on the other block’s works.

A three-block association votes in a single general meeting. Block A has a lift, block B does not. Block C’s roof leaks. Every decision concerns part of the owners, but all take part in the debate and the vote — and tension sets in.

Condo law provides a tool for this: the secondary association, which lets the owners of one or more blocks manage what concerns them exclusively.

What a secondary association allows

• Managing, maintaining and improving the common areas specific to the block concerned.
• Holding its own meetings on those subjects, without mobilising the whole association.
• Electing its own bodies for that perimeter.
• Deciding alone on works benefiting only that block.

What it does not allow: leaving the main association. General common areas — grounds, roads, gardens, shared networks — stay managed at main level, which continues and in which everyone still takes part.

When it is worth it

Creation is only justified where the perimeter is genuinely distinct. Three signals make it relevant: equipment specific to one block, works the meeting debates while most attendees are unconcerned, and recurring tension over allocation.

Beware, though: in many cases the real problem is not the absence of a secondary association but the absence of properly applied special allocation keys. Check that first, as described in how charges are calculated and split and ownership shares.

How it is created

Creation is decided by the owners of the block concerned, meeting separately, at a set majority. It requires the perimeter to be clearly identified and the block’s own common areas to be distinguished from the general ones.

That distinction normally sits in the building rules: see the building rules. Where it is absent or ambiguous, a prior amendment becomes necessary — which is what makes the project heavier.

What changes day to day

Two levels of meeting coexist, so two agendas, two sets of minutes, two budgets. The manager runs both, which has a cost — check the contract, as explained in the management contract.

In exchange, decisions become markedly faster: the owners concerned vote among themselves, on subjects they know. That is often what unblocks works postponed for years — see the multi-year works plan.

A secondary association does not divide a building: it stops people voting on works they will never pay for.

Organise each perimeter with CoproHarmony

CoproHarmony tracks incidents, documents, contracts and decisions separately for each block while keeping an overall view. Create your free space.