The condo board, from election to annual report

The condo board holds almost no decision-making power — and that is exactly what makes it effective when it is well run. It assists the agent, it scrutinises their management, it reports to the meeting. Three verbs, two of which come down to asking for documents and noting dates.

1. 1

   Assist and scrutinise: the real remit

   The law gives the board two functions: assisting the managing agent and scrutinising their management. It gives its opinion on any question put to it by the meeting or the agent, and it may inspect any document relating to the running of the building.

   • It scrutinises management, it does not manage: the agent alone executes.
   • It may inspect any document bearing on the administration of the building.
   • Its opinion is compulsory above the tendering threshold set by the meeting.

   Article 21 of the act of 10 July 1965

   The condo board’s role, in detail
2. 2

   How you are elected, and for how long

   Board members are elected by the general meeting under article 25, with a fallback to article 24. The term runs for three years at most and is renewable. The meeting may also decide, by a reinforced majority, not to have a board at all.

   • Elected by a majority of all co-owners’ votes, absentees included.
   • A term of three years at most, renewable without limit.
   • Co-owners, spouses, civil partners and legal representatives may be elected.
   • The managing agent, their spouse and their employees may not sit on it.

   Articles 21 and 25 of the act of 10 July 1965

   Condo board elections: preparing your candidacy
3. 3

   A new member’s first months

   A term starts with a collection exercise: the co-ownership rules, the last three sets of minutes, current contracts, the last two financial years. Without those documents you sit with nothing to scrutinise — and that is usually how the whole first year goes.

   • Ask for the documents at the first meeting, in writing.
   • Appoint a chair: they receive the notices and sign the letters.
   • Split the subjects — accounts, works, contracts — rather than handling everything as five.

   Articles 21 and 22 of the decree of 17 March 1967

   Elected to the condo board: the first 90 days
4. 4

   Real powers, and delegation

   By default the board consults, scrutinises and advises. The meeting may however delegate the power to decide certain day-to-day acts, within a spending limit it sets itself — which is what lets a repair be handled without waiting for the next meeting.

   • The delegation is voted at a meeting and sets a maximum amount.
   • It cannot cover what the law reserves to the meeting.
   • The board reports on its use of the delegation at the following meeting.
   • With no delegation, a board that commits an expense acts at its own risk.

   Articles 21 and 25 a of the act of 10 July 1965

   Delegating powers to the condo board: the framework
5. 5

   Scrutinising the accounts

   It is the most concrete part of the job, and the one with the greatest effect on service charges. It is not about redoing the agent’s bookkeeping, but about reconciling the voted budget with the actuals and asking for evidence behind the gaps.

   • Work from the accounting annexes attached to the notice.
   • Compare two financial years: an isolated gap explains itself, a trend does not.
   • Inspect the supporting documents between the notice and the meeting.

   Articles 18-1 and 21 of the act of 10 July 1965

   Reading your building’s accounting annexes
6. 6

   Meeting as a board, and keeping a record

   The board has no imposed formalities: no legal quorum, no compulsory minutes. That is precisely why you should give yourself some. A short dated record, circulated to members, is what separates a board that moves forward from a discussion group.

   • Set a rhythm — quarterly is enough in most buildings.
   • Write a short record: decision, owner, deadline.
   • Archive them: they are what feeds the annual report.

   Decree of 17 March 1967 — internal workings stay free

   Running a condo board meeting and its minutes
7. 7

   The annual report to the meeting

   It is the only output the statute expects from the board: reporting each year to the general meeting on how it carried out its remit. Works followed, incidents handled, accounts scrutinised, contracts examined, exchanges with the agent.

   • The report is among the documents attached to the general meeting.
   • No format is imposed: what counts is the substance and the dates.
   • A ready-to-fill template avoids the blank page three weeks before the meeting.

   Article 22 of the decree of 17 March 1967

   The condo board’s annual report template
8. 8

   What you actually risk

   The board is an advisory body: its members do not put their own assets behind the meeting’s decisions. Liability can be pursued for personal fault — an opinion given carelessly on a major contract, a delegation exceeded — and is covered by the building’s insurance.

   • Check that the building’s insurance actually covers board members.
   • Acting unpaid does not erase a fault, but it does temper how it is judged.
   • A written, reasoned opinion protects better than a nod given in a meeting.

   Article 21 of the act of 10 July 1965

   Condo board members’ liability and insurance
9. 9

   Getting organised enough to last three years

   A condo board’s difficulty is not legal, it is documentary: finding out twelve months later who decided what, which quote was accepted, where the photo of the water damage went. That is what wears goodwill down and empties boards halfway through the term.

   • Keep incidents, quotes and minutes in one place.
   • Date everything: a timeline beats a recollection at the meeting.
   • Prepare the handover from year one — the next term depends on it.

   Good practice — no statute imposes a tool

   Digitising the condo board without losing anyone