Can this proxy holder take one more?
Three delegations, always. Beyond that it is no longer proxies you count but ownership shares: the holder must not exceed 10 % of the co-ownership’s votes, their own included. Enter the attendance sheet and the tool decides.
The proxy holder
Their own votes count towards the ceiling: a holder who is already heavy in shares fills up faster.
The total of general ownership shares: 1,000, 10,000, sometimes 100,000.
Zero if they are not an owner — a tenant or a third party may hold a proxy.
The proxies received
One line per principal, with their ownership shares.
The verdict
Invalid
More than 3 delegations AND 1,720 votes, that is 17.2% of the co-ownership, beyond the ceiling of 1,000 votes. One or more proxies must be handed back before the vote.
- Proxies
- 4
- Principals’ votes
- 1,270
- Votes held
- 1,720
- Share of the co-ownership
- 17.2%
The 10% ceiling on votes
1,720 / 1,000
The ceiling is exceeded by 720 votes.
Two rules, in this order
Article 22 of the act of 10 July 1965 sets a limit in number, then an exception in votes. The second is only examined once the first is crossed.
Three delegations, no conditions
Any proxy holder — owner or not — may receive up to three proxies, whatever the number of shares they represent. At that stage there is nothing to compute.
Beyond that, the 10 % ceiling
A fourth proxy is only possible if the holder, own votes included, does not exceed 10 % of the co-ownership’s votes. In a large building that allows many; in a small one, almost none.
The rule
More than 3 proxies ⇒ own votes + principals’ votes ≤ 10 % of the co-ownership’s votes
On 10,000 shares the ceiling is 1,000 votes. A holder weighing 450 shares who takes four proxies of 320, 280, 410 and 260 reaches 1,720 votes: two proxies too many.
Who cannot hold a proxy
Some people are excluded on principle, so that whoever carries out the decisions does not take part in making them.
The managing agent
The managing agent cannot act as an owner’s proxy at the meeting they organise.
Their spouse and close family
The agent’s spouse or civil partner, as well as their ascendants and descendants, fall under the same prohibition.
Their employees
The agent’s staff — and their close family on the same footing — may not receive a delegation either.
A valid proxy, in four points
What the chair of the meeting and the condo board check as people sign in.
- 1
A dated, signed writing
A proxy is given in writing. It names the holder, or leaves the name blank, but it always carries the principal’s signature.
- 2
The blank proxy
A proxy with no named holder goes to the chair of the meeting, who distributes it. The chair cannot keep them all: the article 22 limits apply to each recipient.
- 3
Sub-delegation
A holder who cannot attend may pass the proxy to a third party, unless the principal forbade it. The new recipient is subject to the same ceilings.
- 4
The attendance sheet
It records, for each holder, the principals represented and their shares. It is the document that proves — or disproves — that the ceilings were respected.
The five traps of counting proxies
They go unnoticed on the night, and resurface two months later in a claim form.
Counting proxies instead of votes
Beyond three delegations the number no longer matters: only the total of shares does. A holder may hold ten light proxies and still be within the rules.
Forgetting the holder’s own votes
The 10 % ceiling is assessed on the total held, own votes included. A large owner fills up on the very first extra proxy.
The chair who keeps them all
Blank proxies are meant to be distributed. A chair who piles them up almost always breaks the ceiling, and weakens every vote taken.
Ignoring the majority owner reduction
An owner holding more than half the votes sees them cut back to the sum of everyone else’s. That changes the majority arithmetic entirely.
Finding the error after the vote
A single invalid proxy can be enough to annul a resolution carried by a narrow margin. The check belongs at sign-in, not at the count.
These tools are calculation aids, provided for guidance only. They replace neither your co-ownership rules, nor the minutes of the general meeting, nor professional advice: in case of disagreement, your building’s own documents prevail.
Frequently asked questions about proxies at general meetings
Three delegations with no conditions. Beyond that, one more is possible only if the total votes they hold — their own included — does not exceed 10 % of the co-ownership’s votes.
Last year’s attendance sheet. And the one from three years ago.
A condo board spends as much time hunting for last year’s documents as preparing next year’s meeting. CoproHarmony keeps the minutes, the quotes and the exchanges in one place, year after year.
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