Does the resolution pass?
Enter the votes for, against and the abstentions: the tool applies the right majority, tells you whether the resolution passes, and above all whether article 25-1 or 26-1 can save it through an immediate second vote.
Which decision is being voted on?
Pick the resolution from the list: the applicable majority sets itself.
Or pick the article
Article 25 — A majority of the votes of all co-owners in the association, absentees included. An abstention therefore weighs as much as a vote against.
Your building
The total number of votes appears at the top of the charge apportionment schedule, and on the meeting’s attendance sheet.
Usually 1,000 or 10,000 ownership shares.
Only needed for the double majority of article 26.
The vote
The votes of co-owners present, represented by proxy, or having voted by post.
For
Against
Abstention
Votes neither present nor represented: 3,400
Immediate second vote available (article 25-1)
The absolute majority is not reached, but the proposal gathered at least a third of the votes of all co-owners. The same meeting therefore proceeds immediately to a second vote, under the article 24 majority. Do not close the session without holding it: postponing means losing the decision.
With unchanged votes, the second vote would succeed.
Votes (ownership shares)
4,200 / threshold: 5,000
- For4,200
- Against1,800
- Abstention600
- Not represented3,400
The four majorities, plainly
Not every decision at a general meeting is voted the same way. The regime depends on the question asked, and it is set by statute: neither the managing agent nor the co-ownership rules can change it.
Article 24
Simple majority
A majority of the votes cast by co-owners present, represented or having voted by post. Abstentions are not counted.
This is the majority of day-to-day management: approving the accounts, the annual budget, maintenance works. A single vote of difference is enough, however many co-owners stayed home.
Article 25
Absolute majority
A majority of the votes of all co-owners in the association, absentees included. An abstention therefore weighs as much as a vote against.
This is the majority for structural decisions: appointing the managing agent, electing the condo board, energy-saving works. If it is not reached, look at the article 25-1 second vote.
Article 26
Double majority
A majority of the co-owners by head, representing at least two thirds of all votes. Both conditions must be met.
It protects what touches the building itself: amending the rules on common areas, improvement works, removing the caretaker’s post.
Unanimity
Every vote
All the votes of the association, absentees included. A single missing vote defeats the resolution.
Reserved for what changes each owner’s rights: charge apportionment, the building’s designated use, the sale of an essential common area.
The two second-vote rules, the ones forgotten in the room
Article 25-1 — a resolution under article 25 that misses the absolute majority but gathers at least a third of the votes of all co-owners goes immediately to a second vote, under the article 24 majority. Below that third, a new meeting may be convened within three months to decide under the same majority.
Article 26-1 — a resolution under article 26 approved by a majority of co-owners representing at least a third of the votes goes immediately to a second vote, under the article 25 majority.
Which majority for which decision?
The most frequent general meeting decisions, with the majority that applies to each.
| Decision | Majority |
|---|---|
| Approving the accounts for the financial year | Article 24 |
| Voting the annual provisional budget | Article 24 |
| Maintenance and upkeep works on the common areas | Article 24 |
| Accessibility works for disabled people, paid for by one co-owner | Article 24 |
| Authorising the managing agent to take legal action | Article 24 |
| Deciding to draw up the multi-year works plan | Article 24 |
| Appointing the chair of the meeting and the tellers | Article 24 |
| Appointing or dismissing the managing agent | Article 25 |
| Electing the members of the condo board | Article 25 |
| Energy-saving or energy-renovation works | Article 25 |
| Installing electric vehicle charging points | Article 25 |
| Authorising private works affecting the common areas or the building’s appearance | Article 25 |
| Individual metering of heating costs | Article 25 |
| Installing an entry control or video surveillance system | Article 25 |
| Setting a works fund contribution above the legal minimum | Article 25 |
| Delegating powers to the condo board | Article 25 |
| Amending the co-ownership rules on the enjoyment, use or administration of common areas | Article 26 |
| Improvement, conversion or additional-equipment works | Article 26 |
| Removing the caretaker or concierge post | Article 26 |
| Acquisition of a property by the co-ownership association | Article 26 |
| Sale of a common area not necessary to the building’s designated use | Article 26 |
| Changing the apportionment of service charges | Unanimity |
| Sale of a common area necessary to the building’s designated use | Unanimity |
| Changing the building’s designated use | Unanimity |
Indicative table: some decisions have exceptions depending on the building’s configuration, the wording of the co-ownership rules or the exact nature of the works. The wording on the agenda remains the reference — it is what binds the managing agent.
Five traps that bring a vote down
What goes wrong in the room is rarely the arithmetic. It is the rules everyone thinks they know.
There is no quorum in French co-ownership
Unlike an association, a condo general meeting sits validly whatever the number of people present. Waiting until “enough people are here” has no legal basis: what matters is the threshold each resolution reaches.
An abstention does not weigh the same under every article
Under article 24 it is neutral: it is not part of the votes cast. Under articles 25 and 26 it weighs like a vote against, since the threshold is computed on all the votes of the association.
Three proxies maximum, with one exception
A proxy holder may not receive more than three voting delegations. They may hold more only if their own votes plus those of their principals do not exceed 10 % of the association’s votes.
The majority co-owner has their votes reduced
Where one co-owner holds more than half of the ownership shares, their votes are reduced to the sum of the other co-owners’ votes. Enter the reduced figure, not the theoretical one, or the count is wrong from the first line.
Postal votes on an amended resolution
A co-owner who voted by post counts as present. But if the resolution is amended during the meeting, their favourable vote is counted as an abstention: a last-minute amendment can bring down a resolution that looked settled.
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.
Frequent questions about general meeting majorities
You add up only the votes for and against cast by co-owners present, represented or having voted by post. The resolution passes if the votes in favour represent more than half of that total. Abstentions and absent co-owners are left out of the calculation.
Counting the votes is the easy part
The hard part is walking into the meeting with the right figures: what was voted last year, the quotes received, the year’s incidents, the requests left unanswered. CoproHarmony keeps all of that up to date all year long, for your condo board.
You prepare
Agenda, quotes and decision history are gathered before the notice goes out, all in one place.
You vote
Every resolution is recorded with its applicable majority, its count and its outcome.
You keep the trail
A year later, you can see who decided what, and why — without digging through three inboxes.
Free to start · No credit card · Ready in 45 seconds