If a resolution was adopted despite your vote against it, you have two months from notification of the minutes to bring an annulment action before the judicial court (article 42, paragraph 2, of the law of July 10, 1965). This action is reserved to opposing and absent co-owners, and requires a procedural irregularity, a violation of the law or the by-laws, or a decision that infringes your rights.
The two-month deadline: starting point and consequences
The managing agent (syndic) must notify the minutes to opposing and absent co-owners within one month of the meeting. The two-month period runs from this notification, not from the date of the general meeting. An irregular or incomplete notification does not trigger the deadline: keep the envelope, the acknowledgment of receipt, or the electronic delivery receipt.
This deadline is a time-bar (forclusion). It is neither interrupted by a complaint sent to the managing agent, nor suspended by negotiation. Only a writ of summons issued within the deadline preserves your rights. Decisions that exceed the powers of the general meeting — infringement of privately-owned areas, removal of a right attached to a unit — fall under a nullity that courts may sanction beyond two months, within the five-year limitation period, but this route is uncertain: treat the two months as the only reliable deadline.
Admissible grounds for annulment
Irregularities in notice and conduct of the meeting
- Notice sent less than twenty-one days before the meeting, or sent to someone other than the registered co-owner.
- Mandatory documents not attached to the notice: quotes, draft contracts, accounting annexes, essential terms of a works contract.
- A resolution voted on without appearing on the agenda, or a question worded too imprecisely to allow an informed vote.
- Errors in the attendance sheet, in proxies (limits on the number of delegations), in the count of shares (tantièmes), or in the reduction of votes of the majority co-owner.
Majority errors
Each decision has its own required majority: article 24 for routine management, article 25 for appointing the managing agent or energy-efficiency works, article 26 for amending the by-laws, unanimity for disposing of essential common areas. A resolution adopted by a majority lower than required is voidable, even if it received broad approval.
Decisions contrary to the law or the by-laws
A resolution contradicting a clause of the co-ownership by-laws that has not been amended, a decision encroaching on your privately-owned areas, works depriving a unit of access or light, or a charge allocation departing from article 10.
Abuse of majority
A decision is annulled when it is contrary to the collective interest and taken solely to favor the majority to the detriment of the minority. The burden of proof is demanding: you must demonstrate the absence of benefit to the building and the personal advantage gained by the majority voters.
The strategy to adopt
- Have your opposition recorded in the minutes. A vote against, recorded by name, is a condition for your right to act. Abstention does not count as opposition.
- Have your observations recorded on the day of the general meeting: absence of a quote, a question outside the agenda, a challenge to the vote count. These entries constitute your evidence.
- Target the resolutions you are challenging, one by one. The annulment of one resolution does not entail the annulment of the entire meeting.
- Anticipate enforcement. The annulment action does not suspend execution: the approved works may proceed. If execution causes imminent harm or rests on a manifest illegality, apply to the interim relief judge (juge des référés) for provisional measures, including a halt to the works.
- Continue to pay your charges during the proceedings, while reserving your rights.
A co-owner who loses the action may be ordered to pay costs and to contribute to the union’s expenses: the strength of the grounds must be verified before issuing the summons.
To challenge a co-ownership decision or a refusal by the managing agent, Ms. Cécile Zakine advises you and defends your interests before the courts (TJ Grasse, TJ Nice, CA Aix). Prompt consultation.
On the same topic: managing agent refuses works · disputing charges · vote against at the general meeting · neighborhood disputes · fund calls · all our co-ownership case files
