Proper convening of the owners' meetingLink to this section
The owners' meeting is the heart of your condominium association. According to Section 24, Paragraph 1 of the Condominium Act (WEG), the condominium administrator is obligated to convene an owners' meeting at least once a year. This legally mandated owners' meeting serves to discuss and decide on important matters relating to the condominium association.
The invitation to the owners' meeting must be made in writing and delivered to the condominium owners in a timely manner to give them sufficient time to prepare. The legally required notice period for the owners' meeting is at least three weeks.
Good to know: Many property management companies plan too short-term
Unfortunately, many property management companies surprise their condominium associations with a meeting without coordinating it with the owners in advance. They often wait until the end of the year to convene the ETV.
Some even deliberately schedule the appointment as late as possible, sometimes even in December, to make the transition to a new management more difficult. After all, there's not much time left, and the owners have other things on their calendars.
As an owner, however, you should try to attend the owners' meeting to exercise your right to have a say. Of course, you can't always be there physically, so it's advisable to look for a property management company that offers hybrid owners' meetings.
If the property management does not even invite the owners to a regular meeting, this is a valid reason for termination.
The invitation to the owners' meeting
To ensure all owners are well prepared to participate in the condominium owners' meeting, the invitation to the owners' meeting must contain all important information. This includes the exact time and location of the owners' meeting, as well as a complete list of topics to be discussed.
The condominium association meeting should be held at a time convenient for most condominium owners and at a location that is easily accessible. An unreasonable time for the owners' meeting would be, for example, weekday mornings or Sunday mornings at 8:00 a.m.
Your participation in the owners' meetingLink to this section
There is no obligation for owners to attend the owners' meeting. In fact, attendance is often very low, especially in large condominium associations, and frequently even less than 30%. However, if your property is managed by a modern property management company, you generally don't need to be physically present, as some property management companies now offer so-called hybrid owners' meetings.
Hybrid owners' meetings
The hybrid owners' meeting (an on-site meeting with a simultaneous video conference) is another option, accepted with the amendment to the Condominium Act on December 1, 2020, and has become more common since the coronavirus pandemic. This is especially helpful if you live far from your property or are unable to attend.
In principle, the entire owners' meeting could easily be held entirely online, but current legislation still requires management bodies to use a hybrid version. In a hybrid owners' meeting, the manager is obligated to ensure that the video conference can be recorded and that the connection is private and secure.
Purely online owners' meetings
Owners' meetings are already permitted to be held exclusively online, but a purely online meeting currently requires a unanimous resolution from all owners. This is intended to ensure that all owners have the necessary technical requirements for the online format. Older homeowners, in particular, often lack the necessary equipment.
Power of attorney
If you are unable to dial in to the meeting, we recommend that you grant a power of attorney to a trusted person from the condominium association or the property manager. With Ralph, you can also conveniently submit your votes on individual resolutions online in advance of the owners' meeting. In individual cases, however, it is possible that the right to grant a power of attorney may be excluded in your declaration of division. However, this is very rare.
Quorum of theOwners' meeting
The 2020 WEG reform fundamentally changed the rules regarding the quorum of owners' meetings. Before the WEG reform, an owners' meeting only had a quorum if at least half of the co-ownership shares were present or represented. If this quorum could not be reached, the management had to convene a new meeting.
A so-called contingent meeting, i.e., the assumption that absent condominium owners agree to the resolution, was only permissible if it was expressly provided for in the community regulations. The new regulation significantly simplifies decision-making, as every owners' meeting now has a quorum regardless of the number of owners present.
The conduct of the owners’ meeting and meeting managementLink to this section
The chairing of the owners' meeting is regulated in Section 24, Paragraph 5 of the Condominium Act (WEG). In principle, the administrator is responsible for chairing the meeting. However, another suitable person from among the condominium owners can be appointed by majority vote.The owners' meeting is usually opened by the chairman, who welcomes the owners present and announces the agenda.
Agenda of the owners' meeting
The agenda for an owners' meeting is generally the responsibility of the property manager. They should strictly adhere to the agenda at the meeting. This prevents individual resolutions from becoming contestable, important points from being forgotten, or the meeting from running too long. Every owner has the right to propose an agenda item.
Should the condominium association manager not comply with this request, at least one-quarter of the condominium owners have the right to call a meeting, specifying the desired agenda items (Section 24 (2) of the Condominium Association Act). This right ensures that the interests of all owners are taken into account and enables active participation in shaping the community. Of course, the property management should primarily place items on the agenda that are important to the condominium association.
It is also advisable for the administrator to lead the discussion on the individual resolutions and record the results directly in the minutes so that they can be sent to the ETV on the same day. Only the results of the discussions and votes need to be recorded here, not the entire process.
Tip from Ralph: Always keep the owners’ meeting private
Some condominium association administrators invite owners to a meeting in a restaurant open to the public. This should be avoided at all costs. An owners' meeting must be transparent, so that only the owners or their authorized representatives attend.
In some cases, especially with smaller condominium associations, meetings are still held in publicly accessible locations. The resolutions are therefore not necessarily invalid. However, this circumstance could potentially lead to legal challenges.
If necessary, record the owners’ meeting
Today, technology has advanced so much that recording the owners' meeting is no longer a problem. This saves the administrator from having to take notes during the actual meeting. However, this doesn't mean that the minutes aren't necessary. A legible version of the minutes must also be available, clearly presenting all resolutions and voting results, and sent to the owners no later than three weeks after the meeting. With modern tools, you should receive the minutes immediately after the meeting.
An audio or video recording can help clarify issues such as subsequent challenges to certain decisions. However, ensure that participants are informed in advance about the recording and consent to it.
Determination of quorum
Before the 2020 reform of the condominium association (WEG), the quorum of an owners' meeting was subject to strict requirements. It depended on the number of co-owner shares present or represented and could be influenced by deviating provisions in the community regulations.
Leaving the meeting by individual condominium owners could result in the loss of a quorum. With the entry into force of the condominium law reform, a formal determination of quorum is no longer required. Nevertheless, it is recommended to document the presence of condominium owners or their representatives, as at least one person must be physically or virtually present to pass valid resolutions.
The exercise of voting rights in the owners’ meeting
The right to vote is a fundamental right of all condominium owners. The chairperson of the meeting is responsible for ensuring the proper exercise of voting rights. The head count principle applies when counting votes, unless the community regulations provide otherwise.
Alternatively, the value principle or the object principle can be applied, if agreed upon. The chairperson of the meeting must also ensure that no owner party continually overrules other co-owners in an abusive manner.
If a conflict of interest arises during a vote at the meeting, for example, if a condominium owner is directly affected by a resolution, that person is excluded from voting. Section 25, Paragraph 5 of the Condominium Act regulates this case and ensures that all decisions are made objectively by the owners.
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This is how homeowners ensure that all legal points are observedLink to this section
Especially in homeowners' associations that want to manage themselves, mistakes can easily occur, which then lead to decisions being contestable and potentially making you, as an advisory board member, liable. We therefore strongly recommend professional support from a management company if you are a homeowners' association with more than three parties and/or have not known and trusted each other well for several years, or simply don't have the time to deal with the organization of the homeowners' association (ETV) and the entire accounting and organization of utilities and partners.
Decision-making and authority of the owners' meeting
Decisions at an owners' meeting are made by voting. Various majorities can be determined, such as a simple majority, a qualified majority, or unanimity.
The terms "unanimous" and "universal" are often used synonymously in practice, but they have different meanings for you as the property owner. While "unanimous" means that all present property owners agree to a proposed resolution, "universal" requires the consent of all owners registered in the land register, regardless of their presence. It is important to note here that the legal provisions for decision-making can be stipulated in the community regulations and may deviate from the general rules.
Challenge of a resolution from the WEG meeting
Both positive and negative resolutions passed at an owners' meeting can be challenged. If condominium owners disagree with a resolution, they can file an action for annulment within one month of the owners' meeting.
With this lawsuit, owners can have the contested resolution declared invalid and replaced with a new resolution that reflects their own ideas. Resolutions of the owners' meeting are generally considered valid unless they were already obviously invalid at the time of their adoption. To contest a resolution, a condominium owner must file a lawsuit with the court within the statutory deadline.
Collection of resolutions of the owners' meeting
With the entry into force of the 2007 amendment to the Condominium Ownership Act (WEG), the administrator was required to maintain a so-called record of resolutions pursuant to Section 24, Paragraph 7. This record should contain the wording of the resolutions announced at the owners' meeting, along with the location and date of the meeting. If the resolution was made in writing, the location and date of the announcement must also be stated, as well as, if applicable, the operative parts of the court decision in a legal dispute, stating the date, court, and parties.
The collection of resolutions serves not only as a document but also as a means of tracking decisions made at the condominium owners' meeting. For example, contested, revoked, or amended resolutions can be noted accordingly in the collection.
Return to the registration of resolutions in the land register
The 2020 reform of the condominium association (WEG) brought a return to the registration of resolutions in the land register. This applies in particular if, due to an opening clause in the declaration of division with community regulations, a resolution affecting the relationship between the condominium owners could be passed at the condominium owners' meeting. In such a case, the minutes of the resolution must be signed by notarized signatures, and the application for registration is submitted by the condominium association, represented by the administration.
The purpose of recording resolutions in the land register is to improve information availability for owners, a new administration, or authorized third parties. For example, purchasers can be informed of previous resolutions in this way. The official explanatory memorandum (Bundestag Printed Paper 16/887, p. 33 ff.) indicates that the wording of the legislation continues to be clearly oriented toward the language of the land register. Entries, annotations, and deletions are also recorded there and dated and signed.
The timeliness of the collection of resolutions
The legislature also places particular emphasis on keeping the records of resolutions up to date. Prompt entry of resolutions in the land register allows owners to view the current status of the records and obtain information about decisions made at the condominium owners' meeting.
Stay up to date on the latest condominium laws around your homeowners' meeting. With Ralph, you won't miss any important changes. As a condominium owner, you benefit from our expertise and our digital service. Discover now how easy and straightforward it can be to to change property management .
Contesting a decision easily explainedLink to this section
The resolutions of the owners' meeting are initially valid, even if they were passed with errors – provided the condominium association had the authority to make the resolution. Such resolutions must be observed and implemented. However, they become invalid if an owner challenges them within one month of the resolution being passed and the competent court finds them invalid. Substantive and formal errors in the resolution, for example, can lead to a successful challenge.
Successfully challenge resolutions of the owners' meeting
The case law regarding the challenge of resolutions in condominium associations is complex. In addition to formal errors, substantive deficiencies that violate legal requirements can lead to the invalidity of a resolution. Even an originally granted consent can be revoked. Void resolutions can be declared by a court at any time.
The cost regulations in legal disputes have changed since 2007. Since then, the losing party generally bears all costs. The liability of the administration is limited but remains. Since the 2020 reform of the condominium association law (WEG), the lawsuit is no longer directed against individual members of the condominium association, but against the entire condominium association.
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