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Proper convening of the owners' meeting
The owners' meeting is the heart of your homeowners' association. According to Section 24 (1) of the German Condominium Act (WEG), the condominium administrator is obliged to convene an owners' meeting at least once a year. The purpose of this legally required owners' meeting is to discuss and decide on important matters relating to the condominium. D
The invitation to the owners' meeting must be made in writing and sent to the condominium owners in good time to give them sufficient time to prepare. The statutory notice period for the owners' meeting is at least three weeks.
Good to know: Many property managers plan too short-term
Unfortunately, many property managers surprise their WEGs with a date without coordinating it with the owners in advance. They often wait until the end of the year to convene the ETV.
Some even deliberately set the deadline for the last possible date, sometimes even in December, in order to make it more difficult to switch to a new management. After all, there is not much time left and the owners have other issues on their calendars.
However, as an owner, you should try to attend the owners' meeting to exercise your right to have a say. Of course, you cannot always be physically there, so it is advisable to look for a property management company that offers hybrid owners' meetings.
If the property management does not even invite to an ordinary owners' meeting, this is directly a valid reason for termination.
The invitation to the owners' meeting
The invitation to the owners' meeting must contain all the important information so that all owners can attend the owners' meeting well prepared. This includes the exact time and place of the owners' meeting as well as a complete list of the topics that will be discussed.
The WEG meeting should take place at a time that is convenient for most apartment owners and at a location that is easy to reach. An unreasonable time for the owners' meeting would be, for example, 8:00 a.m. on weekday mornings or Sunday mornings.
Your participation in the owners' meeting
Owners are not obliged to attend the owners' meeting. In fact, the attendance rate is often very low, especially in large condominiums, and is often even less than 30%. However, if your property is managed by a modern property management company, you do not usually have to be physically present, as some property management companies now offer so-called hybrid owners' meetings.
Hybrid owners' meetings
The hybrid owners' meeting (a meeting on site and with simultaneous video conferencing) is another option that will be accepted with the amendment to the Condominium Act on December 1, 2020 and has become more common since the coronavirus pandemic. This is particularly helpful if you live far away from your property or are unable to attend.
In principle, the entire owners' meeting could also be held exclusively online without any complications, but the legislation currently still requires administrators to use a hybrid variant. In the case of a hybrid owners' meeting, the administrator is obliged to ensure that the video conference can be recorded and that the connection is private and secure.
Pure online owners' meetings
Owners' meetings may already be held exclusively online, although a unanimous resolution of all owners is currently still required for online-only owners' meetings. This is to ensure that all owners have the necessary technical requirements for the online format. Older homeowners in particular often do not have the necessary equipment.
Power of attorney
If you are also unable to dial in for the meeting, we recommend that you issue a power of attorney to a person you trust from the condominium or the administrator. With Ralph, you can also conveniently submit your decisions on the individual resolutions online in advance of the owners' meeting. In individual cases, however, it is possible that the right to issue a power of attorney is prevented in your declaration of division. However, this is very rarely the case.
Quorum of the owners' meeting
The 2020 WEG reform has fundamentally changed the rules on the quorum for 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 convocation, i.e. the assumption that absent condominium owners agree with the resolution, was only permitted if it was expressly regulated in the community rules. The new regulation simplifies the passing of resolutions considerably, as every owners' meeting now has a quorum regardless of the number of owners present.
Conducting the owners' meeting and chairing the meeting
The chairing of the owners' meeting is regulated in Section 24 (5) WEG. In principle, the administrator is responsible for chairing the meeting. However, another suitable person from among the apartment owners can be elected by majority resolution . The owners' meeting is usually opened by the chairperson, who welcomes the owners present and announces the agenda.
Agenda of the owners' meeting
The organization of the agenda of an owners' meeting is basically in the hands of the administrator. They should strictly adhere to the agenda at the meeting. This will prevent individual resolutions from being challenged, important points from being forgotten or the meeting from taking too long. Every owner has the right to propose an item for the agenda.
If the condominium administrator does not comply with this request, at least a quarter of the condominium owners have the right to convene a meeting, stating the desired agenda items (Section 24 (2) WEG). This right ensures that the interests of all owners are taken into account and enables the community to play an active role in shaping the community. Of course, the property management company should primarily put items on the agenda that are important for the WEG.
It also makes sense for the administrator to lead the discussion on the individual resolutions and to record the results directly in the minutes so that they can be sent out on the same day as the ETV. Only the results of the discussions and votes must be recorded here, not the complete course of events.
Tip from Ralph: Always keep the owners' meeting private
Some WEG administrators invite to an owners' meeting in a restaurant where there is public traffic. You should avoid this at all costs. An owners' meeting must be clearly arranged so that only the owners or their authorized representatives take part.
In some cases, especially in smaller WEGs, meetings are still held in places open to the public. The resolutions are therefore not necessarily invalid. However, they can be legally challenged as a result of this circumstance.
Record the owners' meeting if necessary
Today, the technical possibilities are so advanced that it is no longer a problem to record the owners' meeting. This saves the administrator from taking notes during the actual meeting. However, this does not mean that one can save oneself from writing the minutes. There must also be a legible version of the minutes that clearly shows all resolutions and their voting results and is 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 when certain resolutions are challenged after the fact. However, make sure that the participants are informed about the recording in advance and agree to it.
Determination of the quorum
Before the 2020 WEG reform, 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 regulations in the community rules.
If individual homeowners left the meeting, this could result in the loss of a quorum. With the entry into force of the WEG reform, a formal determination of the quorum is no longer necessary. Nevertheless, it is advisable to document the presence of the condominium owners or their representatives, as at least one person must be physically or virtually present in order to pass valid resolutions.
Exercising voting rights at the owners' meeting
The right to vote is a fundamental right of all condominium owners. The chairperson of the meeting is responsible for the proper exercise of voting rights. The head count principle applies to the counting of votes, unless the community rules stipulate otherwise.
Alternatively, the value principle or the object principle can also be applied, if agreed. The chairperson of the meeting must also ensure that no owner party continuously outvotes other co-owners in an abusive manner.
If there is a conflict of interest in a vote at the meeting, for example if a condominium owner is directly affected by a resolution, this person is excluded from voting. § Section 25 (5) of the German Condominium Act regulates this case and ensures that all decisions are made objectively by the owners.
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How homeowners can ensure that all legal points are observed
Especially in condominium owners' associations that want to manage themselves, mistakes can easily occur, which then lead to resolutions being contestable and you as a member of the advisory board may be liable. We therefore strongly recommend the professional support of an administration, if you are a condominium with more than three parties and/or do not already know and trust each other well for several years, or simply do not have the time to deal with the organization of the ETV and the entire accounting and organization of the suppliers and partners.
Adoption of resolutions and responsibility of the owners' meeting
Resolutions are passed at an owners' meeting by way of a vote. Various majority ratios can be defined, such as a simple majority, qualified majority or unanimity.
The terms "unanimous" and "unanimous" are often used interchangeably in practice, but have different meanings for you as owners. While "unanimous" means that all condominium owners present approve a proposed resolution, "unanimous" requires the approval of all owners entered in the land register, regardless of their presence. It is important to note here that the legal provisions for passing resolutions can be set out in the community rules and may deviate from the general rules.
Contestation of a resolution from the WEG meeting
Not only positive, but also negative resolutions passed at an owners' meeting can be contested. If condominium owners do not agree with a resolution, they can file an action for annulment within one month of the owners' meeting.
With this action, owners can obtain a declaration that the contested resolution is invalid and that a new resolution is passed instead that corresponds to their own ideas. Resolutions of the owners' meeting are generally considered valid as long as they were not obviously invalid when they were passed. To challenge a resolution, a condominium owner must file a complaint with the court within the statutory period
Collection of resolutions of the owners' meeting
When the 2007 amendment to the WEG came into force, the administrator had to keep a so-called collection of resolutions in accordance with § 24 para. 7. This should contain the wording of the resolutions announced at the owners' meeting, stating the place and date of the meeting. If resolutions were passed in writing, the place and date of the announcement must also be stated and, if applicable, the formulas of the court decision in a legal dispute, stating the date, court and parties.
The collection of resolutions serves not only to document, but also to track decisions made at the homeowners' meeting. For example, contested, annulled or amended resolutions can be noted in the collection accordingly.
Return to registration of resolutions in the land register
The 2020 WEG reform saw 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 may be passed in the condominium owners' meeting that concerns the relationship between the condominium owners. In such a case, the resolution protocol must be provided with publicly certified signatures and the application for registration is submitted by the condominium owners' association represented by the administration.
The purpose of entering resolutions in the land register is to improve the information options for the owners, a new administration or third parties who are authorized to do so. For example, purchasers can be informed about previous resolutions in this way. It is clear from the official explanatory memorandum (Bundestag printed matter 16/887, p. 33 ff.) that the wording of the legislation continues to be clearly oriented towards the language of the land register. Entries, annotations and deletions are also made there and are dated and signed.
The timeliness of the resolution collection
The legislator also attaches particular importance to keeping the collection of resolutions up to date. Timely entry of resolutions in the land register enables owners to view the current status of the collection of resolutions and to find out about decisions made at the homeowners' meeting.
Always stay up to date with the latest WEG laws relating to your owners' meeting. With Ralph, you'll never miss an important change again. As a condominium owner, you benefit from our expertise and our digital service. Discover now how easy and uncomplicated it can be to change your property management company.
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Challenging a resolution explained easily
The resolutions of the owners' meeting are initially valid, even if they were passed incorrectly - provided that the WEG had the authority to pass resolutions. Such resolutions must be observed and implemented. However, they become invalid if an owner contests them within one month of the resolution being passed and the competent court determines that they are invalid. Errors in the content and form of the resolution can, for example, lead to a successful challenge.
Successfully contesting resolutions of the owners' meeting
The case law on contesting resolutions in the homeowners' association is complex. In addition to formal errors, deficiencies in content that violate legal requirements in particular can lead to the invalidity of a resolution. Even consent that was originally granted can be revoked. Invalid resolutions can be established by the courts at any time.
The rules on costs in legal disputes have changed since 2007. Since then, the losing party has generally borne all costs. The liability of the management is limited, but remains in place. Since the WEG reform in 2020, legal action is no longer directed against individual members of the homeowners' association, but against the entire WEG.
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