General meetings in Belgian co-ownership: quorum and majorities

A general meeting of a Belgian co-owners' association can only decide validly if more than half of the co-owners are present or represented and together hold at least half of the shares. Without that double quorum, a second meeting follows fifteen days later at the earliest. Each decision then needs its own majority: absolute, two thirds, four fifths or unanimity.

Fifteen owners in the room out of twenty-eight, a show of hands, renovation works approved in good spirits. A few months later one owner takes the decision to the justice of the peace: the meeting had counted heads, never shares, and those fifteen held only 420 of the 1,000 shares.

Every step, from the notice (at least fifteen days before the meeting, except in an emergency, under article 3.87 § 3 of the Belgian Civil Code, official text in French) to the minutes, follows a precise rule. This guide covers Belgium specifically; the French and Dutch regimes work differently.

What is the double quorum?

Article 3.87 § 5 does not settle for counting the people in the room. At the start of the meeting, more than half of the co-owners must be present or represented, and they must together hold at least half of the shares in the common parts. Two conditions, both at once. The law provides an escape hatch: the meeting also deliberates validly if those present or represented hold more than three quarters of the shares, however few of them there are. That second threshold rescues buildings where one or two large owners hold most of the shares. Why the double count? Small owners cannot be steamrolled by a single owner holding half the building, and vice versa. A habit worth adopting: have everyone sign an attendance list with each unit's shares next to the name, and the principal's name for every proxy. It is the only document that proves the quorum if the decision is challenged later.

What happens if the quorum is not met?

The meeting does not deliberate, full stop.

A second general meeting is held after at least fifteen days, and it deliberates validly whatever the number of co-owners present and whatever their shares. Three people in a small room can pass decisions that bind the whole building. A proxy given for the first meeting also covers the second unless it says otherwise.

Which majority applies to which decision?

Once the quorum is secured, majorities are counted on the votes of those present or represented when the vote is taken. Abstentions, blank and invalid votes do not count as votes cast. The ladder is set out in article 3.88:

The deeper a decision cuts into the building and into everyone's rights, the higher the bar. Converting a ground-floor shop into a flat is a change of use, so it needs four fifths. The internal rules (règlement d'ordre intérieur) are not listed in article 3.88, so an absolute majority is enough to amend them.

How many proxies can one person carry?

Three at most. The single exception: a proxy holder may accept more than three if their own votes plus those of their principals do not exceed 10% of all the votes in the co-ownership. Check the proxies at the door, not at voting time.

Legal note: the syndic may never act as a co-owner's proxy at the general meeting. If the syndic is a co-owner, they vote for their own unit and nothing more.

The minutes and the four-month challenge window

The syndic drafts the minutes, recording the majorities obtained and the names of those who voted against or abstained. The chair, the secretary and every co-owner still present sign them at the end of the meeting, and the decisions go into the register within thirty days.

A co-owner who suffers personal harm from an irregular, fraudulent or abusive decision can ask the court to annul or amend it. The deadline is four months from the date of the meeting (article 3.92 § 3). After that, even a shaky decision becomes final, so a prudent association waits out the period before committing serious money on the back of a close vote.

In small buildings the minutes are often written by a volunteer syndic, whose accounts the meeting approves by absolute majority; our guide to keeping the co-ownership accounts yourself covers what those accounts must contain. Community management software such as Vecinly sends the notices, works out the quorum in shares from the attendance list and files the minutes in the register.

Before the next notice goes out, add up the shares of the owners who have already confirmed they will attend. If they fall short of half, chase the proxies now rather than on the night.

Updated September 2026. This article is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.