A general meeting is often decided by those who are not there. Understanding how your votes are counted, and how to make them count when you cannot attend, changes the outcome.
How many votes your unit carries
Each co-owner has a number of votes corresponding to their share in the common parts (article 19 of the Law). Those shares are set out in the état descriptif de division (the schedule of division of the building), usually expressed in thousandths.
There is a safeguard against the majority co-owner: where a co-owner holds a share of the common parts greater than one half, the number of votes available to them is reduced to the total of the votes of the other co-owners. They cannot, therefore, impose their decisions single-handedly.
Another useful rule: where the règlement de copropriété (the condominium regulations) places the cost of maintaining part of the building, or of maintaining and operating an item of equipment, on certain co-owners only, those co-owners alone take part in the vote on decisions concerning that expenditure, each with a number of votes proportionate to their contribution (article 19).
The proxy
The provision is short and broad: “Any co-owner may delegate their right to vote to a proxy” (article 19). A proxy is a mandate within the meaning of the Civil Code. In practice it must be in writing, clear, dated and signed, and handed to the syndic (the managing agent) before or at the start of the meeting — the attendance sheet records the proxy holder’s name and the number of votes they hold (article 7 of the Grand Ducal Regulation).
The Law places no restriction on who may be appointed: another co-owner, a relative, a third party, or even the syndic. Your own condominium regulations may impose restrictions, however, and they need checking: they are what will settle the point in your building. Avoid, too, entrusting your vote to anyone with a conflict of interests on the items listed on the agenda.
A proxy may be general (your proxy holder votes as they see fit) or accompanied by instructions, resolution by resolution. Once you have received the agenda and the supporting papers, the second is almost always preferable: your position is on record, and your proxy holder is protected.
Is there a quorum?
Luxembourg law does not make the holding of the meeting conditional on an attendance quorum. The meeting deliberates validly provided all the co-owners have been duly given notice (article 15) and the items are properly listed on the agenda. There is therefore no “second notice for want of a quorum” as there is in some other systems.
The consequence matters: your absence does not block the meeting, it simply deprives you of your voice. And for every decision falling under the absolute majority — including appointing or removing the syndic, authorising private works on the common parts, and energy renovation — the majority is calculated on the votes of all the co-owners. In practice, therefore, an absence without a proxy weighs much the same as a vote against.
If you were absent and you disagree
A co-owner who was absent and unrepresented retains, like one who voted against, the right to challenge a decision of the meeting — but within two months of notification of the minutes, failing which the right is lost (article 34). That window is short: read the minutes as soon as they arrive.
Unsure whether a proxy was valid, or how the votes were counted in your building? Send us the minutes and the attendance sheet: we will check them with you.
General information on Luxembourg condominium law (the amended Law of 16 May 1975 and the Grand Ducal Regulation of 13 June 1975, in their consolidated version applicable as at 1 August 2023). Your own règlement de copropriété may lay down specific rules, which prevail within the limits set by the law. This content is not legal advice.