Waiting for the next general meeting is not always possible. The Law recognises this, but it confines the exception strictly: it is aimed at safeguarding the building, and it requires the matter to come straight back before the co-owners.
The provision
Independently of the powers otherwise conferred on it, the syndic (the managing agent) is responsible for “administering the building, providing for its upkeep, security and maintenance and, in an emergency, arranging on its own initiative for all works necessary to safeguard it” (article 21 of the Law).
What must follow, without delay
The exception is not a blank cheque. “Where, in an emergency, the syndic arranges on its own initiative for works necessary to safeguard the building, it shall inform the co-owners and immediately convene a general meeting” (article 27 of the Grand Ducal Regulation). The meeting therefore remains sovereign: it is seised of the matter after the event, but it is seised of it.
Paying for the intervention
By way of exception to the ordinary rules on advances, the syndic may, in order to open the site and make the first supply of materials, request — without any prior deliberation of the general meeting but after seeking the opinion of the conseil syndical (the co-owners’ supervisory board), if one exists — payment of an advance which may not exceed one third of the estimated cost of the works (article 27 of the Grand Ducal Regulation). Beyond that one third, and for the remainder of the works, the meeting must decide.
What typically counts as an emergency
The concept is assessed case by case, in the light of safeguarding the building and the safety of its occupants. The following usually fall within it:
- a burst pipe or water damage still in progress;
- active water ingress through the roof;
- a heating or boiler breakdown in cold weather;
- a lift breakdown or entrapment;
- a power failure in the common parts;
- making the premises secure, or a locksmith call-out after a break-in or an incident;
- clearing a blockage in common drainage, or a garage door failure blocking access.
What does not
A long-standing and known defect, cosmetic improvement, a replacement that can be scheduled, or compliance work with a distant deadline: these go through the general meeting, however desirable they may be. Having something funded as an emergency when it could have been voted on is precisely what a supervisory board is there to watch for.
In the event of a gas leak, a fire, an electrical hazard or a collapse, call the emergency services before doing anything else. Reporting it to the syndic comes afterwards. We quote no response times on this site: on-call arrangements and breakdown contracts depend on each condominium and on its own contractors.
If the syndic does nothing
The Law provides a remedy. Where the syndic is prevented from acting, or fails to carry out its duties, and in the absence of any provision in the règlement de copropriété (the condominium regulations), any interested party may — after a formal demand served on the syndic has gone unanswered for fifteen days — apply to the president of the district court to entrust all or part of those duties, for a fixed period, either to a member of the conseil syndical or to a provisional administrator. The president decides as in summary proceedings (article 22).
And if the source is in your own unit
The syndic does not intervene in the private parts. A problem originating in your unit is for you and your insurer. Report it immediately all the same: a pipe passing through private premises is in principle a common part (article 3), and that classification changes everything.
Reporting a situation to us
For a call-out to be quick, the report needs to be precise: building, unit, floor, the nature of the problem, the time you noticed it, photographs, and your direct contact details. Use the reporting form on this site, or call the office during business hours.
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.