Annual and extraordinary meetings: differences, deadlines and notice

These are not formalities: calling a meeting badly can invalidate every resolution passed at it.

The annual meeting

At least one a year, compulsory, to approve the accounts and the budget (and usually to renew the officers). The chair calls it, setting out the agenda, place, date and time — and the notice to debtors must warn them that they cannot vote.

The extraordinary meeting

Everything else: works, a conflict, a special levy. The chair can call one whenever they see fit, and must call one if 25% of the owners (or of ownership shares) request it: if the chair refuses, the requesters can call it themselves.

Notice periods

The annual meeting, with whatever notice the by-laws set (a reasonable minimum: 6 days). The extraordinary one, with as much notice as possible — but always in a way that reaches everybody.

The agenda is fixed

You can only vote on what is on the agenda. "Any other business" is for talking, not for deciding. If something important comes up, another meeting is called — cutting corners with a vote taken in the heat of the moment is a guaranteed challenge.

Second call

If there is no quorum at the first call (a majority of owners and of shares), the second — half an hour later, as it is usually set — is valid with whoever is present.