What majority do I need? Community votes explained

"Can we approve this by majority or do we need unanimity?" is the question asked most often at any meeting. A quick guide, without the jargon.

First: how a vote is counted

In a community it is the homes that vote (one per owner), but the result is weighted twice over: a majority of owners AND a majority of quotas. To approve something by simple majority you need more than half of the owners present voting in favour, and those owners must also represent more than half of the quota present.

Simple majority (more than half)

The day-to-day of the building:

• Approving accounts and the annual budget.
• Conservation and maintenance works (a facade that is falling down is not voted on: it is repaired).
• Changing supplier, hiring the cleaning, levies for necessary works.

Three fifths (3/5 of owners and quotas)

What improves things but is not essential:

• Pool, gym, concierge and other new services.
• Letting common elements (the roof to an antenna, the ground floor to a business).
• Removing existing services.

Unanimity

Only what touches the legal foundations of the building:

• Amending the constituting deed or the participation quotas.
• Changing the by-laws.

Special cases worth knowing

• Accessibility: ramps and lifts for people over 70 or with disabilities can be compulsory even without a majority, provided the annual cost does not exceed 12 ordinary monthly charges.
• Absentees: in 3/5 resolutions, notified absentees who do not object within 30 days count as being in favour.

For anything serious — major works, disputes, challenges — confirm with a professional. This guide orients you; it does not replace legal advice.