Nobody comes to the meeting: quorums, second call and how to lift attendance

You send the notice carefully, you prepare the accounts… and three people turn up. Relax: the law has it covered, and attendance can be worked on.

The legal quorum

• First call: a majority of owners representing a majority of shares.
• Second call (normally half an hour later): valid with whoever is there, with no minimum quorum.

That is why every sensible notice already includes the second call ("7 p.m. on first call and 7.30 p.m. on second").

But careful with the majorities

A meeting of three can deliberate, but resolutions requiring three fifths or unanimity still need their majorities of the total (with the mechanism of notified absentees for the three-fifths ones). An empty meeting limits what can genuinely be decided.

Lifting attendance (what works)

• An agenda with substance: "approve the facade levy: three quotes to compare" fills a room better than "any other business".
• A realistic time (7.30–8.30 p.m. midweek beats Saturday morning).
• An announced duration, honoured: "a 45-minute meeting" — people do not flee meetings, they flee endless meetings.
• A video call as an option for non-resident owners.
• Easy proxy voting: a form with the notice.

The underlying signal

Chronically dismal attendance usually means "I hear nothing between one meeting and the next". A community that is informed all year turns up when it matters.