gave Alternative from Water heaters This is an intervention that must be approved.Assembly Condominium with specific resolution. The rules for approval by the condominium (ie a quorum must be respected) depend on whether the work in question is to be considered. Exceptional care or ainnovation. A different majority is necessary according to the category to which they belong, and the effect of this distinction is not insignificant.
gave A court of lawWith a recent order, No. 5663 of March 4, 2024, the second section, explains to us what standards must be adopted to correctly perform the type of work.
Extraordinary maintenance work
The dilemma between exceptional maintenance and innovation often arises when, in the context of a condominium, one is preparing to work on the common areas which means a lot of expense. Including a work in the innovation category has important consequences. Innovations, as we shall see better, find a specific regulation within the Civil Code in Article 1120.
gave Exceptional care Exists if it is necessary to replace an asset included in the common parts. wearing or what doesn’t work Further, with another good that retains the same intended use. We are in the presence of necessary interventions protection o Maintenance of property or its systems, even in the event of damage or the need for structural and safety adjustments, is sometimes associated with unforeseen events.
What makes it possible to distinguish extraordinary maintenance from innovation is not the amount of expenditure, which in both cases is usually burdensome, but the purpose of the intervention, its nature and impact on the building and its common parts.
How to approve exceptional maintenance tasks.
Having established that the boiler replacement is an extraordinary maintenance work, we must focus on the necessary and deliberate quorum to approve the decision regarding the intervention process by the condominium team.
Among the powers which the law recognizes to the condominium assembly is to decide on extraordinary tasks for which the administrator, unless of an urgent nature, cannot independently provide.
Once the meeting has been properly constituted to ensure a sufficient number of condominium owners are present, a deemed quorum must be observed for the validity of the vote. As established by the legislature itself, the act of extraordinary maintenance with the quorum mentioned in the second paragraph of Article 1136 of the Civil Code, or The majority Among those attending the meeting who represent at least half of the value of the building.
What does the court of law say?
In a case examined by the Court of Appeal with a judgment dated March 4, 2024, a condominium owner challenged the resolution approving the renovation of the condominium’s heating plant, because according to him , this was not an extraordinary care but a cumbersome and excessive innovation which, as we shall see, entailed a special discipline in the methods of approving works. After the appeal was rejected at the previous levels of the judgment, the matter came before the Supreme Court of Justice who confirmed that the Court of Appeal judges had upheld it. It could not have been an innovation because in the present case, with only the replacement of the boiler, the creation of a new work, which did not exist before and did not have an innovative and improving effect. Furthermore, the majority referred to in Article 1136 of the Civil Code was widely respected and hence, from this point of view too, no anomaly was recognized.
So we can summarize the characteristics of an extraordinary recovery intervention with the following points:
- Conservative Objective: Interventions aimed at correcting or restoring conditions of safety, performance or functionality.
- Decision-Making Process: Extraordinary maintenance requires approval from the condominium assembly, but usually with a lower majority than innovations.
- Costs and Distribution: Costs are generally distributed to condominiums based on thousandth tables, as these are interventions that relate to the functionality of the entire building.
What are innovations?
At this point, it is important to focus on the information to complement it. innovationsTo indicate the scope of applicability. Given that attribution to one or the other category is not always so immediate, since jurisprudence over time has provided interpretations that are not always unambiguous, a high majority of the Assembly in the case of practical effect innovations. meets the request of
Innovations are the interventions they introduce. new features, They do better o They make common areas more convenient to use and may influence intended uses. The goal is therefore an improvement, not a conservatism: it involves adding services, new spaces or infrastructure to respond to new needs or increase the property’s value and efficiency.
In summary, the characteristics of innovations can be summarized as follows:
- Purpose of improvement: Inventions are intended to improve the building, to provide it with new structures or functions.
- Practical examples: installation of an elevator where none exists, construction of a bicycle parking area, installation of photovoltaic systems, creation of green areas or common recreation areas, installation of infrastructure for charging electric vehicles.
- More complex decision-making process: Innovations require assembly approval with a higher majority than maintenance work.
- Expenses and Apportionment: Generally, expenses are apportioned among the condominiums involved on a thousandth standard basis, with some exceptions that we will focus on.
From what has been said so far, it is abundantly clear that, while exceptional care is directed towards the preservation of the building, innovations, which are not strictly necessary interventions, aim to enhance and transform it. , whose approval is in progress. More votes are required and result in a higher personal cost allocation.
Heavy and luxurious innovations
Given the economic weight that generally characterizes innovations, the Civil Code contemplates the hypothesis in which we are faced with difficulties. Cumbersome innovation Or even Voluntary With respect to special circumstances and the significance of the condominium. If the asset or system in question is susceptible to a separate use, a disinterested condominium owner who does not intend to benefit from it shall be exempt from any contribution to the costs, a condition which constitutes extraordinary maintenance. In cases of never, when the resolution affects all condominiums.
Finally, it is noted that, if separate use is not possible, the innovation will not be allowed, unless the majority of the condominium owners who approve it, intend to bear the costs in full. do
