Condominium general meetings in Mauritius: a practical guide

The general meeting (GM) is the sovereign body of the owners' association: it votes the budget, appoints the syndic and decides on works. Here is how it works in practice, article by article of the Mauritian Civil Code.

Who calls it, and when?

The GM comprises all owners (Art. 664-22) and must meet at least once a year to approve the accounts of the past year and the forecast budget. It is called by the syndic (Art. 664-23). If the association has no syndic, the notice may be given by the chair of the syndical council, by any owner, or — failing that — by an interim administrator appointed by the Judge in Chambers.

Calling the meeting is a right when requested of the syndic by the chair of the syndical council, or by one or more owners representing at least a quarter of the association's votes (Art. 664-24). If the syndic defaults — a formal notice left unanswered for more than eight days — the chair of the syndical council, or failing that any owner, may call the meeting directly.

The agenda and documents to receive

Before the notice is sent, any owner may ask for a question to be added to the agenda (Art. 664-25). The notice itself must state the place, time, agenda and draft resolutions, and must be received at least 15 days before the meeting — it may be sent electronically if the co-ownership regulations allow (Art. 664-26).

Under Article 664-27, depending on its purpose it must also be accompanied by the accounts of the past year, the forecast budget, any proposed amendment of the co-ownership regulations and a note on proposed works or contracts. The GM may validly deliberate only on questions placed on the agenda and notified under these conditions (Art. 664-29).

How the meeting runs

An attendance sheet is kept at each meeting, stating the name, address and number of votes of each owner present or represented (Art. 664-30). At the start of the session the meeting appoints a chair and a secretary (Art. 664-31). At the end, minutes setting out the text of each resolution, the voting result and the names of opponents, absentees and abstainers are drawn up and signed (Art. 664-41).

Counting votes: caps and proxies

Each owner has, in principle, a number of votes proportional to their ownership shares. But Article 664-32 provides an anti-abuse mechanism: if one owner alone holds half or more of the association's votes, their votes are reduced to the sum of those of the other owners present or represented. An owner may be represented by another owner holding a special proxy (which may be delivered electronically), but may not hold more than three proxies, and the total of their own votes and proxies may not exceed 20% of the association's votes. The syndic and close relations (spouse, ascendants, descendants, employees) may hold no voting proxy, and transferring voting rights between owners is forbidden. Finally, owners in arrears for more than a year have their voting rights suspended until the debt is cleared.

Which majority for which decision?

Depending on the subject of the resolution, the GM decides by simple majority (Art. 664-34), by absolute majority of all owners (Art. 664-35 — appointing the syndic, improvement works…), by two-thirds majority (Art. 664-37 — acquisition/disposal, amending the regulations) or by unanimity (Art. 664-38 — changing the building's use). We detail these thresholds in our guide to syndic regulation in Mauritius.

Challenging a meeting decision

An owner who opposed a decision, or was absent when it was voted, has two months from notification of the decision to challenge it in court, on pain of forfeiture (Arts. 664-42 and 664-114). This notification, made at the syndic's initiative, must state this deadline.

Informational article, English version of our French article on the Mauritian Civil Code (articles 664 et seq.). Quotations of the law are our translation. Not legal advice.