The condominium syndic in Mauritius: guide to the Mauritian Civil Code (art. 664 et seq.)

With the rise of IRS, RES and PDS residences in Grand Baie, Tamarin, Flic-en-Flac and Moka, more and more Mauritian buildings operate as condominiums. Understanding the syndic's legal framework is essential for owners and for the developers delivering these residences.

The condominium regime: which buildings are concerned?

Article 664-1 of the Mauritian Civil Code applies to any built or to-be-built property whose ownership is divided among several people by units, each unit comprising a private part and a share of the common parts. The regime applies from the first transfer of ownership of a unit (Art. 664-2): for buildings under construction, the developer keeps its powers as project owner until the first unit is delivered.

The owners' association: automatic legal personality

As soon as a building falls under this regime, the community of owners is constituted by operation of law as a syndicat des copropriétaires (owners' association), with legal personality and its own assets (Art. 664-17). A Mauritian peculiarity: this association is expressly outside the Registration of Associations Act, the Companies Act and the Business Registration Act — it is governed solely by the Civil Code.

Three governing bodies

Under Article 664-21, the association's decisions are taken at a general meeting, their execution being entrusted to a syndic, possibly assisted by a syndical council:

• The general meeting (Arts. 664-22 to 664-43): brings together all owners at least once a year to approve the accounts and forecast budget.
• The syndic (Arts. 664-44 to 664-55): legal representative of the association, it carries out the meeting's decisions and runs the building day to day.
• The syndical council (Arts. 664-56 to 664-62): a supervisory body with no decision-making power of its own, it assists and monitors the syndic's management. The meeting may decide, by the majority of article 664-35, not to set one up.

Obligations of the professional syndic

The syndic may be an individual or a company, professional or volunteer (Art. 664-44). A non-professional syndic must be an owner of a unit in the building it manages. For professional syndics, the 2018 reform introduced strict safeguards: under Article 664-45, a professional syndic must, on pain of nullity of its mandate, be insured for its duties and hold a guarantee covering the funds it handles. Its appointment must also be preceded by a competitive tender, again on pain of nullity.

The syndic's mandate, voted by the absolute majority of Article 664-35, may not exceed three years and cannot be tacitly renewed (Art. 664-46). Article 664-52 sets out its duties: enforcing the co-ownership regulations, administering the building, opening a bank account in the association's name, keeping the accounts, informing owners and representing the association in court and in all civil acts.

Voting majorities at the general meeting

The Mauritian Civil Code distinguishes several majority thresholds, in the image of the French law that inspired it:

• Simple majority (Art. 664-34): of the votes of owners present or represented — the default rule.
• Absolute majority (Art. 664-35): of all owners, notably required to appoint or dismiss the syndic and the members of the syndical council.
• Two-thirds majority (Art. 664-37): for acts of acquisition or disposal of real estate and for drawing up or amending the co-ownership regulations.
• Unanimity (Art. 664-38): for changing the use of the building or disposing of common parts necessary to its purpose.

To prevent abusive takeovers, Article 664-32 caps powers: an owner 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. Owners in arrears for more than a year also have their voting rights suspended until the debt is settled.

Provident fund and financial management

The forecast budget is voted each year by the general meeting (Arts. 664-74 and 664-75), owners paying quarterly advances equal to a quarter of the budget. A key point of the 2018 reform: Article 664-76 requires a provident fund whose annual amount may not be below 5% of the condominium's budget — the Mauritian equivalent of the works fund introduced in France by the ALUR law.

Distressed condominiums: safeguard mechanisms

The Code provides a graduated set of measures when a condominium faces financial difficulties:

• Ad hoc agent (Art. 664-104): compulsory once arrears reach 25% of sums due.
• Interim administrator (Art. 664-106): appointed by the Judge in Chambers when the association's financial balance is seriously compromised.
• Judicial divestment (Arts. 664-109 and 664-110): as a last resort, the association may be placed under the permanent trusteeship of a judicial administrator, with possible expropriation if no recovery is conceivable.

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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.