The works fund and the multi-year plan: the timetable of votes and the one exemption

Fund at ten years, plan at fifteen

The article on co-ownership charges, published in August, set out the floor for contributions. This one goes upstream: the plan that sets that floor, and what the law allows to be done with the fund once it exists.

The two obligations do not start at the same age. The works fund is set up ten years after acceptance of the building's construction works, for every building used wholly or partly for housing. The draft multi-year works plan becomes mandatory fifteen years after that same acceptance, and the plan is then updated every ten years.

Article 171 of law no. 2021-1104 of 22 August 2021 phased in the plan by size: 1 January 2023 for co-ownerships of more than 200 lots used as housing, offices or shops, 1 January 2024 between 51 and 200 lots, 1 January 2025 for those of 50 lots or fewer. Since that last date, every co-ownership concerned is within scope.

A Belle Époque building passed these age thresholds long ago. It is concerned; what remains to be checked is whether the draft has been drawn up, then presented to the meeting and, if so, adopted.

From draft plan to adopted plan

The draft multi-year plan is based on an analysis of the structure and equipment, on the energy performance certificate and, where one exists, on the comprehensive technical survey. It contains four elements: the list of works needed to safeguard the building, protect the health and safety of occupants, save energy and cut emissions; an estimate of the energy performance those works would achieve; a rough estimate of their cost and their ranking; and a schedule for those that appear necessary within ten years.

It is entrusted to a person whose skills are set by decree no. 2022-663 of 25 April 2022: traditional and contemporary building methods, building pathologies, energy performance, backed by a degree, title or certification. That person attests to impartiality and independence from the syndic, energy suppliers and firms working on the building, and may neither grant nor receive any advantage.

The vote happens in two stages. The meeting first decides how the draft will be prepared, and therefore who will prepare it, by the article 24 majority. The draft is then presented to the first meeting after it is completed, which adopts it in whole or in part by the article 25 majority, amends it or rejects it. Only preparation and presentation are compulsory; adoption is not.

A rejection does not close the matter. As long as the draft has not been adopted, or its schedule remains uncertain, the syndic must put it on the agenda of every meeting that approves the accounts. Once adopted, the plan is not a vote on the works: each is voted in its turn, with its financing and the syndic's fees. The plan, or failing that the draft, is handed to the buyer of a lot, and its works go into the maintenance log.

The comprehensive technical survey, and the only exemption from the plan

The comprehensive technical survey assesses the building's condition: visible state of common parts and equipment, position with regard to legal obligations, possible improvements to technical management, energy performance, and a rough estimate of the cost of works, in particular those of the next ten years.

In an existing co-ownership it remains optional, whatever the building's age. The meeting decides to commission it, and on what terms, by the article 24 majority. It is only compulsory when a building more than ten years old is first divided into co-ownership, or when the mayor or prefect requires it in the face of defects.

Yet it is the survey that opens the only exemption. If it shows no need for works in the ten years following its preparation, the syndicate is exempt from drawing up a draft multi-year plan. On an older building facing the sea the case remains largely theoretical.

Its cost is shared among all co-owners according to their shares, and it cannot be recovered from a tenant. It is included in the maintenance log and passed on to the buyer of a lot.

The works fund: what the contribution pays for, and what it does not

The fund has four uses: preparing the draft plan and, where relevant, the comprehensive technical survey; the works set out in the adopted plan; urgent works the syndic commissions to safeguard the building; and safeguarding, health, safety or energy-saving works not foreseen in the plan. The meeting decides on allocation, taking account of special common parts and the cost-sharing keys in the regulations.

It never pays for routine maintenance, which belongs to the provisional budget. This boundary is the one most often crossed by mistake: an ordinary lift repair paid from the fund drains the reserve meant for replacing the lift.

Because the fund is compulsory, its creation is not voted. The syndic opens a separate interest-bearing bank account in the syndicate's name, without a vote of the meeting, which sets the amount of the contribution each year by the article 25 majority. Interest remains with the syndicate, the council receives copies of statements, and opening the account is included in the syndic's flat fee. The contribution is called on the same dates as the budget provisions.

The floor is the one the charges article recalled: at least 5% of the provisional budget and, when a plan has been adopted, at least 2.5% of the amount of works it provides for. The size of the co-ownership does not exempt it from the fund: service-public states that the obligation applies whatever the number of lots.

The edge cases, from suspending contributions to challenging decisions

Contributions can be suspended, but the law frames when. The meeting rules on suspension when the fund exceeds the provisional budget. When a plan has been adopted, the text of article 14-2-1 published on Légifrance also requires the fund to exceed 50% of the amount of works in that plan.

On a sale, the sums paid remain attached to the lot and become the syndicate's property for good. Service-public points out a little-known nuance: seller and buyer may agree in the deed to refund sums not yet allocated to works, which are then added to the price. The seller has no entitlement to it; the refund is negotiated.

The law does not directly penalise the absence of a fund or a rate below the minimum. A co-owner who voted against or was absent can, however, ask the judicial court to annul the decision that rejects or under-funds it. If the omission comes from the syndic, formal notice by registered letter to put the matter on the agenda comes first, followed if necessary by court action.

The plan is also checked from outside. The mayor, the prefect or the president of the intermunicipal body may request it at any time. Without a reply within a month, or if the plan does not prescribe the works needed for occupants' safety, the authority may draw up or update the draft itself, at the syndicate's expense, and the syndicate must then convene a meeting to rule on it.

On an older seafront building

The multi-year plan is where the facade, the roof, the risers and the lift are phased, instead of being endured one after another. It turns a series of unexpected calls for funds into a contribution known in advance, and it gives the fund an amount that matches the building rather than a minimum percentage. The Gazette article on seafront facade renovation shows what this changes for the heaviest item.

Régie Promenade manages co-ownerships in Nice from its offices at 107 Promenade des Anglais. We prefer to present the meeting with a ranked draft plan, discussed beforehand with the council, rather than a technical document voted by default: an adopted plan only takes effect if later meetings vote the works it provides for.