Common co-ownership charges include all expenses incurred by the syndicate of co-owners for the conservation, maintenance and administration of the building, as well as for the operation of collective services and common facilities.
The timely payment of service charges by co-owners is one of the essential conditions for the proper functioning of any co-ownership (article 10 of law no. 65-557 of 10 July 1965).
This is why, when a co-owner fails to pay his charges on time, the syndic responsible for managing the building is obliged to take legal action against the defaulting owners on his own initiative, without special authorization from the general meeting.
If he fails to do so, he may be held liable.
It is therefore necessary to take action quickly to recover the charges, especially as the ELAN law of 23 November 2018 reduced the limitation period for action to recover charges from ten years to five years.
But what does the procedure for recovering service charges involve?
First, you must send a formal notice to the defaulting co-owner.
Please note that a formal notice to pay sent by post does not interrupt the statute of limitations for the recovery of condominium charges!
If you fail to recover the unpaid sums, you must take the matter to the courts in the place where the building is located.
The aim is to obtain an enforceable legal document, known as a writ of execution.
The lawyers at Cabinet Goldwin will explain how to do this and support you throughout the legal procedure until the decision is actually enforced.
How can a defaulting co-owner be ordered to pay the charges?
If the co-owner does not spontaneously pay the co-ownership charges, the syndicate of co-owners will have no choice but to take the co-owner to court where the building is located.
In support of your summons, in order to demonstrate to the judge that your claim is certain, liquid and due, you will need to provide the following documents:
- the minutes of the general meeting that approved the statements relating to the debt ;
- certificates of non-recourse from the general meetings;
- calls for funds relating to the debt
- reminder letters and formal notices;
- a breakdown of the sums owed by the debtor co-owner since the debt was incurred.
In addition to the co-ownership charges, the lawyers at Cabinet Goldwin will also claim payment of the costs incurred by the syndicate of co-owners in settling the sums.
In fact,article 10-1 of law no. 65-557 of 10 July 1965 states:
” Notwithstanding the provisions of the second paragraph of article 10, only the co-owner concerned is liable for :
The necessary costs incurred by the syndicate, in particular the costs of formal notice, reminders and mortgaging from the date of formal notice, for the recovery of a justified debt against a co-owner, as well as the fees and emoluments of bailiffs and the recovery or collection fee payable by the debtor; (…)”.
Goldwin’s lawyers will draw up and forward the summons with all the necessary documents.
Can the co-owners’ association obtain damages?
It is established case law that compensation may be awarded to the Syndicat des copropriétaires for damage caused by a co-owner who has not paid his charges when due(Cass. Civ3e, 27 November 1990, no. 89-10.501).
Repeated failure by co-owners to fulfil their essential obligation to the Syndicat des copropriétaires to pay their condominium charges, without providing valid reasons to explain their failure to do so, constitutes a fault that causes the community of co-owners, who have been deprived for many years of a substantial sum needed to manage and maintain the building, direct and certain financial loss, distinct from that compensated by interest on arrears(Paris Court of Appeal, 3 May 2007, no. 06/08323).
In a ruling handed down on 8 July 2020, the Versailles Court of Appeal awarded the syndicate of co-owners the sum of €1,500 in damages, noting that:
“As the syndicat des copropriétaires rightly observed, the essential obligation of a co-owner is to pay the co-ownership charges relating to his or her lot regularly and in full. Failure to comply with this obligation is wrongful and causes the syndicate cash-flow difficulties. Examination of the statement of account shows that SCI Porte Blanche’s failure to pay is recurrent, as its account is in debit on an almost permanent basis”. (CA, Versailles,4th chamber,2nd section, 8 July 2020, no. 18/05361)
The lawyers at Cabinet Goldwin will do everything in their power to obtain compensation for the losses suffered by the syndicate of co-owners.
What can be done if the defaulting co-owner fails to pay, despite being convicted?
While it is necessary to obtain a court decision, it is also necessary to enforce the sentence in order to obtain the actual payment of co-ownership charges.
Once you have obtained a court order, you can use a bailiff to carry out the following enforcement measures:
- seizure of rents, if the property is rented, or of bank accounts;
- seizure of work-related remuneration
- seizure for sale of the debtor’s furniture, if he personally occupies his lot;
- seizure of partners’ rights or securities;
- seizure of property leading to the forced sale of the lot.
It must be specific and may not be given in advance and by a decision in principle against all co-owners who have not paid their charges following judgments against them.
Specific measures have therefore been put in place for co-ownerships: registration of a legal mortgage in favour of the syndicate, the movable lien and the special real estate lien in the event of the sale of the debtor lot.
The lawyers at Cabinet Goldwin are here to advise you on the measures to be implemented and to assist you until the co-ownership charges have been effectively recovered.
