Voting in an OSBB: how votes are counted and what a written survey is
Author: Svitlo-Lux editorial team. Published , updated . Review (legal): approved (Project owner).
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People understand quorum in OSBB (condominium association) voting differently, so it is important to read the law literally. In the text we reviewed, a decision depends on the share of the votes of all co-owners, not only of those present at the meeting. Below are the counting rules and the role of the written survey.
How many votes a co-owner has
Voting is by name. Each co-owner has a number of votes proportional to the share that the area of their apartment or non-residential premises represents in the total area of all apartments and premises of the building. If premises are in shared partial ownership, the area of each owner is determined by their share; in shared joint ownership, the co-owners are considered owners of equal shares.
There is an exception: if one person owns premises whose total area exceeds half of the area of all apartments and premises of the building, each co-owner has one vote regardless of area. The charter may set a different procedure for determining the number of votes than the one provided by these rules.
| Indicator | Value in the example |
|---|---|
| Total area of all apartments and premises | 10,000 m² |
| Apartment of co-owner A | 50 m² (0.5% of votes) |
| Apartment of co-owner B | 100 m² (1% of votes) |
| Votes “for” needed under the basic rule | more than 5,000 m², i.e. over 50% of the area |
What majority is needed
General rule: a decision is adopted if it is voted for by co-owners who together hold more than half of the total number of votes of all co-owners. The law allows a higher number of votes to be set for certain issues, but prohibits the charter from setting a threshold below 50% or above 75% (and, for electing governing bodies, changing the form of management, setting and changing the amount of contributions and approving the cost estimate, no higher than 67%), unless the law provides otherwise.
For a decision to disconnect the building from centralized utility networks, the law separately requires more than 75% of votes. A backup power project is not a disconnection in itself, but if the project changes how the building is supplied, ask a lawyer which provision applies.
Written survey if there were not enough votes
If the meeting did not collect the required number of votes “for” or “against”, a written survey is held among the co-owners who did not vote at the meeting. Under the procedure referred to by Article 10, the survey lasts no longer than 45 calendar days from the day of the meeting. If the required number of “for” votes is not reached in that time, the decision is considered not adopted. The survey is called by the board, which creates a commission to conduct it.
- Count at the meeting. Add up the votes “for” and “against” as a percentage of the votes of all co-owners.
- Decision on the survey. If the threshold is not reached, the board calls the survey and forms a commission.
- Survey sheets. The co-owner fills in the sheet and signs it by hand or with a qualified electronic signature, indicating “for” or “against”.
- Result. Add the survey votes to the meeting votes and record the result in the minutes.
Rules for fair voting
- a co-owner votes only once on each item;
- coercing anyone to vote or paying for a vote is prohibited;
- a representative votes under a power of attorney in accordance with civil law;
- paper survey sheets are numbered, bound with string and kept by the board or another authorized person;
- electronic sheets are kept in a format that allows their integrity to be verified.
Counting in practice
It is convenient to keep the count in a table: one row per co-owner, separate columns for area, share of the total area, and marks “for”, “against” or “did not vote”. The total is expressed as a percentage of the area of the whole building, not of the area of those present.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Apartment in shared partial ownership | Count each owner’s vote by their share, not by the whole apartment |
| Apartment in shared joint ownership | Treat the co-owners as owners of equal shares |
| A representative votes | Add the document confirming their authority to the register |
| Electronic survey sheet | Check that the signature is qualified and the file is stored in a way that allows its integrity to be verified |
| One owner holds over half of the area | Apply the rule of one vote per co-owner; confirm with a lawyer |
For the counting commission
- compile the areas from cadastral and technical documents;
- mark who voted in person and who voted remotely;
- compare the result with the threshold from the charter;
- if the threshold is not reached, record the survey start date;
- have all commission members sign the final statement.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a quorum of those present needed for an OSBB meeting decision?
- In the text of the law we reviewed, the criterion is the share of the votes of all co-owners, not the share of those present. Whether your OSBB charter requires additional conditions, confirm with a lawyer.
- What should we do if the meeting did not collect enough votes?
- The board calls a written survey among the co-owners who did not vote, within the period set by law. The meeting votes and the survey votes are added together, and the result is recorded in the minutes.
Next steps
Sources
- Law of Ukraine “On Associations of Co-owners of a Multi-apartment Building” (No. 2866-III, current version), Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (official source), accessed
- Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Simplification of Management of Multi-apartment Buildings” (No. 3270-IX), Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (official source), accessed
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