Co-ownership rules in France: content and majorities

What the co-ownership rules contain

Article 8 of the Act of 10 July 1965 sets the framework: a “contractual set of co-ownership rules, whether or not it includes the état descriptif de division, determines the intended use of both the private and the common parts”, as well as the conditions for enjoying them and the rules for administering the common parts. The same article sets a limit: it “may not impose any restriction on the rights of co-owners other than those justified by the intended use of the building”.

Service-public.gouv.fr (F2589) details its usual content:

• the designation of the private and common parts, and, where there are any, of special common parts and of common parts with exclusive use (balcony, garden);
• the intended use (destination) of the lots (residential, commercial, cellar, garage) or of the whole building;
• house rules: use of the bicycle store, hours for building work, a ban on hanging washing out of windows;
• how administration is organised: assemblée générale (owners’ general meeting), syndic (building manager), conseil syndical (owners’ committee);
• the sharing of charges and the method for calculating each owner’s share.

Article 10 of the Act requires the rules to state “the share attached to each lot in each category of charges” and to specify “the factors taken into account and the method of calculation”. Article 6-4 adds that special common parts and common parts with exclusive use exist only if the rules expressly mention them.

Since 21 November 2024, rules that are drawn up must state explicitly whether letting as a meublé de tourisme (furnished holiday let) is authorised or prohibited (F2589).

The division schedule

The rules are supplemented by an état descriptif de division (EDD, division schedule), which identifies each lot by a number and lists them. It can be built into the rules or appended to them (F2589). The EDD is where the tantièmes appear: the share of the common parts attached to each lot, expressed in thousandths or ten-thousandths (service-public.gouv.fr, F35451). These tantièmes determine how many votes each owner has at the general meeting.

These ownership tantièmes must not be confused with charge tantièmes, which set each lot’s share of the expenses (F35451). Any change to the sharing of charges requires an amending deed to the EDD drafted and registered by the notaire (notary) (F2590).

Amending the rules: which majority?

A decision of the general meeting is always required (F2589). The majority depends on the subject:

Article 24, II, f covers “adaptations of the co-ownership rules made necessary by legislative and regulatory changes since they were drawn up”, registered “at the fixed duty”. The syndic must put this bringing into line on the agenda (F2589).

For charges, article 11 allows exceptions to unanimity: where works or acts that have been voted make the change necessary, it is voted by the same majority. Where a lot is divided, the sharing between the resulting parts is approved by the article 24 majority. Service-public.gouv.fr adds that a new sharing of charges linked to a change in the use of a private part is voted by the article 25 majority (F2589).

Lastly, article 26 prohibits the general meeting from imposing on a co-owner a change to the intended use of their private parts, “by whatever majority”.

Enforceability: who is bound by the rules?

The rules have contractual force: they bind co-owners and their tenants, and anyone can demand that they be observed (F2589). As regards buyers, article 13 of the Act is clear: the rules and their amendments can be enforced against successors in title “only from the date of their publication in the land register”.

Article 4 of the decree (décret) of 17 March 1967 provides a second route. The deed of sale must state that the buyer has been made aware of the rules and their amendments. If it records that the buyer was aware of them and accepted them, these documents bind the buyer even if they have not been registered.

The règlement intérieur (internal house rules), by contrast, is not compulsory: the syndic draws it up and the general meeting approves it by the article 24 majority. It is enforceable only if it repeats a clause of the co-ownership rules (F33877).

Challenging a clause or the sharing of charges

A clause sharing charges can be revised by the courts if a co-owner’s share exceeds the share that should fall to them by more than a quarter, or if another owner’s share is lower by more than a quarter (Act, art. 12). The action is open for five years after the rules are registered and, for a given lot, up to two years after its first sale since that registration (F2590). An action for annulment of a sharing that is contrary to the law, on the other hand, is not subject to any time limit (F2590).

Which professional to consult

The notaire (notary) drafts the rules and their amendments and registers them in the land register. For any new allocation of tantièmes, service-public.gouv.fr names the géomètre-expert (chartered surveyor) or the notary to draw up the proposal (F35451). When buying, the agent immobilier (estate agent) can help you spot clauses that affect your plans. See also our guides on charges de copropriété (service charges) and the assemblée générale (owners’ general meeting).