Recovery of unpaid condominium fees

Where the trustee finds that a call for funds has not been paid or has been paid partially, he will first send a reminder (simple letter and / or email) to the co-owner concerned. In that letter, he must be reminded that the date of payment of the charges has passed. It may also indicate that, in the absence of payment, a attempt to reach an amicable settlement, then a recovery procedure before the court of law of the location of the building may be engaged.

If the simple reminder does not work, the trustee must send a formal notice to the defaulting co-owner. This is the act by which the trustee formally asks a co-owner to settle his condominium expenses unpaid within a given period, before initiating legal proceedings.

This formal notice shall be sent electronically. It may be sent by electronic registered letter or by any secure electronic process implemented by a service provider guaranteeing the integrity, security and traceability of the shipment.

As an exception, the formal notice may be sent by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, when the co-owner has requested to receive it by post.

The costs of formal notice incurred by the trustee are borne by the defaulting co-owner.

In the event ofunpaid charges less than or equal to €5,000, €the trustee must appeal to a conciliator of justice (free of charge) or at a mediator (paid approach) or at a participatory procedure (paid process with the use of a lawyer) to find a solution.

This remedy is mandatory before appealing to the judge.

If the defaulting co-owner has not reacted to the amicable reminders within the given time or if no amicable agreement to repay the debt could be found, the trustee must bring the matter before the court of the place where the immovable is situated.

To recover the debt of a defaulting co-owner, the trustee may initiate various procedures depending on the amount of unpaid expenses and the financial situation of the co-ownership. The amount of the dispute and the strategy of the cases may require the support of a lawyer.

The trustee may thus choose to implement:

• An order for payment
• A traditional recovery procedure, allowing to obtain the settlement of all charges due on the day of theassignment or the hearing of pleadings
• A special procedure known as accelerated on the merits, allowing the settlement of thebacklog of expenses and all provisions for the year that have become due (including future provisions).

The defaulting co-owner may also be ordered to pay damages and interest if it has caused prejudice to the syndicate of co-owners. This damage must be different from the mere delay. This is the case, for example, of the inability to carry out necessary work or of a persistent cash deficit.

All receivable of syndicate of co-owners against the defaulting co-owner is guaranteed by a mortgage legal which allows the condominium to benefit from a preferential right (to be paid in priority) in the event of an amicable sale or foreclosure of the property. condominium lot.

The trustee may register this mortgage for the benefit of the syndicate without prior authorization from the general meeting of co-owners. Registration is made when the defaulting co-owner has not paid his expenses after the formal notice. The trustee may also accept the release and, if the debt is paid in full, ask for its cancelation.

In addition, the syndicate of co-owners has a special legal mortgage on the lot of the debtor co-owner. This guarantee allows the syndicate to ensure the payment of its claim, especially in the event of sale of the lot.

Finally, when the debtor co-owner sells his lot, the trustee can form a objection to the sale price in the hands of the notary. This opposition allows to block all or part of the sale price in order to obtain the settlement of the sums due to the syndicate before the seller receives the balance.

The trustee may also resort to a measure of preservation to seize the furniture of the defaulting co-owner.