After the reappointment of an administrator of a condominium owners' association (WEG), the latter sent out an invitation to the next owners' meeting for September 25, 2015 on September 4, 2015. The community rules included a note that the invitation should be sent to the address that the owners last gave their administrator. Some owners challenged the resolution to reappoint the administrator. They argued that there was a lack of convocation and claimed that the invitation had not reached several owners at all or not in good time (AZ ZR 196/19).
The point at issue was whether, when sending out invitations to the owners' meeting, the date of dispatch was sufficient or whether the deadline referred to the receipt of the invitation. The defendant condominium owners regard the dispatch of the invitation as proper, since in their view the date of dispatch must be taken into account. It is true that the Local Court and the Regional Court agree with the plaintiffs. However, the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) overturns the ruling of the local and regional court. According to the BGH, the "date of dispatch" regulation is widespread and the agreement in the community rules is effective. This means that the date of dispatch of the invitation is sufficient for a proper convocation. This applies both to owners who have given their current address and to those who have moved.
Note: The German Condominium Act (WEGesetz) has been in force since December 1, 2020. One of the changes concerns the invitation period for owners' meetings. This has been extended from two to three weeks. The current WEG Act even goes one step further: When inviting to the owners' meeting, it is only a matter of an invitation in text form. This would therefore also be proper if the invitation was sent by e-mail. Owners should therefore make sure to leave a valid e-mail address with the administrator and check the incoming mail.
Source: WiE
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