The government backed down after criticism. This concerns the cooperative’s liabilities worth millions

The Ministry of Development and Technology has abandoned one of the most criticized provisions of the upcoming amendment to the regulations on housing cooperatives. This concerns the rules for making decisions regarding the maximum amount of liabilities that the cooperative may incur.

The original proposal envisaged transferring this power from the general meeting of members to the supervisory board. The exception would be situations in which the cooperative’s statute would specify a different solution.

The general meeting will retain its powers

After critical comments submitted by representatives of the cooperative community, the ministry changed its position. The maximum amount of liabilities is still to be decided by the general meeting of members.

Information about the withdrawal of the proposal was provided by Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Tomasz Lewandowski during a meeting of the Parliamentary Infrastructure Committee. This means that key decisions regarding debt and finances will remain in the hands of residents associated in the cooperative.

The cooperative members opposed the changes

Cooperative organizations argued that delegating decisions to supervisory boards would limit members’ influence on the management of common property. They pointed out that residents are the owners of the cooperative’s assets, therefore they should retain the right to decide on multi-million liabilities.

Critics also warned that the new solution could lead to conflicts and weaken the principles of cooperative democracy. In their opinion, such important decisions should not be made by a small group of people.

Meeting attendance continues to be a problem

However, withdrawing the controversial proposal does not solve all the difficulties. Representatives of the cooperative draw attention to the low attendance at general meetings.

It happens that key financial matters are decided by a small group of members. As a result, resolutions regarding the entire property of the cooperative may be adopted with the participation of only some of the eligible residents.

The idea of ​​a minimum quorum came up

One of the solutions being considered is the introduction of a minimum quorum. It would increase the representativeness of general meetings and limit situations in which important obligations are decided by a small number of participants.

However, it has not been decided yet whether such a requirement will be included in the regulations. Cooperative groups emphasize that the problem of residents’ participation in meetings still needs to be solved.

Work on the amendment will continue

The abandonment of one controversial provision does not mean the end of work on the act. The project regarding the functioning of housing cooperatives is still being processed and arouses the interest of both management boards and residents.

The ministry announces further clarification of the regulations. After the change in position, the most important decisions regarding the maximum debt of the cooperative will remain the responsibility of the general meetings of members.