The government is withdrawing from the controversial idea. It’s about the cooperative’s money

The Ministry of Development and Technology abandons the controversial proposal regarding housing cooperatives. The idea was for the supervisory board to decide on the highest amount of liabilities that the cooperative could incur. After criticism, the ministry withdraws this solution.

This means that the key financial decision is still to rest with the general meeting of members. This information was provided by Deputy Minister of Development and Technology Tomasz Lewandowski during a meeting of the Parliamentary Infrastructure Committee.

The supervisory board will not take over this competence

A controversial provision was included in the draft Act on Housing Cooperatives and the Cooperative Law. It assumed that resolutions regarding the maximum debt of the cooperative would be the exclusive competence of the supervisory board, unless the statute provided for a different solution.

The justification was to improve decision-making. Currently, however, it is the general meeting that determines the maximum amount of liabilities that the cooperative can incur. After the change, several or a dozen people from the supervisory board could decide on matters relating to multi-million assets.

Cooperative members warned against limiting residents’ rights

The ministry’s decision is positively assessed by representatives of cooperative circles. Andrzej Cieślikowski, president of the Solidarity Cooperatives Association, points out that delegating this competence to the supervisory board would mean limiting the rights of members.

Renata Zybertowicz, chairwoman of the board of the “Niezależni Na Skarpie” Association in Toruń, has a similar opinion. In her opinion, members should decide about the cooperative’s assets because they are its owners. He warns that delegating such decisions to supervisory boards could pose serious risks.

However, low attendance at general meetings remains a problem. Zybertowicz points out that sometimes very important matters are decided by a small group of people present, often favorable to the management board. Therefore, he proposes the introduction of a quorum, e.g. at the level of 30%. all members of the cooperative.

Experts talk about cooperative democracy

The Audit Association of Housing Cooperatives of the Republic of Poland was also critical of the original idea. He pointed out that transferring the decision on the maximum debt to the supervisory board would undermine the members’ direct influence on the most important financial matters.

Legal advisor prof. Piotr Pałka believes that it is the cooperative members who should decide which body should make such important decisions. In his opinion, the current solution is consistent with the principles of cooperative democracy and allows the statute to be adapted to the specificity of a specific cooperative.

The expert also warns that the change could cause conflicts and suspicions towards supervisory boards of excessive debt of the cooperative. For years, members have been accustomed to the fact that decisions about the highest amount of liabilities are made at the general meeting.

The dispute over cooperatives is not over yet

The withdrawal of the controversial provision does not end the debate on the future of housing cooperatives. The problem of low member activity, large structures and the real influence of residents on management decisions still returns.

The ministry withdrew from one of the most criticized proposals, but the proposed changes still arouse emotions. For cooperative members, it is crucial that the regulations strengthen members’ control over property and do not transfer the most important decisions to narrower bodies.