What bodies must SVJ have in 2026 and what are they responsible for?

Quick summary

• Every HOA must have an owners’ meeting and a statutory body – a committee or chairman of the HOA.
• The assembly decides on major issues such as the statutes, budget, election of members or major repairs.
• The committee or chairman of the HOA ensures the day-to-day running of the community and acts for the HOA externally.
• The statutes may also establish other bodies, typically an audit committee or an auditor.
• If the HOA does not have a functioning committee or chairperson, it may be necessary to go to court.

Are you dealing with the setting up of bodies, a change in the bylaws or a dispute in the JVU committee? Take advantage of our Affordable Lawyer service for SVJs and BDs – we can help you with the legal setup and the specific problem.

Statutory bodies

According to the law, each community of owners shall compulsorily establish two types of bodies. These are:

• the statutory body – i.e. the committee or chairman of the owners’ association; and
• the assembly of owners.

However, the statutes may go further and establish other bodies – for example, control bodies. It is necessary to determine the number of members, the method of convening and the powers, and also to ensure that they do not have powers that belong by law to the assembly or the statutory body.

The Assembly, its members and its powers

The supreme body of the HOA is the assembly, which consists of all unit owners. Each of them shall have a number of votes corresponding to the size of their share of the common parts of the house and land. Only if the owner of a particular unit is the HOA itself, its vote shall not be taken into account. Where all the units are owned by a single person, the powers of the assembly shall be exercised by that owner.

A quorum for the meeting shall be present if the unit owners holding a majority of all votes are present. The approval of a majority of the votes of the owners present is then required for the adoption of a decision, unless a higher number of votes is required by law or the statutes.

The law provides for the minimum exclusive competence of the assembly, i.e. to decide on the following issues:

(a) amendment of the statutes,

(b) the election and removal of members of elected bodies and the decision on their remuneration,

(c) approval of the budget, the financial statements, the profit and loss account and the report on the management of the owners’ association and the management of the house and the land, as well as the total amount of the contributions for the management of the house and the land for the next period and the decision on the settlement or settlement of unspent contributions,

(d) the approval of the type of services and the method of charging for the services to the units,

(e) deciding

• membership of the owners’ association in a legal entity operating in the housing sector,
• repair or maintenance of the common area or structural alterations to the common area which do not require a change in the declaration, if the costs exceed the amount laid down in the implementing legislation; this shall not apply if the statutes provide otherwise

(f) the granting of prior consent

• for the acquisition, disposal, alienation or encumbrance of immovable property or for any other disposition thereof,
• the acquisition, disposal or encumbrance of movable property the value of which exceeds the amount laid down in the implementing legislation, or any other disposal thereof; this shall not apply unless the statutes provide otherwise,
• when voting on the conclusion of the credit agreement of the JUA, including approval of the amount and terms of the credit,
• the conclusion of an agreement on the creation of a lien on the unit, provided that the unit owner concerned has agreed in writing to the conclusion of the lien agreement,

(g) the designation of the person who is to carry out certain activities of the management of the building and the land, as well as the decision to change that person,

(h) deciding on other matters specified by law, the statutes or matters reserved for decision by the assembly.

Per rollam decision-making

Per rollam decision making can be allowed by the statutes and it is only recommended to have this possibility enshrined in the statutes. This will allow voting in cases where the meeting does not have the required number of owners (votes) or where other circumstances (such as lockdown) arise where a meeting of owners is not possible. If this option is not provided for in the statutes, it is possible for the convener of the meeting to propose a per rollam vote within one month of the date on which an unsuccessful meeting was called (i.e. one where only a small number of owners met).

In the case of a decision outside the meeting (per rollam), the owners shall comment in writing on the draft decision in full. The proposal must always include at least the draft decision and the documents necessary for the consideration of the proposal, as well as an indication of the time limit within which the unit owners are to express their views.

The unit owner must make a statement (including the day, month and year on which the statement was made) and affix his signature to the document containing the full text of the draft decision. The approval of a majority of the votes of all unit owners is required to pass a resolution outside a meeting of the owners’ association, unless the bylaws require a higher number of votes. Subsequently, the statutory body shall notify the unit owners in writing of the outcome of the decision outside the meeting and, where appropriate, add the content of the resolution adopted.

Statutory body

The statutory body is in the vast majority of cases the committee, unless the statutes stipulate that it is the chairman of the owners’ association. The number of committee members is not specified by law; typically there are three-member committees. An odd number of HOA committee members with respect to their vote can certainly be recommended. Theoretically, any person (even a legal person) can be a member of the body , regardless of whether or not they are a member of the HOA. However, the statutory conditions must always be met: a member of the elected body, or a representative of a legal entity, must be fully competent and of good character within the meaning of the regulations on trade business. The statutes may also stipulate that only a member of the community of owners may be a member of the body. Other eligibility requirements and conditions may be added or extended, if necessary.

The statutory body is responsible for everything that the statutes, the law or a decision of a public authority does not entrust to another body. Different members of the committee may also have their respective competences laid down in the statutes. A member of the statutory body shall act on behalf of the owners’ association in all matters.

In some cases, the unit owners decide to appoint a professional chairman of the HOA who is not a member of the association but performs this function on a contractual basis. The external chairperson of the HOA, i.e. an outsider, often brings expertise in property management, accounting and legal matters, which can be particularly beneficial for larger or more complex HOAs. This model is used where owners do not have the capacity or expertise needed to effectively manage the community. Although the professional chairperson takes responsibility for the running of the HOA, owners should carefully consider their selection and the terms of the contract to ensure transparency and protection of their interests.

Election of committee members

The statutory body is elected and dismissed by the assembly. No one else can do so. Appointment as a member of the Committee shall be by election.

If the number of members falls below half, any unit owner may apply to the court for the appointment of the missing members. Court-appointed members shall be appointed for a limited period only, until new members are called in accordance with the procedure laid down in the statutes.

The appointment of a committee may also be sought from the court if the members of the JVU are not interested in participating in the committee (or in the position of the chairman of the JVU). The court then appoints a guardian of the JVU, who is usually one of the lawyers on the list maintained by the court for this purpose. The guardian does not exercise the full function of the statutory body, his main task is, according to the law, to seek the restoration of the proper statutory body.

Obligations of the JAC committee

In addition to the duty to act with due care,the Civil Code imposes other sub-duties on the statutory body, namely:

• keeping a list of owners,
• convene a meeting of the assembly at least once a year,
• provide unit owners with information about the association,
• ensuring the collection of contributions for the management of the building and the land and the advance payments for services connected with the use of the apartment,
• to carry out the billing of services,
• deposit documents on the HOA in the collection of deeds,
• archive the minutes of the meetings of the assembly for the duration of its existence,
• other specific obligations arising from the Civil Code and other special laws for the statutory body in its activities of managing the house and land.

Term of office

The term of office of the members of the statutory body shall be five years, unless the statutes provide otherwise. After (or just before) the expiry of the term of office of the committee, a new committee must be elected.

In practice, we encounter cases where this unfortunately does not happen and new elections are not held. However, this is a time bomb that can damage the JVU. We also recommend that minutes of meetings are carefully prepared and shared with all members.

Inactivity of committee members

What can be done if the SVJ committee fails or refuses to carry out the provisions that are set out in the SVJ bylaws or fails or refuses to carry out the tasks imposed on it at the owners’ meeting and recorded in the minutes of the meeting? Typically, the owners’ rights can be enforced by filing a lawsuit in court. If the community committee’s inaction causes damage, damages may also be sought in court. We always recommend contacting a lawyer in such a situation.

Community association without a committee

We have outlined above how to proceed in the case where the court has not appointed a committee. What about the right to sign deeds in such a case? In such a case, the temporary guardian has this. However, it is not that simple, again the court must intervene. We recommend that such a situation be promptly addressed with a lawyer.

An example from our law practice

Mrs. Konopná contacted us as an owner of an apartment in a smaller condominium where all the committee members had gradually quit and none of the owners wanted to take over. At first glance, it was just an organizational problem, but in reality the HOA had no one to represent it in negotiations with the bank, the building manager or the contractor for the planned roof repairs. At the same time, the lack of a statutory body threatened to bring the normal management of the house to a halt.

We first checked the statutes, the last minutes of the assembly and the status of the registration in the public register. We then prepared a procedure for calling a meeting and drafting a resolution so that the owners could attempt to elect a new body in the standard way. As no candidates could be found even after that, we prepared documents for a court resolution and a proposal for the appointment of a person to temporarily help re-establish the functioning of the JUA.

As a result, communication with the contractors and the bank was unblocked and the JVU was able to continue preparing the necessary repairs to the house.

Other non-compulsory bodies

The most frequently established non-compulsory body is the control body. This can be collective, in which case it will be a control committee. This should be a minimum of three members. The supervisory body may also be single-member. It would then be, for example, an auditor.

The scope and activities of all optional bodies must be specified in the statutes.

Summary

The organs of the HOA are the basis for the functioning of the whole community. Every HOA must have an assembly of owners and a statutory body, i.e. a committee or chairman of the HOA. The assembly decides on the most important issues of the management of the house – approves the statutes, budget, financial statements, elects and dismisses members of the bodies, decides on major repairs, loans or changes in the person managing the house.

The committee or the chairman of the HOA, on the other hand, deals with the day-to-day running of the community. It convenes meetings, maintains the list of owners, ensures the collection of contributions, billing for services, archiving documents and acts externally on behalf of the HOA. The statutes may also establish other bodies, such as an audit committee or an auditor, but their powers must not interfere with the powers of the assembly or the statutory body.

In practice, the most problematic situations tend to arise when the committee does not act, its term of office expires, the owners do not agree on a new election or the SVJ has no one who can legally act for it. In such cases, it is important to quickly check the bylaws, the minutes of the meeting, and the registration status, and prepare a new vote, a change to the bylaws, or a court motion depending on the situation.