What problems may occur with a declaration of co-ownership drafted before 1994?

The new Civil Code of Québec, which entered into force on January 1^st, 1994, provides that the declarations of co-ownership must now be divided into three parts, namely the act constituting the co-ownership, the by-laws of the immovable and the description of the fractions.

Unknown under the old Code, this new division of the text is not without consequences on the management of the co-ownership, since the implementation of the provisions of the declaration of co-ownership in one or other of these parts will determine the type of majority vote that is required at a meeting of co-owners to amend the provisions of the declaration of co-ownership. For example, an amendment to the act constituting the co-ownership in the declaration of co-ownership requires a larger number of votes than a amendment to the by-laws of the immovable.

Since declarations of co-ownership drafted before 1994 are subject to the provisions of the new Civil Code, the transitional rules of law provide that one should do a ranking exercise in one or other of these three parts when the time comes to interpret the provisions of the declaration of co-ownership according to the new Code. One can easily imagine the disputes that may then arise between the co-owners.