Voting with co-ownership of a unit
§ 14 sec. 4 of Act No. 182/1993 Coll.:
"Co-owners of a flat or a non-residential premises in the building have one vote together."
When a unit is owned by several people (spouses, siblings, parents with children…), the law is clear: one unit — one vote. The question is: how is this single vote formed when the co-owners do not vote uniformly?
OpenResi solves this problem automatically, following the rules defined by law and by specification BYT-20260511-001 Multi-owner vote resolution.
How it works step by step
1. Each co-owner votes independently
In the app each co-owner opens the vote detail and sees their own FOR / AGAINST / ABSTAIN buttons. They vote independently and may vote differently.
2. OpenResi gathers votes in a unit "mini-vote"
After the overall vote is closed (or continuously in previews), the system:
- Groups all votes belonging to a single unit
- For each choice (FOR, AGAINST, ABSTAIN) sums the shares of the co-owners who chose it
- Declares the choice with the largest sum of shares as the unit's result
3. The unit's result is then used in the overall vote
For the HOA as a whole only one vote per unit applies, with a weight equal to the ownership share (e.g. 1/96 of the building).
Tie rule: "TIE → ABSTAIN"
If the two strongest results within a unit are exactly equal, the unit abstains. For example:
Unit 12 is owned by spouses 50/50. The husband voted FOR, the wife AGAINST. Sums: FOR = 1/2, AGAINST = 1/2 — tie. Unit result: ABSTAIN
This rule matches the interpretation of the law — when opinions are evenly represented, the unit's vote cannot be assigned unambiguously.
"Only cast votes count" rule
If some co-owners do not vote at all, their share is not added to either side. The unit's vote is formed only from what was actually cast.
Unit 27 is owned by 5 people with shares 1/2, 1/6, 1/12, 1/6, 1/12. Only three voted: (1/2 FOR), (1/6 FOR), (1/6 FOR). The last (1/12) did not vote, the third (1/12) did not vote. Sums: FOR = 5/6, AGAINST = 0, ABSTAIN = 0. Unit result: FOR (clear majority of cast shares)
"Total silence = the unit does not vote" rule
If no co-owner of the unit voted, the unit is not counted in the tally — as if it were not present at all (relevant for the "simple_present" quorum type).
Five types of unit result
In the voting minutes (PDF), co-owned units also include the reason (rationale) for the result:
| Code | Slovak label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
single_owner | "Single owner" | The unit has only one owner — no resolution is necessary |
unanimous | "Unanimous" | All co-owners chose the same |
majority_share | "Majority of shares" | One choice received the largest sum of shares |
tie_abstain | "Tie — abstain" | Two choices have the same share — the unit abstains |
no_quorum_within_unit | "Did not vote" | No co-owner voted — the unit is not counted |
Example from the voting minutes
Unit 82 (entrance 11) unit weight: 1/96
Peter Mudrák share 1/2 FOR
Katarína Brošková share 1/6 FOR
Ema Mudráková share 1/12 AGAINST
Veronika Krišková share 1/6 FOR
Martina Mudráková share 1/12 AGAINST
───────────────────────────────────────────────
Unit result: FOR
Reason: majority of shares (5/6 FOR, 1/6 AGAINST)
§ 14 sec. 4 of Act 182/1993 Coll.
Exact counts without rounding
When comparing shares, OpenResi uses exact fractional arithmetic (numerator + denominator, both as integers). That means:
- No "0.3333"-style rounding
- A tie is detected exactly (1/2 = 1/2, not "approximately equal")
- The summing of shares is mathematically precise
Thanks to this, errors in close results cannot occur — the kind that can happen with decimal calculations.
For an owner in practice
As a co-owner you do not need to coordinate your vote with the others. Vote according to your own conviction — OpenResi will handle the correct unit result.
If, however, you are curious how the other co-owners of your unit voted, you can see it in the vote detail after it is closed (see Voting as an owner).
For the chairman in practice
When creating a vote you do not need to do anything extra. The system automatically:
- For each unit with multiple owners, gathers their votes
- Evaluates the unit's result according to the rules described above
- Uses it in the overall tally and in the voting minutes
In the voting minutes the breakdown is transparent — every owner can see how their vote was counted.
Disputes within a unit
OpenResi declares the unit's result, but does not act as an arbiter in family disputes. If co-owners disagree with how their unit was evaluated (e.g. the wife claims the husband voted without her consent), they must resolve it among themselves — OpenResi keeps only the actual choices and shares in the voting minutes.