Condominium By-Laws and the Owners' Corporation

What is an owners' corporation?

It is the legal body that every registered condominium gets automatically. When a condominium plan is registered, section 19 of the Condominium Property Act, 2001 creates a corporation named "The owners' Condominium Plan No. ...", using the number the plan receives. Its members are the owners of the units. It lasts for ever, has a common seal, and can sue and be sued in its own name. The Companies Act does not apply to it, so you will not find it on the company register and it does not file company returns. KTA Advocates makes the same points and adds that it is not a trading body.

In daily speech, owners say "the by-laws" and "the association". The Act says rules and corporation. The article by a Ugandan law firm that we cite uses "by-laws" in its title for the same thing. This page uses the Act's words where the law matters. For the wider legal framework, see Owning a Condo Unit, and for how a building comes to have a corporation at all, Condominium Title vs Master Title.

What can the corporation do, and what can it not do?

The corporation can also, by a resolution of the proprietors, share out surplus money among owners by unit entitlement (section 20(7)) and, by a unanimous resolution, accept or grant easements and restrictive covenants (sections 38 and 39). The full list of functions is in section 20.

How does the management board work?

The board exercises the corporation's functions, subject to directions from a general meeting (section 20(5)). It is elected under the rules (section 25(1)). The Act sets a timetable:

• The developer calls the meeting that elects the first board within 90 days after half the units are sold, or within 180 days after the first unit is sold, whichever comes first (section 26).
• The first annual general meeting is held within three months of the board's election, and each later one within 15 months of the last (section 27).
• The board appoints a managing agent within 28 days of its election, and a replacement within 20 days if the agent leaves (section 28).
• The corporation files a notice at the land registry within 15 days when a person joins or leaves the board (section 25(2)).
• Acts done in good faith by a board stay valid even if its election turns out to have a defect (section 25(3)).

Until owners other than the developer hold a majority of the units, the developer may run things under a developer's management agreement. After that point the corporation may end it for any reason on 60 days' written notice, or either side may end it for good cause on the same notice (section 42). The board also has a duty to hear complaints (section 20(6)). The wording of the legal timetable is in the Act, so ask the managing agent for the dates of the last meeting and the board's names.

How does voting work?

Each owner's vote is weighted by the unit factor (section 23). A lender who holds a registered charge and has told the corporation in writing votes where a unanimous resolution is needed, and may vote in other cases if present or by proxy. An owner may vote personally or by proxy, and a guardian or the Public Trustee votes for an owner who is a minor or cannot manage property (section 24). Meetings must be notified to every lender who has given notice of its charge (section 23(5)).

The definitions in section 1 set the levels. A special resolution needs at least 75 percent of the persons entitled to vote who also represent at least 75 percent of all unit factors. A unanimous resolution needs every owner. Rules can be amended or revoked by a special resolution, and the change takes effect only when registered by the registrar (section 29(2) and (3)). The board's own decisions in between are limited by what the general meeting directs.

What are the rules, and how are arrears and fines enforced?

The corporation must make rules for managing the units and property, and they bind it and every owner as if everyone had signed them (section 29). They must provide for fines (section 29(7)), and the maximum fines may be prescribed by regulations (section 55(2)(d)). A fine is a civil penalty that the corporation can recover as a civil debt (section 30(8) and (9)). An owner or tenant can appeal to court, and the corporation must show the rules were properly made (section 30(4) and (5)). If an owner or tenant breaks the rules three times within a month, the managing agent must refer the case to court as a habitual offender (section 31).

For levies, section 32 lets the corporation recover contributions by an action in debt from the owner at the time of the resolution and from the owner at the time of the action, jointly and severally, and to register a charge on the unit for the unpaid amount. It must withdraw the charge once the debt is paid. A certificate from the corporation of what is payable is conclusive unless the contrary is proved (section 32(3) and (4)). The rules may allow interest on late payments (section 33). For practical steps see unpaid service charge condominium, and for sales resale apartment.

Can the corporation stop me renting out my unit, and how are disputes settled?

No rule may prohibit or restrict a lease of a unit (section 29(4)). The corporation can ask an owner who rents out a unit to keep a deposit with it for repair of corporation property, and requires written notice of the tenant's name within seven days of the tenancy starting and ending (section 43). A tenant is bound by the rules too, and an owner is liable for rule breaches connected with the unit's use, whether or not the owner authorised them (section 30(2)).

When there is a dispute, the usual order is the board's complaints process (section 20(6)), then the appeal route to court on fines (section 30(4)). The court also has powers on damage to condominium property (section 46), ending condominium status (section 47) and winding up a corporation on application by the corporation, an owner or the managing agent (section 49). The Act says any waiver of its protections is void (section 54(1)). In 2025 a Makerere University master's dissertation on Kampala condominiums found that weak enforcement and limited awareness of the law are problems, so know your rights before you buy. Our listings in November 2026 include few single condominium units compared with whole rental blocks (Land & Property listings, Nov 2026). See also owners' corporation meaning, then browse apartment listings, book an escorted site visit or return to Houses for sale Kampala.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Owning a Condo Unit: Your Rights and Duties
• Unpaid Service Charge: What a Condo Can Do
• Selling or Buying a Condo Unit on Resale
• Condominium Title vs Master Title: Which Are You Buying?
• Owners' corporation: what it means in Ugandan property
• Homes and Condominiums for Sale in Uganda