The ALUR works fund: tracking and duties
French law requires a works fund for most condominiums. Each year, a contribution feeds it, calculated on the provisional budget. This fund pays for future major works, so there is no need to vote a panic special levy the day the roof gives way.
This article explains what the manager must track: the contribution, the balance, how sums are allocated, and how owners are informed. Then how automation keeps this tracking current without pulling out a spreadsheet at every move.
In this article
- What the works fund is for
- How the contribution is calculated
- Tracking the balance and allocations
- Informing owners clearly
- Tracking without the spreadsheet
What the works fund is for
The works fund is a reserve for heavy future spending: facade, roof, lift, bringing things up to standard. The idea is to spread the effort over time rather than ask for a large sum all at once on the day of the job.
This fund is separate from the running budget. It does not pay for day-to-day upkeep, which falls under the provisional budget. Confusing the two distorts the accounts and complicates the vote.
How the contribution is calculated
The annual contribution is a minimum percentage of the voted provisional budget. The meeting can decide more, never less than the legal floor. Each owner contributes according to their shares, as with the charges.
The calculation is mechanical, but it must follow the budget. If the plan changes, the contribution changes. This is exactly the kind of repetitive calculation automation takes over from your data, with no re-keying and no rounding error.
Tracking the balance and allocations
The fund lives over time. It fills each year, then empties when works are voted and financed from it. At any moment, you must know how much is available and what the sums already used went to.
A well-tracked fund means a calm meeting the day works have to be voted. You know what you have, you know what is left to find.
Automation reconciles the contributions collected, the allocations voted and the real balance. It links each movement to its meeting decision, which ties into the logic of service charge allocation.
| Element | What is tracked | Watch point |
|---|---|---|
| Annual contribution | Amount called and collected | Aligned with the budget |
| Fund balance | Available to date | Not the same as cash |
| Allocation | Works financed | Linked to a vote |
| Left to finance | Gap job / fund | Anticipate the top-up |
Informing owners clearly
Owners are entitled to clear information on their fund: how much they contributed, how much the collective holds in reserve, what it went to. Vague information breeds mistrust and drags out the debates at the meeting.
When the tracking is clean, this information produces itself. The tool prepares a readable statement of the fund, up to date, ready to attach to the meeting documents. You answer questions with figures that match, not with approximations.
Tracking without the spreadsheet
Many managers keep the works fund in a separate spreadsheet, updated by hand. That works while there is one building and few movements. Across a portfolio, these spreadsheets diverge from the accounts, and nobody knows which one is authoritative.
Automation removes this parallel spreadsheet. The balance lives in your accounting data, current continuously. You save time, and above all you remove a classic source of gaps and disputes.
Frequently asked questions
Do all condominiums have a works fund?
Most do. Some small buildings or those below a certain threshold can be exempted by a vote. For the others, the annual contribution is mandatory.
Does the fund follow an owner who sells?
No. Sums paid stay with the collective and are tied to the units. The seller does not get their share back; this is settled in the sale price between the parties.
What if the fund is not enough for some works?
The meeting votes additional financing, often a special levy. Up-to-date tracking lets you anticipate this gap instead of discovering it mid-job.
Does automation calculate the contribution?
It prepares the calculation from the voted provisional budget and your shares. You validate the amount, the meeting votes it. The tool removes the repetitive calculation, not the decision.
Conclusion
The ALUR works fund is simple in principle and painful to track by hand. A contribution, a balance, allocations, clear information. Kept clean and continuous, it turns the vote on major works into a calm decision.
To see how to track your funds without a parallel spreadsheet, let's talk during a free 30-minute audit. No commitment, and no jargon.
Je conçois et déploie des outils IA pour les gestionnaires immobiliers. J'ai mis en production le logiciel qui fait tourner un des plus gros gestionnaires de France.