All co-owners have the right to access the common areas!
A co-owner has filed a lawsuit against the co-owners’ association to compel it, under penalty of a daily fine, to provide him with the access card and code for the building’s main stairwell.
However, the judges denied his request on the grounds, first, that the plaintiff does not share in the costs associated with the main staircase and, second, that he has no objective interest in accessing that staircase, since access to his apartment, located on the ground floor, is through a door leading to the service staircase.
However, this decision was overturned by the Court of Cassation! It must be noted, in light of the condominium bylaws, that the main staircase constitutes a general (rather than a special) common area. As such, it belongs indivisibly to all the co-owners, none of whom may be denied access.
