Community of Owners Who are they and what’s their role


A


s lawyers specialized in real estate, one of the greatest moments for us is when we


complete the legal transaction and we hand over our “Property Purchase Package”, which contains the relevant documents, a breakdown of costs for one year and our recommendations for a better understanding and enjoying the Spanish living.


Some of those recommendations are as follows:


From the moment that you buy a property in Spain, you belong to a Community of Owners. With some exceptions (i.e. a country home and other type of properties), when you own a property in Spain, you legally become a member of the residents association or the Community of Owners. Tis is compulsory by law. Even the legal description of your property states your percentage in the common areas or elements, those which will be under the regulations of the Community. Te Community is similar to an


20 / PROPERTYMAIL


association, but is considered to be a legal entity with the legal capacity to work effectively, enter into employment contracts, arrange for insurances and hire services from companies for the Community. Your Community, according to the Spanish Horizontal Property Law, regulates and administrates the common areas of the real estate which belongs to the whole community which are not public property. From the stair cases, liſts, entrances in the buildings to the gardens, pools, gyms, etc. All those are considered to be part of the Community. We would advise you to read and understand the By-Laws of your Community, which will contain some rights and some obligations to all the owners. It is important to know them even before buying a property, so that you know in advance how much the fees are per month, per quarter or per year. Te By-Laws (Estatatutos) cannot be against the Horizontal Law, and will normally contain some restrictions to change the architectural elements of the


property as well as those visible elements from the outside, i.e. pergolas, awnings, air conditioning units, colors and so on. Te Community is forced to properly keep, manage, maintain and make necessary repairs in order to ensure the safety, habitability and structural integrity of the buildings and common areas under its own responsibility. Cases of negligence or lack of proper maintenance that causes an injury to the residents or visitors are directly connected to the civil responsibility of the Community. In order to maintain and administrate the common areas, the Community of Owners must receive enough money from all the owners, which is determined by your quota (the percentage that you have in the common elements according to the surface and some other criteria i.e. sea views, orientation, etc). Tey are not connected by the frequency that you use them. Even if you only stay in your property for several weeks a year and the home is empty the rest of the time, you have to pay the same community fees as if you lived there all the time. Te Community fees are different depending precisely on the common areas and elements to be maintained. Te Community must have at least one AGM a year and the owners will approve the presented accounts and budgets for the next year as well as to resolve all those matters and problems that may have arisen over the year. Te law states the procedure for calling the meetings and notifying the owners of the agenda Te owners of the Community will designate the representatives: Chairman, secretaries, administrators by a democratic process in accordance to the By-Laws. Tere are many other items that you, as owner of a property, should know about the Community of Owners like the voting process, the unanimity vote, the simple majority vote or the 3/5 majority vote and the different roles in the Community of the Chairman, the vice-chairman, the secretary and the Administrator/s. Please note that one of the latest changes affecting the Community of owners is directly connected with the Holiday rental properties. Some communities have even prohibited such rentals, restricted them and even charging an extra percentage when renting the property under the Holiday Rentals Regulations.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36