Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain

Dear Sanita,

Thank you for your kind words.

As per my article, if you are not up-to-date servicing your community fees you are in no position to criticise, demand or vote in an AGM or EGM. In fact you are actually jeopardising your own property as the Community may decide to issue legal proceedings against you for unpayment in which case you may even lose your property as it can be seized and auctioned off publicly. Law courts are now clogged with such properties being auctioned off for unpayment.

Having written the above, I fully understand your predicament and it's a matter that is becoming all too common in new developments on the Spanish costas. An AGM should be held mandatorily once a year. In those AGM's a full breakdown for the Communitie's running expenses is disclosed with a detailed breakdown and consequently voted upon by all commonholders which are up-to-date with their comunity fees. Make sure you bring along someone witha high command of Spanish to the first AGM as it's likely to be held in Spanish. The Community can decide for ensuing AGM's to hold it in both languages depending on what the majority of commonholders vote.

In your particular case I advise you to first clear your arrears, hire a lawyer and force the Administrator and President to disclose a full breakdown with the running expenses requesting invoices where deemed necessesary. It is your right and that's why you are paying. Your President acnnot at anytime withhold information from yourselves such as bills or even bully you as you write. Misallocation of community funds is tantamount to embezzlement of funds which may even lead to a Criminal action being taken against the President and Administrator.

Perhaps your President is someone who has been directly appointed by the developer. Maybe your community remains largely unsold and the majority of the votes are still in the hands of your developer. Is it the case?

You are liable to pay for community fees as from the time a Licence of First Occupation is issued for your property by the Town Hall or as from the time you complete on it (in the case where no LFO has been issued yet).

Please read my article for more details:

The Licence of First Occupation Explained - 29th January 2009

Yours faithfully,
Raymundo LarraÃ*n Nesbitt

Dear Raymundo.
Thank you very much for very quick response,it helped a lot.
I asked lawer for advice(but I really hope ,we do not have to go to court),he is ready to take action,if I want to.His advise was to write last letter,send with recorded delivery and demand(on 10th time during 2009 and now) to see all invoices 7 days before our first meeting,as required by law..Then I will have inaf days to sort my fee..I think,director dont have any invoces and only money retyrn to owners will go via court.I been adviced to pay ONLY when I see for what Im paying.My property is second hand property..it was aparthotel before,now 2 blocks is still hotel and only my block with 20 apartments are privat.By the way,prezident lives in our block,and his apartments are 2 made in one and he pays only for one(thought is 2 times bigger that mine.)Is that correct?And I will ask again..are thay alloud to charge us,if it is not such a community here?Prezident was sole owner,now block 1 wants community and thay making up new rules every time thay wish!!
Thank you for your response..
Regards..Sanita

ps.I forgot to write,that during 2009 ,director changed my fee 3 times..To be honest at this moment I do not know which one to pay..probably I will go for cheapest one,if thay have a proof of money spending.Thank you.

You're welcome Sanita.

The advice from your lawyer is sound. You must in any case send him that registered letter prior to issuing legal proceedings against him.

No, it's not legal as per my article. Community fees are paid on the basis of your quota on the commonhold. The larger your quote, the more you pay. That's the logic behind it. From what you write it would seem your President may have been tampering with the assigned quotas so as to pay as if he owned only one property. Very devious.

Yours faithfully,
Raymundo LarraÃ*n Nesbitt

Raymundo..thank you very,very much!!You been very helpful with your advice.I am surethat I am ready for our meeting!!I will definetly let you know about outcome of it..
Yours sincerly..Sanita

Anytime Sanita.

Quoting my article on Community of Owners :)

Quote:

---

I would advise you bring your tin hat to owners’ assemblies and prepare for some serious and protracted trench warfare, whereby each owner will hold his own ground, yielding occasionally to fleeting interests.

Maybe it’s a good idea to bring along a Spanish lawyer as added reinforcements!

Good luck; trust me, you’ll need it!

---

Regards

How can we remove a president who only stays in place because of proxy votes at the AGM from owners who rent out their apartments commercially to whom he provides cleaning and laundry services? Such commercial renting is actually illegal on a residential complex on Mallorca but he encourages it to make money while our complex deteriorates.

Dear Sir,

A very interesting question.

It's the Owners' Assembly (whether AGM or EGM) that has to vote him out. If the majority vote wants him to remain for vested interests you simply cannot oust him...at least formally.

You can however easily bypass the above. The activity of commercial letting is illegal in Mallorca, as you correctly write, unless you are duly licensed to operate by the Town Hall which does not sem to be the case. If someone should report this illegal activity it would cease (besides being heavily fined) and the President would no longer have a reason to remain in his post...

Yours faithfully,
Raymundo LarraÃ*n Nesbitt

Thank you Raymundo. Many owners have reported the renting owners to the Conselleria de Tourisme in Palma and their inspector has started to visit and interview renters after which proceedings have been started. That's great and no doubt the Summer will see many more visits and many more proceedings. However our President is very thick skinned and he won't allow us access to his rental customers to let them know they are breaking the law. That's crazy, of course, so I imagine that the next AGM in April will be very heated. My question is, does anyone have a direct right to sue the president for what he is doing in encouraging commercial renting on a residential complex and profiting from that renting by leaving his customers exposed to fines and our complex like a holiday camp. Many thanks, David.

Dear David,

You are welcome.

Of course, any commonholder may choose to sue him.

Quoting my article which starts off this thread:

Quote:

---

Challenging the General Assembly’s resolutions

Section 18 rules on how assembly resolutions can be challenged at court.

This can be done on three accounts:

1. When such resolutions are contrary to Law or the Community Statutes;

2. On them being seriously detrimental to the interests of the community and benefit one or several unit owners.

3. When they are seriously detrimental to some unit owner who has no legal obligation to sustain such detriment or when they have been adopted in abuse of power.

There’s a deadline of just 3 months to challenge them after they were adopted or else a year if they are contrary to Law or the Community Statutes. Only owners who are up-to-date with their community fees may challenge community resolutions before a court. Alternatively they can lodge the owed amounts before the law court prior to litigating.

---

Yours sincerely,