Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain

[patoc]

Stephanie,

Many thanks for the response. I have one further query ; you say that "The Law establishes that the unanimity of votes will be required to validate those agreements implying the approval or modification of the rules contained in the horizontal property title as well as in the statutes of the community."


In my own Community we do not have any specific Community Statutes. We chose instead to incorporate everything, including the rules for modifications / development, in our Internal Rules. As such we assumed that most minor developments, including changes in appearance, would be covered at an AGM/EGM but would be settled by a majority vote, whereas only major developments would need unanimity as covered by Section 12 of the Horizontal Property Act.

Bearing in mind what you said I looked at my own Title Deeds. Am I right in thinking that if I changed the square metres of my property from what is stated in the deeds, or if the cuotas needed to be changed for any reason it would need a unanimous vote ? I cannot find any other rules or anything else relevant so if are other minor developments OK ?

Many thanks
Patrick

[Unregistered]

Stephanie,

Many thanks for the response. I have one further query ; you say that "The Law establishes that the unanimity of votes will be required to validate those agreements implying the approval or modification of the rules contained in the horizontal property title as well as in the statutes of the community."


In my own Community we do not have any specific Community Statutes. We chose instead to incorporate everything, including the rules for modifications / development, in our Internal Rules. As such we assumed that most minor developments, including changes in appearance, would be covered at an AGM/EGM but would be settled by a majority vote, whereas only major developments would need unanimity as covered by Section 12 of the Horizontal Property Act.

Bearing in mind what you said I looked at my own Title Deeds. Am I right in thinking that if I changed the square metres of my property from what is stated in the deeds, or if the cuotas needed to be changed for any reason it would need a unanimous vote ? I cannot find any other rules or anything else relevant so if are other minor developments OK ?

Many thanks
Patrick

HI, I am in the same boat as you are. My understanding is that the community rules take president over the Horizontal law. Therefore a simple majority vote at the AGM (as well as the town hall planning permission) and bingo my roof terrace is legal. in the community rules established in 2016 it mentions that that all previous alterations will be tolerated, so I am assuming as long as you got your windows tiling roof terraces swimming pools etc. prior to the rules being established in 2016 you are fine from a legal pint of view?

[MAE]

HELP!! We live in an apartment block in southwestern Majorca and have a new president of the community since last year. He has bullied the existing committee into banning at least two prospective members (although the two had been supported by the majority of the owners) from being voted into the committee. He has instigated over one million eu worth of repairs on our building (executed by his friend in property development) which are deemed unnecessary by our neighbours who are a civil engineer and an architect (also owners in the community). He has shouted down any dissent at the AGM, he has also threatened to sue our neighbours for slander for finding out and letting us know that he had been accused of embezzling over 400,000 francs in Paris
as a mid-level city politician in the mid-1990s (he was also accused of cronyism, but acquitted, he emigrated to Majorca afterwards, to anonymity). The man is hell-bent on spending every penny the community has in its pockets without providing any or very little financial/accounting evidence where the money is actually being spent. What can we do, if anything, to challenge his decisions. Some owners are selling and some are illegally renting out commercially in order to afford the threefold rise in our monthly community costs. Please help. And I hope this sad story is a lesson to anyone buying into a community of owners in Majorca.