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Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
This is the discussion thread for the article Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
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Has anyone any answers to my problem. I have lived in a block of 4 apartments for over 23 years. My neighbours to the side have always maintained their own and I and my late husband have maintained our side without asking for any monetary contribution from our neighbours below apart from painting the exterior.
The barbecue, front walls & pillars, we have done at our cost and I have carried on since my husbands death.
The driveway which is communal, they refuse to clean because it is "not their mess", it's caused by a pine tree in next door. The exterior painting was last done over 4 years ago, is in a bad state, again we have painted the bottom half each year because of flaking and green moss, now my neighbours refuse to pay half to have it done and insist I pay to have the top done and they will do their own. Where do I stand legally?
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Dear Madam,
As explained in the article above, you all have to get together at least once a year calling an AGM. In that AGM you can go over issues such as approving new actions (cleaning the driveway from pine cones) and adopting a budget that has to be approved by yourselves.
One communer cannot adopt unilaterally decisions (even if it benefits the communityt as a whole) without having reached a consensus. CO should be run democratically.
All neighbours should be contributing financially to the upkeep of the CO as explained in the article (statute nine of the Commonhold Act) in proportion to their assigned commonhold quota.
Yours faithfully,
Raymundo Larra?*n Nesbitt
Last edited by Lawbird Lawyer; 06-30-2009 at 07:16 PM.
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Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
Dear Sir/Madam
We live in a community of 8 villas and share a pool and community garden. Before we bought the place, there was a neighbour (a former president) who had illegally ie without community permission extended his property by almost twice. A few other neighbours have followed suit. A new neighbour has just moved in and wants to close their terrace. All these changes/extensions have greatly altered the coefficient of the community. How can we go about changing the quota when it is pretty obvious those who have extended will not agree to it. We can legally make them agree to changing the quota??
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Dear Sir/Madam,
First of all these extensions may not be legal.
Supposing they are legal, these owners must pay the Town Hall the tax for building the extensions. Following that, a new build deed would have to be done before a Notary whereby the extension of the properties is lodged at the land registry. This deed then has to be registered at the land registry. Only then will the description of the properties match reality.
Then you would all have to agree unanimously into amending the Master deed of your Community of Owners to apply the new communal quotas.
Please read my article on the last point:
Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain - 26th June 2009
Bylaws and Rules of the Comunidad de Propietarios
In addition to the above general laws, the day-to-day running of each community is really determined by the Communities’ Bylaws (Statutes) which are drafted at the time of lodging the Master Deed (aka Escritura de División Horizontal or Horizontal Deed). Unanimity is required to amend either the Master Deed or the Community Statutes (arts 5 and 17). So in practice it’s quite a feat to change either of them.
Yours faithfully,
Raymundo Larra?*n Nesbitt
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Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
We have a neighbour who has a dog that keeps us awake for hours. She is renting from the owner and the dog is causing problems that breach one of our community rules. What power do we have to change the situation?
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Dear Mr Meadows,
You are in your right to complain. You should lodge a complaint before the President of your community so he communicates with the landlord/tenant to muffle the dog.
If that doesn't work, then I suggest you file a police report against her for the barking noises at night.
People's right to sleep cannot be overlooked.
Yours faithfully,
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Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
At our recent AGM of 16 properties, those present voted to change unanimous voting to majority voting. Despite clarification from the management company this went ahead and all subsequent voting was based on a pure majority and not 3/5th majority. The Vice President, in the chair, and the management company ignored the fact that there were at least 4 objections to changing to majority voting. As a result of their self interests, community charges are now equal and not proportionate, and the majority of previous agreements were overturned. This is clearly illegal as the law states that it requires unanimity to change the Statutes, and this was taken on a majority vote. My problem is how to proceed now. I am aware that this can go through protracted court proceedings, but could this be resolved through calling an EGM? If so, how best to proceed. 25% of the community at least are prepared to call for an EGM, but does this have to be with the blessing of the new president who was at the meeting and spearheaded this campaign?
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Dear Mr Williams,
To call an EGM you need either 25% of the commonhold quota or else 25% of the owners backing it.
You will have to call it with a minimumn of two week's notice.
You can have the President removed and overrule, as clearly illegal, the decision to amend unanimity votes.
Spain Commonhold Act gives a great deal of liberty to communers to oversse their communities. But the red line is drawn on breaching it such as changing unanimity votes to a simple majority.
If the EGM fails then you will have to challenge this resolution at court hiring a lawyer.
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:
When such resolutions are contrary to Law or the Community Statutes;
On them being seriously detrimental to the interests of the community and benefit one or several unit owners.
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 faithfully,
Raymundo Larra?*n Nesbitt
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Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain
I often hear that there is a law forbidding the use of inflatables in swimming pools in the Valencian region but no-one is able to tell me which decree covers it. Is it possible to visit a government website to view this law, or to at least get the decree number and date?
Kind regards.
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I'm beginning to think this law doesn't exist.
No-one has ever been able to find this supposed law which bans inflatables in community swimming pools. I'm guessing that it's an invention of management companies, community presidents and killjoys who are hell bent on spoiling holidays for viisitors.
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