Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain

[Arudelhoff]

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??

[Lawbird Lawyer]

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 LarraÃ*n Nesbitt