Act 49/1960 of July, About Property in Condominium, Reformed by Act 8/1999 (6Th April
Act 49/1960 of July, About Property in Condominium, Reformed by Act 8/1999 (6Th April
Act 49/1960 of July, About Property in Condominium, Reformed by Act 8/1999 (6Th April
STATED PURPOSE
The long period of validity of Act 49/1960, of 21st July, about Property in
Condominium, has demonstrated its great utility many different scopes: in the
regulation of relationships among the proprietors subjected to their regime in
building development and town planning. Act 2/1998, of 23rd February, as well
as Act 3/1990, of 21st June, meant a great advance in the approaching to social
reality. However, when the time has gone by, society new aspirations have
arisen as regards of Property in Condominium regulation.
The rule of the unanimity is considered nowadays rigorous excess, as it
blocks the carrying out of certain performances which are convenient for the
community of proprietors and even, for environmental or another nature
reasons, for the rest of the guild. Making the regime of majorities more flexible
for the establishment of certain services (Porter’s houses, elevators, removal of
architectural barriers, which hinder the mobility of disabled people,
telecommunication services, use of solar energy, etc.) has been considered
convenient.
Another of the big demands of the society is to achieve communities of
proprietors rightfully be paid what the integral proprietors owe. What comes to
be called the fight against bad payers, is aimed to be struggled by this
reformation through a plurality of measures directed to such a goal: creation of
a reservation fund, publicity in the public instrument for transferring figures
owed by proprietors, real affection of the transferred property to the payment of
general expenses corresponding to the annual payment in which the purchase
takes place and to the very previous year, joint responsibility from the transferor
who doesn't let know the ownership change, executive character attribution to
formal agreements made at the Meeting of Proprietors, establishment of an
agile and effective procedure of judicial execution for the collection of debts with
the community, etc..
The present Act also carries out an up-to-dated regulation for meetings
minutes creation, community board functions, in particular those of the
administrator. (Any proprietor or natural person with enough professional
qualification could be administrator), regime of call, vote right performance,
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CHAPTER I
General clauses
1st Clause
The present Law goal is the special regulation of property on clause 396
from Civil Code, called Property in Condominium.
All those parts of a building, which could be liable to be usable in an
independent way, because they have an exit either to a common area or to
public thoroughfare, will be considered premises for this Act purpose.
2nd Clause.
CHAPTER II
About floors or premises Property regime
3rd Clause
4th Clause.
Division action will not proceed to cease the situation which regulates this
Law. It will be able to be executed just by each proprietor pro-indiviso on a
definite flat or premises, bounded to him, and whenever the pro-indivision has
not been established as a purpose for common service or utility for all
proprietors.
5th Clause
The Property Title Deed for flats or premises will describe, besides the
property as a whole, each one in particular, which will be assigned correlative
numbers. The description of the property must express the required
circumstances on mortgage legislation and all services and facilities which exist.
That of each floor or premises will express its extension, boundaries, floor and
annexes, such as garage, attic or basement.
In the same title he/she will notice the participation quota that
corresponds to each floor or local, determined by the unique proprietor from the
building when beginning their sale for floors, for all the existent proprietors'
agreement, for award or for judicial resolution. For their fixation he/she will take
like base the useful surface of each floor or local in connection with the total of
the property, their interior or external location, their situation and the use of it,
which shows off rationally that it will be made of the services or common
elements.
The title will be able to contain, also, constitution rules and exercise of
the right and dispositions not prohibited by the Law in order to the use or
destination of the building, its different floors or local, facilities and services,
expenses, administration and government, sure, conservation and repairs,
forming an exclusive statute that won't harm third parties if it has not been
inscribed in the Registration of the Property.
In any modification of the title, and safe what prepares about the validity
of agreements, the same requirements will be observed than those for the
constitution.
6th Clause
and within the statutory ceiling. Those rules will legally bind any holder
whether they are not modified the expected wayform to come to
agreements about the administration.
7th Clause.
2. The proprietor and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed
to develop activities which are forbidden by statutes for being harmful for the
property or because they infringe the general provisions about annoying,
unhealthy, noxious, dangerous or illicit activities.
The President of the community, on his own initiative or that from the
proprietors or occupants, will require the one who is carrying out banned
activities on this section the immediate ceasing of them, as official warning to
take disciplinary action against him/her.
If the offender persists in his behaviour, the President, by getting a previous
authorisation from the Proprietors Board, duly summoned to such effect, will be
able to file a cessation action against him/her. It will be carried out adjusting to
the rules which regulate declaratory proceedings if the actions are not foreseen
on this clause.
Once the claim has been put in to the offender, together with a certificate
of the reliable requirement and of the certification from the agreement adopted
by the Board of proprietors, the Judge will be able to determine the immediate
ceasing of the forbidden activity with preventive character, under provision of
committing disobedience crime. He will be able to decide as well all provisional
measures that were necessary to ensure the discontinuance order
effectiveness. The claim will go against the proprietor and, in its case, against
the occupant of the house or premises.
If the judgement were approved, he could decide, besides the definitive
ceasing of the forbidden activity, and the compensation for damages and
prejudicial consequences which proceeds, the privation of the right to use the
house or premises a term under three years, in accordance to the seriousness
of infraction and damages caused to the community. If the offender were not the
proprietor, the order could declare extinguished definitely all his rights
concerning the house or premises as well as his immediate dispossession.
8th Clause.
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Flats or premises and their annexes could be divided into more reduced
and independent ones, and enlarged by the aggregation of adjacent ones from
building or reduced by any part segregation.
In such cases it will be required, besides the consent of the affected
holders, the approval of the Proprietors Board as well as the affected holders
approval, to who settlement of the new participation quotas for reformed flats
concerns, according to what is disposed on clause 5th, without alteration of the
remaining quotas.
9th Clause
c) Allowing in their house or premises the repairings which the property service
requires, and the indispensable servitude required for the creation of common
services previously agreed for general interest, according to what is disposed
on the article 17th, and being the community responsible for compensating
possible damages.
d) Allowing the entrance in their flat or premises to the purposes from the three
previous sections.
takes place, and to the immediately previous natural year. The flat or premises
will be legally encumbered to such duty enforcement.
The house or premises transferee should declare to be up to date in the
payment of community general expenses or to express what he owes in the
public instrument through which the house or premises is transferred, whatever
its Title is. The transferor should provide a certification about the state of debts
with community at that time, and it has to coincide with his previous declaration,
without which he will not be able to authorise the grant of the public document,
unless he was specifically discharged from such duty by the purchaser. The
certification will be issued in a maximum term of seven natural days from its
application by people who does Secretary functions, with the President approval
who will be responsible, in case of blame or negligence, for the accuracy of
consigned data and for damages caused by delay in its issue.
g) Taking into account the legal measures for the use of property and,
concerning their relationships with the other neighbours, being responsible
before them for infractions and damages.
h) Informing the person who acts as Secretary about his Spanish address in
case he has to be required for either notifications or calls of any nature, which
are related to the community matters. By default of it, the community flat or
premises will be considered the address notifications and calls, and all those
delivered to the occupants, will have juridical effects.
If the attempted notification or call were impossible to be practice at the place
prevented in the previous paragraph, it will be understood to be carried out by
the placing the corresponding communication on the community bulletin board,
or in a visible place of on a general use place fit out for such effect, explaining
the date and reasons for which they proceed to this notification way. The
Secretary of the community should sign it, previous President approval. This
way notification will produce full juridical effects in a three natural day’s term.
i) Informing the Secretary of the community about the flat or premises change of
holdership, for any means that allows to put it on record.
People who fail to fulfil such duty, will go on being responsible for the debts with
the community although yielded after transmission, in a joint way with the new
holder, without any prejudice of relapsing.
What has been disposed on the previous paragraph should not be pursued
when any of the governments organs settled down on 13th clause is aware of
the flat or premises change of ownership, by any other means or new
proprietor's conclusive acts, or when transmission is notorious.
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2. For the application of the rules from the previous section, expenses
which are not attributable to any flat or premises will be reputed as general
ones, and the disuse of a service will not exempt from the comply of duly duties,
without any prejudice of what is settled down on this Act 11.2 clause.
10th clause.
1. The community will be obliged to carry out necessary works for the property
and its services proper maintenance and conservation, so that it should fulfil all
due structural, tanking, habitability and safety conditions.
2. Proprietors who are unjustifiably opposed or delayed in the execution of the
orders, which have been enacted by competent authority, will be individually
responsible for the sanctions, which could be imposed by administrative action.
3. In case of disagreement on the nature of the works to be carried out, the
Proprietors Board will decide what is reasonable and appropriate. Interested
parties will also be able to request an arbitrary or technical judgement in the
terms settled down by Law.
4. The flat or premises are affected by the payment of expenses derived from
the realisation of maintenance works referred on the present article, under the
same terms and conditions which were settled down on 9th clause for general
expenses.
11th Clause
3. Innovations which become useless some part of the building for the
proprietors quiet enjoyment, will require, in any case, the express approval.
12th Clause.
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The building of new floors and any other alteration of the building
structure, or of the common things, affect the Title Deed and they should
undergo the established regime for its modifications. The adopted agreement
will state the nature of the modification, the changes it originates in the
description of the property all flats or premises, the change of quotas and the
new flats or premises holder or holders.
13th clause.
a) Proprietors Board.
b) President and, in any instance, the Vice-presidents.
c) The Secretary.
d) The Administrator.
3. The President will be the legal community representative, in any trial and out
of it concerning all matters which affect it.
could be also held by corporations or another legal person, in the terms settled
down on the legal system.
7. If the statutes of the community do not dispose the opposite, the appointment
of government bodies will be made for one-year term. Appointed people could
be removed from their position before the expiration of the mandate by the
Proprietors Board agreement, summoned in extraordinary meeting.
14th Clause.
b) Approving the expected plan for expenses and incomes and the
corresponding accounts.
c) Approving budgets and the execution of all repairing works of the property,
either ordinary or extraordinary, and being informed of the urgent measures
adopted by the Administrator according to what is disposed on the article 20th
c).
e) Knowing and deciding other matters of general interest for the community,
taking the necessary or convenient measures for the best common service.
15th Clause.
2. Proprietors who are not up-to-dated in the payment of all the due debts with
the community at the moment of beginning the meeting, and they have not
refuted them judicially or proceeded to the judicial or notarial consignment of the
owing sum, will be able to participate in their discussions, although they will not
be entitled for voting. The meeting minutes will show the proprietors who have
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been deprived of the vote right, and whose person and participation quota in the
community will not be estimated to effects of reaching majorities which are
required on this Act.
16th Clause
1. The General Proprietors Meeting will meet at least once a year to approve
the budgets and accounts, and other times if the President consider it
convenient or it the fourth part of the proprietors require it, or a number of them
who represent at least a 25 % from the participation quotas.
2. Meetings calls will made by the President and, in default, the meeting
developers, by informing about the matters to be dealt, the place, day and time
at what it will take place in first or, in its case, in second call. Notifications
should be made the stated way on article 9th. The citation will include a list of
the proprietors who are not up-to-date in the payment of due debts to the
community and it warn about the deprivation of vote right if assumption on the
article 15.2 happen.
Any proprietor will be able to ask the Proprietors Board to study and give their
opinion about any subject of interest for the community. He should send a
writing for the President to that end, on which it is clearly specified the required
subjects to be dealed and including them on the following Meeting agenda.
If most of the proprietors who represent, in turn the majority of participation
quotas do not attend the Meeting, in first call, a second call will be made, this
time without quorum liability.
The Board will meet in second call in stated place, day and time than in the first
citation, and it would be possible to meet the same day if half hour from the
previous one has gone by. By default, it will be summoned again, according to
the stated requirements on this article, within the eight following natural days to
the not-celebrated meeting, the citations being filed if so, with a minimum of
three days notice.
3. The call for the Annual Ordinary Meeting should be made, at least, at six
days notice, and for the extraordinary ones, to be able to let all the interested
people know. The meeting can meet even without the President's call, provided
that all proprietors attend
17th Clause
from the participation quotas. The leases of common elements which have not
been assigned a specific use in the property will require, as well, the favourable
vote from 3/5 parts from the total of the proprietors who, in turn, represent 3/5
parts from the participation quotas, as well as the directly affected proprietor's
consent, if he existed.
The carrying out of works, or the establishment of new common services,
whose goal is the suppression of architectural barriers which hinder the access
or disabled people's mobility, when they imply the modification of the Title Deed
or statutes, will require the favourable vote of most of the proprietors who, in
turn, represent most of the participation quotas
For above mentioned purposes, those votes from absent proprietors to the
meeting, properly mentioned, who, once they have been informed about the
agreement adopted by the present ones, and according to the procedures
stated on article 9th, do not declare their discrepancy to who exercises
community secretary functions, in a thirty natural days term, by any means
which allows to have a record of its reception, will be considered as favourable
votes.
The agreements validly adopted according to what has been disposed on this
rule, they oblige all the proprietors.
3ª the vote of most of the total of the proprietors who, in turn, represent most of
the participation quotas will be enough to make the other agreements valid.
In second convocation they will be valid the agreements adopted by most of the
attending proprietors, provided that it represents, in turn, more than half of the
value of their participation quotas.
When the majority could not be achieved for the procedures stated on the
previous paragraphs, the Judge, at the request of deduced part in the following
month at the time of the second meeting, and listening to previously mentioned
contradictory parties, he will decide what proceeds ex aequo et bono in a twenty
days term from the request, making a pronouncement about costs payment.
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18th Clause
1. The agreements from the General Meeting will be refutable before the
Courts, in compliance with what is stated on the General Procedural Act, in the
following hypothetical cases:
a) when they are contrary to the Law or to the community statutes of the
community.
b) When they are serious prejudice for community interests, in benefit of one or
several proprietors.
c) When they mean a serious prejudice for any proprietor who has not legal
duty of suffering it or they have been determined with abuse of law.
2. Proprietors who have saved their vote at the meting, the absent ones for any
reason and those who unduly have been deprived of their vote will be
legitimated for the objection to these agreement. The proprietor should be up-
to-dated about all the payment of due debts with the community or to proceed
previously to the judicial consignment of the same ones in order to refute the
meeting agreements. This rule will not be applicable for objection to meeting
agreements concerning the setting or alteration of proprietors participation
quotas which have been mentioned on clause 9th.
3. The action will expire three months after the agreement the meeting
agreement has been determined, unless acts are contrary to the Law or to the
Statutes. If so, the action will expire after a year. For absent proprietors, this
term will be computed starting from the agreement notice, according to the
stated procedure on article 9th.
19th Clause
f) Determined agreements, with a list of the names from proprietors who had
voted for and against them, as well as participation quotas which they
respectively represent, provided it were relevant for the validity of the
agreement.
3. Minutes will be closed with President's and Secretary signatures at the end of
the meeting or in ten following natural days. From their closing, agreements will
be executive, excepting when law decides the opposite.
Meeting minute will be send to the proprietors, according the procedure stated
on article 9th.
Minutes defects or mistakes will be rightable whenever it expresses
unequivocally the date and holding place, the attending proprietors, present or
represented, and determined agreements, with indication of for and against
votes, as well as the participation quotas they respectively hold, and it is signed
by the President and the Secretary. This correction should be made before the
following meeting when the correction will be ratified.
4. The Secretary will keep meeting minute books. He should also keep calls,
notices, powers, and other relevant documents from meetings, for a five years
term.
20th Clause
a) Looking after the house good condition, their facilities and services, and
making for this purpose the appropriate warnings and provisions to the Courts.
c) Assisting for the house conservation and entertainment, deciding repairs and
urgent measures, reporting immediately the President about it, or, in its case, to
the proprietors.
21st Clause
2. The use of this procedure would require the previous certification from the
meeting agreement, and the one who acts as the Secretary should approve the
debt settlement with the community, under the President approval, provided that
such an agreement has been previously notified to the affected proprietors in
the way stated on clause 9th.
3. Territorial jurisdiction will correspond only to the Judge of the place where the
property is, and the collecting through a lawyer or barrister is not compulsory,
without any prejudice of what has been stated on the section 10 of this clause.
4. The process will begin with the succinct claim, and the mentioned certification
on the number 2 from this article, will be enclosed. If the previous holder must
be responsible in solidum for the payment of the debt, and without any prejudice
of his right to repeat against the current proprietor, it will be demanded jointly
with him. Anyway the holder who is registered is the one who should be the
respondent.
5. Once the lawsuit has been presented and given leave to go ahead, the Judge
will call upon the defendant so that, in a twenty days term , he must pay to the
plaintiff, by certifying it either before the Court or appearing in Court to declare
on an opposition writing the reasons for which he believes he has not to settle
the required amount or part of it. The notification should be made at his home in
Spain, previously designated by the debtor, or by its default, at his flat or
premises, under the official warning that, whether he does not neither pay nor
appear explaining the reasons for it, an enforcement will be issued against him,
according to what is disposed on the following number.
6. if the defendant does not appear in Court or he does not object to the
demand, the Judge will make an order, on which he will issue the enforcement,
which will proceed according to what is disposed for judicial decisions, for the
owed amount plus expected interests and costs and previous extrajudicial
expenses from the notifications related to debt liquidation, provided that they
have proceeded by notarial means.
The applicant of this process and the enforced debtor will not be able to claim
subsequently in ordinary proceeding, the required amount or the refund of the
one obtained through execution.
Once the order is remanded and issued, the debt will bear the legal interest
from the increased quantity in two points.
8. If the debtor objected by alleging reasons, in order to refuse the whole or part
of the payment, the Judge, previous transfer to the plaintiff of the objecting
writing, will proceed to file oral trial, starting from the moment of the notification
for oral trial. Nevertheless, when objection has been submitted, he could
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require general lien for the debtor's goods, which are enough to face claimed
quantity, as well as interests and costs.
The Judge will determine attorney’s lien, in any case, without needing creditor’s
deposit. The debtor will be able to get rid of lien by standing bank guarantee for
decreed lien amount.
9. If the debtor appears in due time and objects partially to the payment,
alleging plusrequirement, the objection will be admitted, only if he credits to
have paid or put at the plaintiff's disposal the amount he recognises as a debt,
before the filing of the claim. If the objection is bases in pluspetition, general lien
could only be required for the amount, which has not been settled by the debtor
yet.
11. Due quotas could be accumulated during the course of the process, without
implying the proceeding back and after putting the claim in. Stages which have
preceded, are considered as common to the amplification. This faculty will
extend to the phase of the decision enforcement.
The accumulation of the due debt with the community during the process, after
the presentation of the claim will require its previous attestation by means of a
new certificate from the approbatory payout agreement, which should be issued
in accordance to what has been disposed on section 2.
12. The appeal against the judgement will not grant an application if the
defendant does not credit, when interposing, to have paid or consigned the
clear amount to what verdict of guilty contracts.
If the verdict condemns him to the payment of clear amounts for non-fulfilment
of terms or due quotas, the appeal will remain void if during its proceeding the
appellant gives up paying or consigning, in due time, those of the same nature
which go expiring.
22nd Clause
1. The community of proprietors will be responsible for its debts to third parties
with all funds and credits to its favour. Subsidiarily and it foresaw payment
requirement to the respective proprietor, the creditor could go against every
proprietor who has taken part at the due process on his corresponding quota for
the unpaid amount.
If the debtor pays at such appearance time, he will be responsible for the costs
which have been caused till that moment, in the proportional corresponding
part.
23rd Clause
CHAPTER III
24th Clause
1. The special regime of property stated on article 396 from the Civil Code
would be applicable to that private real state property which gather the following
requirements:
2. Private real state properties which have been mentioned on the previous
section will be able to:
3. The group of referred communities on the previous section will enjoy, to all
purposes, the same juridical situation than that of the communities of
proprietors and it will be governed by the dispositions of this Acts, with the
following specialities:
4. Private real state properties which do not adopt any of the mentioned legal
ways on section 2nd, will be applicable aditionally, dispositions on this Act with
the same stated specialities on the previous section, concerning agreed pacts
among the co-proprietors.
Additional provision.
1. The constitution of the reservation fund regulated on article 9.1 f), without any
prejudice to adopted dispositions by Autonomous Communities in the use of
their competencies, will be subject to the following rules:
a) The fund will be constituted at the moment of being approved the ordinary
community budget by the Board of Proprietors, corresponding to the following
annual exercise after the present disposition becomes effective.
New communities of proprietors will constitute the reservation fund when they
approve their first ordinary budget.
b) At the moment of their constitution, the fund will be endowed with not less
than 2,5% amount from the ordinary budget of the community. To such
purpose, proprietors will previously make the necessary contributions according
to their respective participation quotas.
c) When the ordinary budget corresponding the following annual exercise after
that one in which the reservation bottom was first contributed, the endowment of
it will reach the minimum amount stated on clause 9th.
2. The endowment of the reservation fund will not be less than the fixed legal
minimum, At any time during the budgetary exercise.
Removed quantities from funds during the budgetary exercise in order to assist
maintenance expenses and repairs of the property, which are allowed by the
present Act, will be estimated as integral part of it, for the figures of its minimum
quantity.
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1 Article 396 from the c.c., will be written in the following terms:
The different flats or premises in a building, or parts of them liable to
independent use for having an exit to a common element common or to the
public road, will be object of separate property, which have an inherent a co-
ownership right on necessary common elements of the building for their
appropriate quiet enjoyment, such as the floor, foundations, roofs, structural
elements, among which there are the pillars, beams, forgings and main walls;
facades, with external sheatings of terraces, balconies and windows, including
their appearance or configuration, the closing elements which shape them and
their external sheatings; the entrance hall, the stairways, porch, corridors,
passes, walls, moats, patios, wells and the areas for elevators, tanks, meters,
telephonies or to other services or common facilities, even those which were of
exclusive use; elevators and facilities, pipings and gutters for drainage, for
water, gas or electricity supplies, even those for use of solar energy; those of
sanitary hot water, heating, conditioned air, ventilation or smoke evacuation;
those for fire detection and prevention; those for entryphone and others for the
building safety, as well as those of collective antennas and other facilities for
audio-visual services or telecommunication, all of them just to the private area
entrance; servitude and any other material or juridical elements which are
indivisible for their nature or destination.
Parts in co-ownership are not liable in case of division and they will only be able
to be transferred, encumbered or confiscated together with the exclusive part of
which they are inseparable annexes.
In case of alienation of a flat or premises, the owners of the other ones,
just for that power, will not be entitled for pre-emption.
This type of property is governed by special legal provisions and, in what
they allow, for the will of interested ones.
Final provision.
1. Whatever general provision which is against to what has been stated on the
present Act are abolished. Contained clauses on the statutes of the
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