court cases against non payers of the community

hello everyone i am new

anybody enlighten me how long the process takes to recover money from non payers in a community,we have already had one court hearing and our president has worked really hard on this but it is likely i will be the new president at the end of april and interested to hear any other accounts on this subject. 

Hello Shirederby and welcome to EOS

Well, I am afraid you will have an uphill struggle on this one.

Our Presidente runs our community by the book and does his job extremely well.

However, for the non-payers, it is just a cat & mouse game, plus lots of time in legal matters.

I am not an expert in this field, we have Roberto on this forum who will answer you in more depth.

But how I understand things is this, debtors can be chased, named and shamed on debtors lists posted in your "communial places", charged extra for the chasing, charged extra for the delay in paying and finally ( after years and years) can have their homes boarded up and claimed by the community for non payment of community fees, sold and the monies paid into the community funds.

If you are elected Presidente, I strongly suggest you ask "Roberto" for a copy of the Horizontal Property Law document that he freely gives to EOS members, and I wish you the best of luck!

It is often a thankless task and you will get abuse from community members on a daily basis!

Our Presidente is often called upon in the middle of the night to sort out unruly tenants/holiday makers, so be warned!!

Kind regards,

Woops, sorry, hit the post button twice!

Drunk again....................will I EVER learn?!

Janice! You clocked me!

I was trying it on, but NOTHING gets past you mate does it? DRAT!!!

There you go again, Fibby, building my part up!

Welcome, Shirederby. Unfortunately, I really can't answer your question, since thankfully we've not got to that stage in our community (YET). I was speaking to another president at our administrators office the other day, who said they had been trying for a year now to recover unpaid fees through the courts. I don't think they have been successful yet.

Non payers are the bugbear of all communities. There is no definitive way to avoid it, but there are a couple of ways to help. A fine can be imposed for late payment, but of course collecting it is just as difficult as collecting the original money. At least when it is finally recovered, the community will benefit from a bit more money. Alternatively, a discount for early payers can be used. This works by increasing everyone's quota by, say, 25%, but offering an automatic discount of 20% for those that pay by standing order, or in cash by a certain date, say, the first 15 days of the quarter. So, if your normal quota is say €1000, it would become €1250 with the 25% added. Pay on time, and you get 20% discount, i.e. €250, so you only pay €1000 - same as before. Either method need the approval by the majority vote of members attending the AGM. We just had ours, and agreed on the latter.

If you become president at the next meeting, why not propose introducing this system? The vote will almost certainly go your way, since only those who are up to date on their payment can vote, and they are unlikely to have any objection, since they pay on time anyway!

You can get the Horizontal Law in English here:

http://www.eyeonspain.com/spain-magazine/horizontal-laws.pdf

(Always handy to have if you're president! Good Luck!)

thanks everybody,

the information has been helpful every snippet i get from different sources add up to the big picture.i do not enter into the presidents role eyes shut i am aware of the problems as i have seen the two very good previous presidents put up with the most idiotic requests,i have to say the community runs well,the build was of excellent quality and it surpassed  most peoples expectations and of 44 dwellings we only have 6 non payers of which i think two may well pay up at the meeting but we do have 4 who have paid anything for 2 years these were taken to court for the first hearing but not sure what is supposed to happen now but i think it is going to take some time i will keep you all posted as it may prove useful in the future for someone    

It is often a thankless task and you will get abuse from community members on a daily basis!

Our Presidente is often called upon in the middle of the night to sort out unruly tenants/holiday makers, so be warned!!

Blimey, she makes it sound like you'll be put in stocks once a week to have rotten tomatoes thrown at you! My community members love me (because they are eternally grateful that they don't have to be president).

Shirederby, it sounds like the hardest bit has already been done, i.e. getting the case to court. Now surely it's just a matter of time? The president I spoke to intimated that once these things get to court, it can be resolved fairly swiftly. Do let us know how things go, including your forthcoming inauguration!

Hi Roberto,

Maybe I am a big old softie, and maybe I socialise with our Presidente and know too much of what he has to put up with!

No, I don't think that EVERY Presidente gets put in the stocks, although that would be a good excuse for a fiesta day wouldn't it?!

What I tried to get across, is the fact that the Presidente's job is a hard one.

Unpaid and sometimes unloved (unlike you darling).

He/She is there to enforce the rules and often gets verbal abuse from people who don't like the rules.

So yes, they do get it in the ear from time to time, and I personallt think it is a thankless task!

Good on ALL of you Presidentes, I would not do it for all the tea in China, so I applaud you all...................

Kind regards,

Hi Fibby

Have to agree!  (especially about the stocks and the fiesta day)  We work hard for our Community mainly because we want it to be a decent place to live.  50% of our owners are behind us 45% don´t give a dam as long as the pool is open and they can get away without paying anything or doing anything and 5% are the I could do that better/cheaper brigade.  We are with the 50% and won´t let the others drag us down.

Denise, you know of course that 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot, but nevertheless I like your percentages - 5% ain't too bad!

Roll on the tomato fiesta

As the wife of a Presidente I think the job is a pain in the butt!!!

Regarding Court proceedings, believe me, it can take ages...but mainly because the Spanish system gives much opportunity for the debtors to pay..letters are sent out then information from the court is hand delivered ( if the person resides in Spain..notification from the court is not sent to England or wherever ). Eventually when it actually gets to court there seems to be several ways the miscreant can avoid or delay the proceedings, ie. sacking their legal representative, sending in a sick note, or dissappearing altogether!!! Then the court must begin again and advertise the debt in the National press and in the Courthouse, then if the person does not respond, the Court will try the case in the absence of the debtor.   THEN...you have to get the money..PLUS the court costs. SO a debt that began as 1500 euro becomes 3000 euro. And if you were not getting the origional sum owing then it seems obvious that the larger amount will be even harder to get!!

At that stage, after a judgement from the court, all the assets of a person in Spain ie. house, car and bank account can have an embargo put on them and they can be sold and the money retained by the court and community for debts outstanding.

The big problem here, as I see it, is that it all takes so long and is SO SO fustrating, to the Presidente and to all the other owners who think the Presidente is doing nothing and should be doing more...and especially to the Presidente's WIFE who has to listen to the moans of the Community and the moans of the Presidente!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And Fibby..it is often the Preidente's wife who is dealing with rowdy holiday makers in the middle of the night!!    Take care of the hip.

And I need one of those jumping up and down things that everone else has but as I have only just mastered the computer basics I shall need help to sort it out. SIMPLE words and actions please !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Joy to all!! Stay calm!!!!

I totally agree with you KarenSun,

Especially the bit about rowdy holidaymakers in the middle of the night.

              Who needs those eh?

You need an Avatar...................one of thos "junpy up and down things"

If you go to "Forum Help", our valued member JeanSis has put instructions in there.

I reckon you ought to choose a medal one, I think you deserve it being the Presidente's wife!

Hip hip hooray! Getting better day by day!

Kind regards & big hugs of course...............

Hi KarenSun, nice to have a "First Lady" joining in the community discussions. I'm sure my better half will sympathise with you - especially the bit about having to listen to the Presidente moaning!

Since I first started posting bits about my own experience as president, and waffling on in my articles about a year in the life of the president, I've come to appreciate how fortunate I am with the community I've been entrusted with. It seems that there are many other ex-pats getting involved in the running of their communities, and having to cope with situations far more challenging than any I have so far encountered. My message to all of them, and their long suffering partners, is keep up the good work, you have my utmost respect.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thanks folks, I love the jumpy up and down thing but I can assure you that it is in no way a replica of yours truely...................too many lumps and bumps...............................however I think millions of years ago I looked a bit like that but now I find it easier to buy bigger clothes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a bit ironic really, as since landing in this sunny isle 5 years ago I've become chairperson of a unisex slimming and recreation club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do support healthy eating.not dieting but I love the bread....the chocolate.........the fries..........................the wine......................the tia maria...........................EVERYTHING.

Jumped off the thread, sorry...........................................will try to be a good Presidente wife......but always had a problem with my big mouth.

Take care. Keep calm.

"...since landing in this sunny isle 5 years ago..."

Could you be the first member NOT on the mainland?