The following article is taken from Eye on Spain, www.eyeonspain.com

Horizontal Property Act - Part 1

The recently reformed Horizontal Property Act, regulates a special kind of property by flats or premises which is the most common one in our towns.

According to this co-ownership system, every owner has on one hand the individual and exclusive property right over his/her dwelling or premise and also, the co-ownership, together with the rest of the owners, over the common elements of the building ( stairs, patios,  yards, entrances, elevators, structural elements, power supplies installations,etc).

Every apartment or premise has a quota or share of ownership ( cuota de participación)  of the total value of the building, which is the scale to determine the percentage on the community expenses to be paid by each owner.

When you buy an apartment under this Law, you buy  both an apartment and a quota or share of ownership over the common elements.

When you are buying a house, you should consult  the  constitutive title of the horizontal property in the Land Registry.

It is a document which describes the building as a general unit and every flat or premise individually, with indication of  surface, floor and anexes such as parking garages, attics or storage rooms.

The proportional share of every flat or premise is fixed  having as the calculation base, the net usable area of every flat or premise in relation to the whole building, its interior and exterior location, situation, and the kind of use of common elements that the owner is supossed to be doing in the future.

This title also has certain regulations of the building use, its flats and premises, installations and services, expenses, administration, maintenance and repairs, which constitute the Statutes of the Community of Owners. Every new owner will be bound automatically by the Statutes and the decisions taken at previous meetings.

It is very important to know that this statutes can be modified just by unanimous consent of all the owners. Therefore, for instance, if the statutes prohibit the use the apartments as offices ( open to public), if there is a neighbour who wants to open a practice there, he will have to get the unanimous consent of all the neighbours in a meeting.

If you are purchasing in a new development the rules of the Community must be explained to you and approved on your behalf.

 


Comments:

CommentDateUser
Having purchased an apartment in Jimena de la Frontera. Our president is Spanish and does not have the Horizontal property act, could you let me know where I can get the Spanish version for him. Thanks6/9/2008 9:21:00 AMdwilliams
Who actually calculates the Quota on your apartment on a new development?8/6/2008 7:55:00 PMandy737
I purchased a bungalow in El Albir, Alfaz del Pi. My neighbour has recently blocked my access to my house, claiming that I must use my neighbours gate, which according to him is the communal gate. I went to the town hall about it and they sent him a letter to put the land back the way it was, he refused to accept the letter. Can you advise me what to do next as I am not getting any help anywhere and cannot afford a lawyer.9/11/2009 1:57:00 PMJohnRimmer
Does the law on horizontal property extend to land not owned by the community. i.e rocks are falling on to our car park the land is owned by the council who say they can not afford to secure it but would be happy if our community were to pay for the required work!! A decision has been taken to do this and then try and reclaim the money from the council,my beef is that the community want to split the cost based on the size of apartment which i feel in this case to be unfair and that the cost should be split equally. My reasoning for this is that those with cars who are unable to use them will benefit more than those without and those who live there permanently will also benefit more,while i am perfectly happy to contribute i do feel that an equal share would be fairer. Dos the law on horiziontal property appl? many thanks for your help. 7/30/2010 9:48:00 AMd passant
The president (chair person) has to be elected on an annual basis. Do the administrators have to be elected each year or do they have to be voted out once elected. 4/1/2012 9:00:00 PMjames jackson
Our urbanisation was given the Judgement contents.I got the Spanish version.Please explain what this says.Juzado de Primera instancia no uno.-----Procedimiento ordinario-001677/2008. Sentencia no295/2011. Thank you. Yvonne Fischer. 6/21/2012 3:44:00 PMyvonne fischer
Hola You say above: "This title also has certain regulations of the building use, its flats and premises, installations and services, expenses, administration, maintenance and repairs, which constitute the Statutes of the Community of Owners. Every new owner will be bound automatically by the Statutes and the decisions taken at previous meetings. It is very important to know that this statutes can be modified just by unanimous consent of all the owners. Therefore, for instance, if the statutes prohibit the use the apartments as offices ( open to public), if there is a neighbour who wants to open a practice there, he will have to get the unanimous consent of all the neighbours in a meeting." I have a flat in a conjuncto at Villa Martin Orihuela. There is some argument over the responsiblities of the community/individual owner. The flats were built in 1982 and it is said that there were originally 'estatutes' but nobody seems to have a copy. 1. Do I understand you to say that these should be available in an original community deed in the land registry? 2. If the original statutes are not available how do you set the limits of resposibility between owner and community under the Horisontal law? Gracias Ted 12/29/2012 12:24:00 PMTed P
Is it legal for the President to reside outwith Spain ie. England ? Does the President require to be a permanent resident in Spain and have fiscal residency? Any information would be appreciated. Will.2/2/2014 10:53:48 AMWill E. Stone