Community Charge Non Payers

Hi Big C,

I believe when you recieve your community  bill, you have to sign the attached form and send it back by fax or post allowing them to take the monies from your account. We set up what we thought would be an automatic standing order but were told that we still had to return the signed form for monies to be released!!

No it can't be that as I have never sent any paperwork back but they have taken the money in the past.

I'm not convinced it isn't paid to be honest and will have to check with the bank

We received a strong letter early  last year to say we hadn't paid the second installment of '07s fees ,we quickly photo copied our proof of payment to the administrators, we eventually received an apology a couple of weeks later saying there had been a mix up,so   i would strongly suggest you double check your bank statements ,by the way we don't pay by direct debit ,just pay it via our local bank in spain when we are there.

Dave & Lynda

Hi All , Good Evening

On the  General Spain Forum  there is a thread under " Community charges....nonpayers "  started by promedia

Under that thread a UK Lawyer recomends that he can get the debts paid in about 6 weeks without going to Court ?

No Hourly Fee, No Hidden Costs and  the Community agree before hand a percentage of the debt we pay to him

on any recovered monies ! He is on the Forum under the name Solutions and he has a property in Spain and offers to

Fly over to talk any Community through the process

I am sure there are more abled people out there on Roda that could perhaps follow this thread and ask the revelant questions to him ?

It must be in all our interests to at least listen to what he has to say, There are no Fees to him up Front !

Talk it does you good !

Maybe its to good to be true but we would be silly if somebody from Roda could at least follow up the info i have read on EOS

If we can get a positive feeling perhaps this could be presented to the upcoming AGM

bEST rEGARDS

My fees have been taken automatically from my account I have not copmpleted any paperwork since the first request.

Jored

Maybe a good idea for you to follow up your own piece of information so that you can help the rest of us, this sort of thing is exactly what I mean when I suggest we all have to get involved with our own community.

If you follow the link I posted a few days ago from "justlanded" re communities and bad debts, again found under the same thread in General Forums you will see what the laws are in Spain.

We all have a property in Spain along with a number of Spanish owners and we have a Spanish Administrator who will follow the legal procedures that exist in Spain.

Should you be able to present an effective argument for why they or we for that matter should try a different approach I am sure we would all be interested and delighted.

I am not sure I understand your comment

Maybe its to good to be true but we would be silly if somebody from Roda could at least follow up the info i have read on EOS

Who at Roda do you actually mean?

hugh_man

 Sorry I didnt no that I had to report to you before I put anything on this Thread about this  forum  ?   I was trying to help the Roda Community with information we perhaps did not have only for you  to tell me how I should proceed?

" This is the sought of thing is exactly what YOU mean when YOU suggest we all have to get involved with our own community "

your words . well  YOU carry on and do it your way   ... .............Who at Roda do you actually mean !!!!!

You have a lot to say so the last bit  that I stated  is for you, perhaps YOU go and do it  YOU seem to have all the answers

I hope now you understand my comment

My Spanish wife just asked me why is that man so aggresive you are only trying to help?

I said he is probally tired and emotional being that is was 11.54 pm when he sat down to write the master peace

 I've spoken to a friend that has an apartment in Marbella for 15 years, they have been in exactly the same situation before.

The solution for them was to 

• Denounce/ Denuncia (make an official complaint) about the non payment
• If payment is still not forthcoming the property is sealed ( so preventing access by the owner, usually by covering the locks on the doors etc) - a fine is levied at this point
• Eventually if the situation is not resolved  (payment of fine and community charges) the property is repossessed and sold to cover the costs

I would think that the community office would be aware of such avenues available to them. My friend has seen this in action and it seems to solve the problem!

This is why it's important that the paid up members vote in person or by proxy to get the ball rolling.

Thanks Adav

Your posting is certainly one of the most informative, I have seen on the forum in a long time.  I hope it works out, as you have stated, for us fee payers!

kroda

Perhaps I should have cut and paste this bit of the article I found on the general forums from Justlanded.com rather than posting the link re non payment of community fees. I am not convinced of the 3 months due to delays in Spanish Legal systems but perhaps the threat will stir many into paying.

.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................

The value of a community property depends to a large extent on how well the development is maintained and managed. Note, however, that less than half of all communities in Spain are considered to be well run! 

Non-payment of Fees
In the past, many communities had severe debt problems because of the non-payment of fees, which in turn led to the management failing to maintain facilities such as lifts, lighting and security systems when they broke down. However, this problem has been largely eradicated with the introduction of a community law in 1999, under which it’s much easier to embargo the property of owners who don’t pay their community fees and, if necessary, force a sale.

The proceedings (called procedimiento monitorio in article 21 of the law) now take around three months only, commencing with a demand ( demanda) in court signed by the president and administrator of a community. After a case has been admitted, the judge asks the debtor to deposit the amount owed within 20 days and an announcement is placed in the province’s ‘official bulletin’ ( Boletín Oficial de la Provincia/BOP). If he doesn’t pay, an embargo is placed on the property and if the debt is still unpaid or additional debts are accrued, the property can be forcibly sold at a public auction at the request of the community representatives.

If you own a second home in Spain that you visit once or twice a year, it’s important to ensure (double check!) that all bills are paid in your absence, otherwise you could find that when you return to Spain your home has been sold to pay bills!

 For anyone interested in this subject I have posted a brief resume of the Legal Process proposed and approved by Community AGMs, provided by and with the permission of the community administrator.

The posting has been made on the Roda Owners Only Private Forum which was also proposed and adopted at both Phase 1 and Phase 2 Apartments AGMs.

Details of the Roda Owners Private Board will be in the minutes of the above communities and the Administrator has agreed to providing information updates for the benefit of ALL owners. The Administrator also requested that ALL owners ensure that she has an up to date email contact  to enable regular news bulletins to be sent out in order to cut down on costs and speed up the AGM process. Please contact  info@housingcomunidades.com to provide contact details if you have not already done so.

For info on how to access Roda Owners Forum message me or email hugh_man@btinternet.com