Liabilities of the developer /promotor

I've lived in Spain for 32 years in an urbanisation. The original developer was a Dutch company who in approximately 1984 sold the urbanisation to an Iranian gentleman who continued to trade under the same name. Since he arrived he has spent almost nothing on maintenance, throwing all costs onto the Community, effectively the owners who, in great part, have not objected owing to their lack of knowledge as to how things should work here. It is my belief that the developer / promotor is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure until the day that the urbanisation is finished. The ayuntamiento have in fact fined him for failing to do so. In 2007 in a meeting at the ayuntamiento he promised to renew the water distribution system, it was eventually done in 2012 and paid for by the owners. For the last six years we have had the same President who is a great chum of the developer, as a result of which most of the community fees that we pay are diverted to the developer. Last year in the AGM the President proposed that the Promotor only pay 50% of the community fees on empty plots and in view of the large number of proxy votes held by the President it was passed. I believe it's illegal as a pillar of the Law of Horizontal Property is that all property owners MUST be treated equally.

I would welcome informed replies on these matters, particularly on the question of the continuing obligation of the promotor to maintain the infrastructure at his own expense.

Thanks in advance.

I advise you to obtain a book on Spanish Law, but wonder why the community have not found a new Administrator. There are some very good Administrators out there but you should look into the History of any new one by going to the complexes they are administrating and try a survey with the people in that community. 

Thank you Poedoe, the problem is that here, in Spain, the law is ALWAYS open to interpretation and everything is done in accord with the "plan compadre" - you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours. I agree that we should change the administrator but that's virtually impossible because all the foreigners just want a peaceful life and give the President their proxy vote. The fact that we are paying out hundreds of thousands of € unnecessarily goes straight over their heads.

I know what the answer is, it is to employ a lawyer from some other province with NO local connections but I'm not prepared to finance that alone and with the high level of apathy that exists I feel I'm flogging a dead horse. Now if someone were to pop their head up and say "Yes, the infrastructure IS the responsibility of the developer because.... that would change the situation. As you can see I haven't been exactly overwhelmed with responses.

This message was last edited by ehw on 14/11/2014.