Question about Communities

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20 Sep 2009 12:00 AM by saffsam Star rating. 1 posts Send private message

Hi there bit of a newbie here :) but hola to everyone and many thanks in advance for anyone who answers my questions.

I have some questions regarding communities which hopefully hasn´t previously been answered before. Having seen your work on here Maria del Castro if you have any answers I would be grateful for your particular opinion.

I have been asked by the new president in my community in Estepona if I would like to be administrator as I speak spanish and english.

1. Do I need a licence or legal qualification to become administrator? Can you be self employed and charge for your services as a self employed individual akin to consultancy?

As is stands we recently voted out a president who was the developer of the community and until recently has allegedly been misappropriating community funds ordering services like security cameras and charging expensive repairs without the consent of all owners. This may have been because he still owns a large number of apartments in the urbanisation and has a large if not majority vote. He recently resigned and was offered  position of vice president as an olive branch and we now have an english president with the communities best interests at heart however all attempts at asking for information from the current administrators are proving difficult as information is witheld such as previous quotes for work.

2. Are we in a position to reclaim these expenses as in reality they were not approved by the owners.

3. The current president is looking for all sorts of answers in order to get up to speed and has backing from many owners of a suspension of the security for a 3 month trial but the administrators are recieving contrary information from the vice president who appears to overiding the presidents request and as he is in cahoots with the administrators asking them not to give certain information requested by the president.

Is this legal? Does the vice president have any rights to overide the president? In order to remove the vice president - can the president sack him or the current management team which was opted to have when the new president took over or does an EGM have to be called and a vote of no confidence approved as an official item on the agenda?

Finally, if I am not able to be administrator - Can anyone recommend a decent administrator in the Estepona/Casares area?

Muchas Gracias y saldos,

Saff





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21 Sep 2009 8:40 AM by spanishsolicitor Star rating in Murcia. 140 posts Send private message

spanishsolicitor´s avatar

Second paragraph of section 13 (6) of the Commonhold Act 49/1960 provides that ‘the position of administrator and, where applicable, that of secretary-administrator may be occupied by any owner, or by individuals with adequate professional qualification and legally licensed to perform such functions’, thus you may be an administrator of your community if you are proprietor.

In my view, it is always better to have an owner-administrator than a professional one. Everybody knows about problems caused by some administrators in communities who are in most of the cases bribed by suppliers. They think that their fees should be complemented, Spanish or Latin ‘belief’ I’m afraid. Another clear advantage would be the closeness to the owners.

In addition, if you speak Spanish and English your community will save a lot of money in minutes translation (0, 12 - 0, 15 € per word). That means a lot of money in small communities.
 
Anyway you should have a clear knowledge of the law or seek for legal and independent advice.
 
In accordance with section 20 'it shall be the function of the administrator:
(a) To watch over the proper management of the commonhold, its installations and services, and to advise and admonish owners to that effect.
(b) To prepare the budget of predictable expenses with sufficient anticipation and to submit it to the Owners’ Committee, proposing measures to cover the expenses.
(c) To see to the upkeep and maintenance of the commonhold, arranging for urgent repairs and measures, reporting promptly to the president or, where appropriate, to the owners.
(d) To carry out the decisions adopted regarding maintenance works and to make and receive payments as appropriate.
(e) To act, where applicable, as secretary of the Owners’ Committee and to keep custody of commonhold documents available for the owners.
(f) Any other function conferred by the Owners’ Committee'.
 
It must be distinguished between ‘misappropriating community funds’, which is an offence and ‘ordering services like security cameras and charging expensive repairs without the consent of all owners’.  
Installing CCTV Cameras in common parts requires not only the consent of the Owners’ Committee but the observance of the Private Security Act 23/1992 as well as the Data Protection Act 15/1999 and its regulations Real Decreto 1720/2007
 
Regarding your developer I think you know that regardless of the number of properties owned he has only one vote. However, as it is laid down in the majorities system stated in section 16 those owners who have more than one unit will have the sum of allocations of his units.
It must be recalled that the special system of majorities established by the Act requires in most of cases both the majority of the votes and the majority of commonhold allocations, which are necessary in order to reach the quorum for passing resolutions.
 
With regard your position of claim expenses on the ground of lack of consent it is very difficult because of the bona fide principle which protects third party against presidents acting without the required authorization.
 
Section 13 (4) of the Act makes provision for the office of vice-president:
The existence of vice-presidents shall be optional. They shall be designated by the same procedure set forth for the appointment of the president.
The vice-president, or vice-presidents in the order prescribed, shall replace the president in cases of absence, vacancy or incapacity, and assist him/her in the exercise of his/her duties under the terms established by the Owner’s Committee.
 
The vice president has no right to override the president and you need only an ordinary resolution from the Owners’ Committee in order to remove him.

Felix



_______________________
www.fljordan.com



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