What to know about community of neighbours' meetings in Spain

If you buy an apartment in Spain or a house which is part of a community compound, you will have to take on several responsibilities such as paying community bills, complying with common rules and participating in community meetings and decisions.

Neighbourhood meetings are in fact enshrined in the Horizontal Property Law and are essential for ensuring coexistence between owners and reaching democratic agreements on certain issues.

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These meetings are typically held once a year, although there may be special ones to discuss urgent repairs, security or other important or more pressing issues.

The purpose of these meetings are primarily to discuss community accounts, reappoint governing board positions, and propose approval of budget expenditures, but can cover many different topics.

Firstly, they must be public, and all residents must be informed, indicating the date, time, location, and topics to be discussed.

It's also mandatory to include a list of owners who are not up to date with their payments, indicating that they will not be able to vote on certain decisions.

It's worth noting that these meetings will usually be carried out in Spanish or another local language such as Catalan in Catalonia, so if your language skills are not yet up to scratch, it may be worth taking someone along who can understand or asking the president of your building for a summary of what’s to be discussed so you can brush up on particular vocabulary.

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Sometimes it may not be absolutely mandatory to attend a meeting, but even so, it’s a good idea. Important issues are discussed here which could have consequences for you. For example, your neighbours may vote to increase the community fees in order to have more money in case of repairs, or they may vote to install a lift, meaning that you’ll be liable to pay your share, even if you don’t want one.

When it comes to more important issues, such as energy efficiency projects, limiting the use of tourist accommodation, or renting out community spaces, a qualified majority is required, which in this case is three-fifths or one-third, depending on the case.

When it comes to these issues, residents have one month in which to cast their votes, even if you did not attend the meeting. If you do not vote within those 30 days, your vote will be added to the majority.

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If you own a property, but do not live there yourself, it is possible to attend through legal or voluntary representation in case you can’t get there. If the latter is the case, a written authorisation signed by you would suffice. It must identify both the representative and the person represented, as well as the property or properties in question. It must also include express authorisation to attend and vote, as well as the signatures of both.

Meetings may also sometimes by conducted online by videoconference provided that everyone consents, but this may not be typical.

If you are concerned that the neighbours in your building are not holding regular yearly meetings and you have issues that you want to discuss, you should contact the president of the building and ask why they aren't being held.

You can also request that they set one up if you believe the issue is important enough and needs all neighbours on board.