Proposed Entity ... Important. - Page 3

Have a look at this online map.

http://www.fast2016.org/fastmap/index.html

You can search for a specific street.

You will note that streets are in blocks with alphanumeric labels. Mine is in C2.
You should also see that some streets are on more than one Polygono.

Those are Polygonos.

You should know the Polygono of your own house. It will help the emergency services locate your property, if you should ever need them.

Hi there, my understanding is that a Polígono is what we know as sectors, so sector D23 and each other sector is a Polígono and in the deeds to each property should be listed a cuenta, which a % of costs for the Polígono that each owner will contribute. Mine for example is 2.94%. I understand that the cuenta will depend on the size of the plot of land you own and therefor will not be a simple division of 100% by the number of  properties. 

The entity that was supposed to being forced upon us by the council and which was the premise for last weeks meeting, was confirmed by the mayor not to be happening, neither is the urbanisation wide issue of the fin de obra, (completion of works), which if it had been true, may have introduced the entity (which is different than a community of owners).  So the two things that the meeting was called for; the entity and the fin de obra are not happening. The Mayor did confirm that the whole of Camposol has been adopted by the Council, which was news to me.

We are however still left with the issue that the council will not pay for any works on private roads.

I am sure that if I have got this wrong, I will be corrected, but it is my understanding based on the meeting. I think Tony1948 gave a very comprehensive breakdown of what took place and I would recommend reading his post. I must have left about the same time as him. It was turning into a bit of a free for all during the question and answer session and a blame game rather than looking ahead to what needs to be done.

Hope this helps

I have asked Tom Finnegan where the suggestion of a Camposol wide 'Fin De Obras' came from. 
I'm waiting for an answer, preferably supported with evidence, if such is available.

As for the 'Entity Issue', I think that may derive from the Mayor's 'Manifesto for Camposol' document that was published just before the election last year. In it he clearly mentions A (singular) 'Board of Residents. 

I couldn't upload the file. Here's a link to my online share for it.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ai4VAxQeTPYUi7tu5eqEo2-spk0t7g?e=7Dni02

That should show a folder, which has two files, the two pages of the document.

Copied from a website on Community of Owners - if anyone is interested.

How does a community of owners work?

by Maria Teresa Velasco | Jan 7, 2011 | Property Law

You belong to a community

When you own a property in Spain, you almost certainly belong to a community of owners, or a residents association. There are nevertheless exceptions, if for example your property is a detached house in an isolated area. If your property is part of a community, then membership is compulsory by law.

A community of owners regulates and administrates the common areas of the estate which belong to the whole community but which are not public property. For example if the property is located in an apartment block, the community will manage and maintain common areas like the stair cases, lifts, façades and gardens. Applying same principle if you own a house in an urbanisation the community will manage the maintenance of the private roads, water and sewer connections.

From a legal point of view the community of owners is a hybrid juridical entity. It is collectively composed of all the owners but retains most of the characteristics of an independent juridical entity. This enables the community to work effectively and to hire services from companies for the community.  In Spain the associations are regulated by the horizontal property law (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal) which determine how the communities of owners should be managed and how to solve conflictive situations between the residents themselves.

Horizontal property Law (Ley de propiedad horizontal)

This law refers to the rights of ownership of an individual property within a condominium and was first approved in 1960 but went through several revisions. This law establishes democratic governing processes and at the same time sets the limits for protecting the rights of individual owners towards the community.  A full description of the law is outside the scope of this article but there are many translations in English available. You should take great care as many translations are just summaries and can be imprecise, only the Spanish version has any legal value.

The statutes. Rights and obligations

Apart from this law the community can establish additional statutes and rules for the community. These rules and statutes cannot go against the Horizontal property Law or any other Spanish law. The statutes can also mention the architectural elements that the individual owner can or cannot change. Most often the statutes mention elements visible from the outside, like awnings, satellite dishes or air conditioning units.

Even though it is not compulsory to register the statutes (estatutos), it is advisable. The important difference between the statutes and the internal rules (normas de regimen interior) is that changing the statutes need the unanimous vote from the owners (or a court order) where as the internal rules only need the majority vote from the owners. The statutes are there to protect the rights but also to state the general duties of the individual owners. The community regulations instead focus mainly on practical community regulations like noise after a certain hour of the evening, times for swimming pool use or handling of pets within the common areas.

The community of owners is obliged to properly maintain and execute repairs in order to ensure the safety, habitability and structural integrity of the buildings and common areas under its responsibility. This extends to civil responsibility in cases of negligence or the lack of proper maintenance, where a third party is injured which includes any residents of the community.

It is important to note that the community, in order to fulfill its maintenance and administration duties, must be funded by the individual owners. The quota is set out in the title of deeds of each property. The share of expenses can be calculated in many different ways, the most common is the surface area of the individual properties with respect to the total community surface area. There may be additional factors adjusting this calculation (for example apartments with sea view versus apartments without sea view).

The community fees can vary greatly from as little as 20 € a month for a small apartment to more than a thousand euro a month for luxury developments with concierge and private security.

It is always advisable to have a close look at the statutes and the regulations of the community before purchasing a property in order to avoid surprises, for example if the statutes allow pets or if the community fees are exorbitantly expensive.

Internal community administration and democratic process

There are 3 basic aspects regulating the community

• The owners of a community are required to designate the representatives of the community (chairman, secretaries and administrators) complying with the criteria for choosing them (election, rotation…)
• The community must hold a general meeting at least once a year for deciding budgets and to manage problems which have occurred during the previous period.
• The buyer of a resale property will assume the previous owner’s debts and unpaid bills from the community.

The democratic process and the decision-making revolve around the “general meeting of the community”.  By law it must meet at least once a year as a General meeting in order to approve the accounts, agree on the budget for the following year and to deal with any pending matters or other matters raised by a board member or a community member. The law dictates the procedure for calling the meeting and notifying the owners of the agenda.

During the meetings all decisions are made by votes from the attendants. Owners that cannot attend can delegate their votes to other members of the community or another person. If you cannot be in Spain for the meeting it is recommendable to delegate your vote to a person you can trust, for example your property lawyer.

It is important to notice that the owners in debt to the community can attend the meeting but do not have the right to vote.

The Law on Horizontal Property consider three different types of vote:

• Unanimity vote
• Simple Majority vote
• 3/5 majority vote

The unanimity vote is used only for the following cases:

• Changes in the community shares assigned to the different properties.
• Changes in the statutes of the community
• Changes from communal to private elements

The 3/5 majority vote is used for the establishment or suppression of specific services like lifts, caretakers, guards or other common services of general interest, even if this means a change in the statutes. Disposing of communal elements that have no specific use in the property is also subject to the 3/5 majority vote.

All other decisions can be made by simple majority. Additionally any kind of work related to the suppression of architectonical barriers for handicapped people can be made by a simple majority vote even if it involves changes in the statutes.

Protection of minorities

The law protects minorities and individual owners in many ways. The most important way is to contest a decision taken at a general meeting in court. Three types of decision can be contested:

1. Decisions contrary to the law or the statutes of the Community.
2. Decisions seriously damaging Community interests to the benefit of one or more owners.
3. Decisions that have been made causing great harm to any owner which break the law (for example by the owner not being notified as stated in the Horizontal Property Law).

Of course the owner taking the community to court cannot contest a decision that he has voted for favorably. Owners have 90 days after the decision has been made to contest it in court. Decisions breaking the law or contrary to the statutes can be contested within one year. For owners absent from the meeting where the decision was made, the time limits start from the notification about decisions made.

The different roles in the communityThe chairman

The chairman is the legal representative of the community and he must be one of the co-owners of the community. He is entitled to sign cheques, contracts and can carry out legal actions in the name of the community. The Horizontal property Law states that the community must compulsorily designate one.  Since 1999 the Chairman can be compensated for his services, considering that this activity can be rather time consuming.

The Chairman is generally elected democratically at a general meeting but in few communities the duty is assigned by rotation. The typical term is one year. The Chairman can chose to be released from his position after the end of his term by calling an extraordinary General meeting or by placing the election of a new Chairman in the agenda of an annual general meeting.

The duties of the Chairman are quite diverse, but he cannot make important decisions without consulting the owners in a general meeting nor go against the decisions made by the members in a general meeting.

The responsibilities of the Chairman can be summarized in the following points:

• Take legal action that has been approved by a General Meeting
• Represent the Community in relation to matters concerning individual members
• Represent the Community in matters concerning third parties or companies
• Call the General Meetings
• Chair the General Meetings

The vice-chairman

In 2003 an update of the horizontal property law introduced the role of the vice chairman, this role is not specific or mandatory. The Chairman can delegate tasks to the vice-chairman in his absence.

The Administrator

The administrator is elected by a majority vote during a general meeting. The duration of the term is typically one year although this can vary. The legal responsibility of the administrator can be summarized as follows:

• Supervision and management of the whole community, property, installations and services.
• Budget proposal to be approved by the Community
• Make the necessary payments, collect money from the owners and execute the works decided on by the Community
• Be responsible for the Community accounts
• Optionally, keep the Community minute book and documents

The administrator does not have to be a member of the community and he normally receives payment for his work. In small communities the Chairman can take this role but in larger communities it is normal to contract a specialized firm.

Both the chairman and the administrator can be taken to court for any damage caused by negligence or misconduct.

The secretary

The secretary is elected in exactly the same way as the Chairman. Often this task can be taken by the president or by the administrator. His tasks can be summarised as:

• Send notifications to the owners for the General Meetings, as instructed by the Chairman (if this is not done by the administrator)
• Take the minutes of all meetings
• Send information to the members who were absent from the General Meeting and detail the decisions made during the meeting
• Keep the minute book. This is a very important document. It is a “libro de acta” with numbered pages stamped by the land registry
• Show the minute book to any owner asking to see it
• Keep track of documents and correspondence of the community

The minutes of meetings must record the following items:

• Place and time the meeting was held
• The names of the persons calling the meeting,
• The nature of the meeting (Ordinary or extraordinary)
• The participants in the meeting and their shares, if they participate as a representative for someone and if someone assisted without the right of vote
• Who chaired the meeting and when and where it was held
• The agenda that was sent out in the notification of the meeting,
• The discussion about the different points on the agenda, the main points of view expressed, and the decisions made and with what majority.
• If any member contested the legality of any decision.

The law states in article 19 that the chairman and secretary must sign the minutes within 10 days of the meeting date.

It is mandatory to send the minutes to the owners, in order to allow any of the members to contest any of the decisions made.

Conclusion

A well-run community of owners can greatly enhance the value of a property, while a poorly managed one can create many problems. If you have any questions or doubts about the workings of a community of owners do not hesitate to ask your Spanish lawyer. If you have any grievance about your community speak to your lawyer about it. In most cases it will be possible to mediate and to find an amicable solution to your problems.

Thanks for your comprehensive reply.  Very informative.

As I understand it an attempt was made to claim these funds  5 or 6 years ago.  The banks said we are not paying,  take us to court if  you wish.  

Hi Tony

My understanding is that:

A FIN DE OBRA applies to an individual house it is to certify that that the house has been correctly constructed, that all works on the house are completed, and that the house can be connected to water and electricity supplies as soon as the polygono is .finished. 

 If you are existing owner and you wish to sell using a reputable agent you will be advised that it is a piece of paper that you MUST have,  Spanish law was recently changed to allow houses that have been standing for ten years to pay to have their houses surveyed by a qualified  surveyor/ architect. 

 If a satisfactory survey is completed the document can be signed off by an architect,  completed and issued.

I bought a house  on D sector about 16 years ago. I recently considered selling my house.  I paid about e150, had the house surveyed and now have the Fin de Obra document tucked away.

A CERIFICATE OF HABITATION issued by the local council is essentially an adoption certificate to say that it's all finished, roads have had their top coat of tarmac,  road marking are painted on. main road street lights are on, every thing like drainage and sewage pumping is connected and working. Street sweepers can be glimpsed going about their duties, policemen popping purposefully  around, water leak repairs being checked, etc.

The houses built by 'Monsora' on C sector have these documents.  As far as I am aware the rest of Camposol does not.

In theory you should not be charged IBI until the house is finished.  In practice if you don't pay the outstanding bill, it will be placed as a charge against your house, to be recovered when you sell.

Is there hope on the horizon that the can of worms left by MASA will be sorted? Not at Murcian regional level, or Spanish national level it appears, but there was a great hope that EU money may be obtained and EU representatives were lured into coming to have a look so that bids could be made.  Camposol residents do have a vote in European elections after all.

Alas the great Boris has spoken and Brexit is upon us.  That option of European money is  rapidly vanishing.  The old Chinese curse still applies. May you live in interesting times.

Ian

Pretty much my understanding of things.

Some of us will remain EU Citizens after Brexit. My wife & myself included. There are also a goodly number of Dutch, Belgian, Poles & others on Camposol!

Pleased to hear that. - but so where IS it all coming from? Who IS behind all of this? ...and WHY?  . Should we have a referendum to leave Espana and join Catalunya instead? Ehh, ecky-thump keep your sombrerro on- that last line WAS a Joke, Lol!

Is it perhaps the SUB-divisions. like D12, D14,  D15, etc?