Community
Law Corner:
Article 8
Who can vote at your community meeting
By José Luis Navarro www.intercala.com
The Solicitor and Property Administrator for Intercala Administration
and
Pete Woodall (Woody's Los Boliches)
This article first appeared in the Euro Weekly News, Costa del Sol Edition January 2012
At a general or emergency meeting of your community there are specific conditions as to who can and cannot vote.
These conditions fall into two separate categories, the first condition is with regards to ownership, the second condition requires that all community fees are paid up to date .
In the first case, the only person who has the right to vote at a community meeting is an owner or their authorized representative. Tenants, friends, relatives, partners neighbours or anyone living in or otherwise using a property
or a local may only vote on behalf of the owner if they have a proper authorization, a proxy. In most cases a letter signed by the owner of the property would be considered sufficient authorization. In the case of joint ownership then the co-owners must name just one person to represent them.
With all this in mind the owner (or their properly designated representative) may only vote, provided that all the community fees are fully paid. This point and the exceptions to this point are clearly covered in the Law of Horizontal Property article 15.2.
This basically states that any owners, who at the time of the meeting, are not up to date with their fees will be allowed to partake in the meeting but will not be allowed to vote.
There are other interesting considerations.
Taking all of the above into consideration if you wish to vote at your community meeting
then make sure that you are actually entitled to.
Firstly ensure in advance you are recognized as the legal owner or as the representative of the co-owners.
Secondly if you hold a proxy, that is, you are authorized to vote on behalf of an owner or owners then ensure the proxy or proxies are in writing,
signed by the appropriate owners and you bring them with you.
Thirdly ensure you can demonstrate if needed, that all outstanding community fees are now fully paid
and up to date before the meeting starts.
As usual,
We at Intercala Administration strongly suggest you always seek proper and competent advice in all matters regarding the law.
Who can vote at your community meeting
By José Luis Navarro www.intercala.com
The Solicitor and Property Administrator for Intercala Administration
and
Pete Woodall (Woody's Los Boliches)
This article first appeared in the Euro Weekly News, Costa del Sol Edition January 2012
At a general or emergency meeting of your community there are specific conditions as to who can and cannot vote.
These conditions fall into two separate categories, the first condition is with regards to ownership, the second condition requires that all community fees are paid up to date .
In the first case, the only person who has the right to vote at a community meeting is an owner or their authorized representative. Tenants, friends, relatives, partners neighbours or anyone living in or otherwise using a property
or a local may only vote on behalf of the owner if they have a proper authorization, a proxy. In most cases a letter signed by the owner of the property would be considered sufficient authorization. In the case of joint ownership then the co-owners must name just one person to represent them.
With all this in mind the owner (or their properly designated representative) may only vote, provided that all the community fees are fully paid. This point and the exceptions to this point are clearly covered in the Law of Horizontal Property article 15.2.
This basically states that any owners, who at the time of the meeting, are not up to date with their fees will be allowed to partake in the meeting but will not be allowed to vote.
There are other interesting considerations.
- When an owner thinks they are owed money from the community. Lets say as compensation for some damage or has made a payment on behalf of the community and would now like the amount owed to be taken into consideration as community fees but this payment or repayment has not yet been approved. Legally - despite the supposed credit - the community fees have not yet been fully paid therefore that owner can not legally vote.
- When an owner considers the community fees to be incorrect and refuses to pay. Unless the owner has legally sued the community prior to the meeting and / or has lodged an amount equal to the fees owed with the court, then that owner can not legally vote
- When an owner attempts to pay an outstanding debt to the community by a cheque at the beginning of a meeting. Article 1.170 of the Spanish Civil Code establishes that; when paying by cheque the payment will only be considered made once the cheque has cleared and not before and therefore that owner can not legally vote. If the payment is made in full and in cash then the owner has the right to vote.
Taking all of the above into consideration if you wish to vote at your community meeting
then make sure that you are actually entitled to.
Firstly ensure in advance you are recognized as the legal owner or as the representative of the co-owners.
Secondly if you hold a proxy, that is, you are authorized to vote on behalf of an owner or owners then ensure the proxy or proxies are in writing,
signed by the appropriate owners and you bring them with you.
Thirdly ensure you can demonstrate if needed, that all outstanding community fees are now fully paid
and up to date before the meeting starts.
As usual,
We at Intercala Administration strongly suggest you always seek proper and competent advice in all matters regarding the law.