Community or association of owners

1. Does your national law envisage that the owners of the apartments are organised in any type of association or community to take decisions about common interests in the building or block which their apartments belong to?

As above was mentioned, owners agree about matters of common interest, the use of communal elements or the way of exercising rights over them in the board of proprietors (junta de propietarios), which is the representative body of the proprietors or community of proprietors (comunidad de propietarios).

2. In this case, does Law this association have a legal personality?

Spanish legislation doesn’t award legal personality to community of proprietors, however recognizes legal unity to this for some purposes, for example to bring a lawsuit against those proprietors who haven’t paid for common expenses, even requesting attachment of their flats or premises to these debts.

3. Otherwise, are these matters dealt with under the ordinary regime for co-ownership, or are there special features in these cases?

It appears certainly restricted the possibility of the ordinary regimen for co-ownership governing the situation of a building divided into flats.

As mentioned above (I.2.), the fact that a building is divided into different flats or premises capable of independent use along with the existence of communal elements of this building normally leads to apply the specific legislation on Condominium (Horizontal Ownership Act and 396th Civil Code).