Horizontal Property

Article 2

This Act shall apply

• a) To communities of owners constituted in accordance with the provisions of Art. 5.
• b) To those communities which meet the requirements established in Art. 396 CC and which have not granted the title of condominium. These communities shall be governed, in all cases, by the provisions of this Act as regards the legal regime of the property, its private parts and common elements, as well as the reciprocal rights and obligations of the co-owners.
• c) To private real estate complexes, under the terms established in this Law.

CHAPTER II. THE SYSTEM OF OWNERSHIP BY FLATS OR PREMISES

Article 3

In the property regime established in art. 396 CC, the owner of each flat or premises has the following rights:

a) The singular and exclusive right of ownership over a space sufficiently delimited and susceptible of independent use, with the architectural elements and installations of all kinds, apparent or otherwise, which are included within its limits and serve exclusively the owner, as well as that of the annexes which have been expressly indicated in the title deed even if they are located outside the delimited space See arts. 399 CC and 107.11 LH.

b) Co-ownership, with the other owners of flats or premises, of the remaining common elements, belongings and services See arts. 392 and 394 CC.

Each flat or premises shall be assigned a participation quota in relation to the total value of the property and referred to hundredths of the same. This share shall serve as a module to determine the participation in the community charges and benefits. The improvements or impairments of each flat or premises shall not alter the share attributed, which may only be varied by unanimous agreement See arts. 396 CC and 5, 8, 9 and 11 of the present law.

Each owner may freely dispose of his right, without being able to separate the elements that comprise it and without the transfer of enjoyment affecting the obligations deriving from this system of ownership.

Article 4

An action for division shall not be brought to bring about the cessation of the situation regulated by this Act. It may only be brought by each owner in joint ownership of a specific flat or premises, limited to that flat or premises, and provided that the joint ownership has not been established for the common service or utility of all the owners.

Article 5

The title deed of the property by flats or premises shall describe, in addition to the property as a whole, each one of them, to which a correlative number shall be assigned. The description of the property shall state the circumstances required by mortgage law and the services and facilities it has. The description of each flat or premises shall state its extension, boundaries, floor on which it is located and the annexes, such as garage, attic or basement.

The same title shall establish the share of participation corresponding to each flat or premises, determined by the sole owner of the building when the sale of the building by flats is initiated, by agreement of all the existing owners, by award or by judicial decision. The useful surface area of each flat or locale in relation to the total of the building, its interior or exterior location, its situation and the use that it is rationally presumed will be made of the services or common elements shall be taken as the basis for its determination.

The title may also contain rules for the constitution and exercise of the right and provisions not prohibited by law regarding the use or destination of the building, its different floors or premises, installations and services, expenses, administration and government, insurance, conservation and repairs, forming a private statute that shall not prejudice third parties if it has not been registered in the Land Registry.

In any modification of the title, and except for the provisions on the validity of agreements, the same requirements shall be observed as for incorporation.

Article 6

In order to regulate the details of coexistence and the proper use of services and common things, and within the limits established by law and the bylaws, the group of owners may establish internal rules that shall also bind all owners until they are modified in the manner provided for in order to make agreements on the administration of the property.

Article 7

1. The owner of each flat or premises may modify the architectural elements, installations or services of the same when this does not impair or alter the safety of the building, its general structure, its external configuration or state, or prejudice the rights of another owner, and must give prior notice of such works to the person representing the community.

In the rest of the building, no alterations may be carried out, and if he notices the need for urgent repairs, he must inform the administrator without delay.

2. The owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not permitted to carry out activities in the flat or in the rest of the property which are prohibited in the statutes, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, noxious, dangerous or illicit activities.

The president of the community, at his own initiative or at the initiative of any of the owners or occupants, shall require the person carrying out the activities prohibited by this section to cease them immediately, under penalty of initiating the appropriate legal action.

If the offender persists in his conduct, the President, after authorisation by the Board of Owners, duly convened for this purpose, may bring an action for cessation against him, which, where not expressly provided for in this Article, shall be dealt with by means of an ordinary lawsuit.

On presentation of the claim, accompanied by accreditation of the reliable summons to the offender and certification of the resolution adopted by the Owners' Meeting, the judge may order the immediate cessation of the prohibited activity as a precautionary measure, under penalty of incurring the offence of disobedience.

He may also adopt any precautionary measures that may be necessary to ensure the effectiveness of the cease and desist order. The claim must be directed against the owner and, where appropriate, against the occupant of the dwelling or premises.

If the judgement is upheld, in addition to the definitive cessation of the prohibited activity and the appropriate compensation for damages, the right to use the dwelling or premises may be deprived for a period not exceeding three years, depending on the seriousness of the infringement and the damage caused to the community. If the offender is not the owner, the sentence may declare the definitive extinguishment of all rights relating to the dwelling or premises, as well as its immediate release.

Article 8

The flats or premises and their annexes may be subject to material division, to form other smaller and independent flats, and increased by the addition of other adjoining flats in the same building, or reduced by the segregation of some part of them.
In such cases, in addition to the consent of the affected owners, the approval of the Owners' Meeting is required, which is responsible for establishing the new participation quotas for the reformed flats, subject to the provisions of Art. 5, without altering the quotas of the remaining flats.

In the deed by which the flat or premises are transferred for valuable consideration, the transferor must declare that he is up to date in the payment of the expenses or, if applicable, state which expenses he owes; the transferor for valuable consideration will be subject to the legal obligation of reorganisation or by the non-apparent burden of the expenses to whose payment the flat or premises are assigned.

Article 9

1. The obligations of each owner are as follows

• a) To respect the general installations of the community and other common elements, whether they are for general use or for the private use of any of the owners, whether or not they are included in their flat or premises, making proper use of the same and avoiding at all times causing damage or deterioration.
• b) To maintain his own flat or premises and private installations in a good state of repair, in terms that do not harm the community or the other owners, making reparation for any damage caused by his carelessness or that of the persons for whom he is responsible.
• c) To consent in his dwelling or premises to the repairs required for the service of the property and to allow the necessary easements required for the creation of common services of general interest agreed in accordance with the provisions of art. 17, having the right to be compensated by the community for the damages caused.
• d) To allow entry to his flat or premises for the purposes set out in the three previous sections.
• e) To contribute, in accordance with the participation quota established in the title deeds or as specially established, to the general expenses for the adequate maintenance of the property, its services, charges and responsibilities that cannot be individualised.
  The credits in favour of the community derived from the obligation to contribute to the maintenance of the general expenses corresponding to the instalments attributable to the expired part of the current year and the immediately preceding calendar year have the status of preferential for the purposes of art. 1923 of the Civil Code and precede, for their satisfaction, those listed in sections 3, 4 and 5 of said precept, without prejudice to the preference established in favour of salary credits in the Workers' Statute.
  The acquirer of a flat or premises under the horizontal property regime, even with a title registered in the Land Registry, is liable with the property acquired for the amounts owed to the community of owners for the maintenance of the general expenses by the previous owners up to the limit of those that are attributable to the expired part of the year in which the acquisition takes place and to the immediately preceding calendar year. The flat or premises shall be legally subject to the fulfilment of this obligation.
  In the public instrument by means of which the flat or premises are transferred, by whatever title, the transferor must declare that he/she is up to date with the payment of the general expenses of the community of owners or express those that are owed. The transferor must at this time provide certification of the state of debts with the community, coinciding with his declaration, without which the execution of the public deed cannot be authorised, unless he is expressly exempted from this obligation by the acquirer. The certificate shall be issued within a maximum period of seven calendar days from its request by the person acting as secretary, with the approval of the chairman, who shall be liable, in the event of fault or negligence, for the accuracy of the data stated therein and for the damages caused by the delay in its issue.
• f) Contribute, in accordance with their respective participation quota, to the reserve fund that will exist in the community of owners to cover the conservation and repair works of the property.
  The reserve fund, the ownership of which corresponds for all purposes to the community, will be endowed with an amount which in no case may be less than 5 per cent of its last ordinary budget.
  The community may use the reserve fund to take out an insurance contract to cover damage caused to the property, or to conclude a contract for the permanent maintenance of the property and its installations.
• g) To observe due diligence in the use of the property and in their relations with the other owners, and to answer to them for any infringements committed and for any damage caused.
• h) Communicate to the person acting as secretary of the community, by any means that allows proof of receipt, the address in Spain for the purpose of summons and notifications of any kind relating to the community. In the absence of this communication, the address for summons and notifications shall be deemed to be the flat or premises belonging to the community, and those delivered to the occupant of the same shall have full legal effect.
  If it is impossible to serve a summons or notification on the owner in the place provided for in the previous paragraph, it shall be understood to have been served by posting the corresponding notice on the notice board of the community, or in a visible place of general use provided for this purpose, with a note stating the date and reasons for this form of notification, signed by the person acting as secretary of the community, with the approval of the president. The notification made in this manner shall produce full legal effects within three calendar days.
• i) To notify the person acting as secretary of the community, by any means that allows proof of receipt, of the change of ownership of the dwelling or premises.
  Any person who fails to comply with this obligation shall continue to be jointly and severally liable with the new owner for the debts to the community accrued after the transfer, without prejudice to the right of the former to take over the latter.
  The provisions of the previous paragraph shall not apply when any of the governing bodies established in art. 13 have become aware of the change of ownership of the dwelling or premises by any other means or by conclusive acts of the new owner, or when the said transfer is notorious.

2. For the application of the rules of the previous section, those expenses which are not attributable to one or several flats or premises shall be considered to be general, without the non-use of a service exempting from the fulfilment of the corresponding obligations, without prejudice to the provisions of art. 11.2 of this Law.

Article 10

1. It shall be the obligation of the community to carry out the necessary works for the adequate support and conservation of the building and its services, so that it meets the appropriate structural, watertightness, habitability, accessibility and safety conditions.
2. Likewise, the community, at the request of the owners in whose dwelling disabled persons or persons over seventy years of age live, work or provide their altruistic or voluntary services, shall be obliged to carry out the accessibility works necessary for the appropriate use of the common elements for their disability, or for the installation of mechanical and electronic devices that favour their communication with the outside world, the total amount of which does not exceed three ordinary monthly payments of common expenses.
3. Owners who oppose or unjustifiably delay the execution of the orders issued by the competent authority will be individually liable for the penalties that may be imposed administratively.
4. In the event of a discrepancy as to the nature of the works to be carried out, the owners' meeting will decide what is appropriate. The interested parties may also request arbitration or a technical opinion under the terms established by law. 5. The flat or premises will be subject to the payment of the expenses derived from the carrying out of the conservation and accessibility works referred to in the present article under the same terms and conditions as those established in art. 9 for general expenses.

Article 11

1. No owner may demand new installations, services or improvements not required for the adequate conservation, habitability, safety and accessibility of the property, according to its nature and characteristics.
2. When agreements are validly adopted to carry out innovations that are not required in accordance with the previous section and whose installation fee exceeds the amount of three ordinary monthly payments of common expenses, the dissenting party will not be obliged, nor will his fee be modified, even in the event that he cannot be deprived of the improvement or advantage.
3. If the dissenting party wishes, at any time, to participate in the advantages of the innovation, he shall have to pay his share in the costs of realisation and maintenance, duly updated by applying the corresponding legal interest.
4. When agreements are validly adopted for the carrying out of accessibility works, the community will be obliged to pay the expenses even if the amount exceeds three ordinary monthly payments of common expenses.
5. Innovations that render any part of the building unusable for the use and enjoyment of an owner shall require, in all cases, the express consent of the latter.
6. Contributions for the payment of improvements made or to be made to the building shall be payable by the owner at the time of the payment of the sums required for the payment of said improvements.

Article 12

The construction of new floors and any other alteration of the structure or fabric of the building or of the common things affect the constitutive title and must be subject to the regime established for modifications of the same. The resolution adopted will establish the nature of the modification, the alterations it causes in the description of the property and of the flats or premises, the variation of quotas and the owner(s) of the new premises or common things.

Article 13

1. The governing bodies of the community are as follows:
   1. a) The Board of Owners.
   2. b) The Chairman and, where appropriate, the Vice Chairmen.
   3. c) The secretary.
   4. d) The Administrator.
2. In the Articles of Association, or by majority agreement of the Board of Owners, other governing bodies of the community may be established, without this implying any impairment of the functions and responsibilities towards third parties attributed to the aforementioned bodies by this Law.
3. The President shall be appointed, from among the owners, by election or, alternatively, by rotation or by drawing lots. The appointment shall be obligatory, although the designated owner may request the judge to relieve him of his post within the month following his accession to the post, invoking his reasons for doing so. The judge, by means of the procedure established in article 17.3, shall decide what is appropriate, designating in the same resolution the owner who is to replace, if applicable, the chairman in the post until a new appointment is made within the period determined in the judicial resolution.
4. Likewise, recourse may be had to the judge when, for any reason, it is impossible for the Meeting to designate the president of the community.
5. The president shall legally represent the community, in and out of court, in all matters affecting it.
6. The existence of vice-presidents shall be optional. Their appointment shall be carried out by the same procedure as that established for the appointment of the president.
7. The vice-president, or the vice-presidents in their order, shall substitute the president in the event of absence, vacancy or impossibility of the latter, as well as assisting him in the exercise of his functions under the terms established by the Board of Owners.
8. The duties of the secretary and administrator shall be carried out by the president of the community, unless the Articles of Association or the Owners' Meeting, by majority agreement, provide for the filling of these offices separately from those of the president.
9. The offices of secretary and administrator may be held by the same person or may be appointed independently.
10. The office of administrator and, where appropriate, that of secretary-administrator may be held by any owner, as well as by natural persons with sufficient professional qualifications and legally recognised to exercise these functions. It may also be held by corporations and other legal persons under the terms established in the legal system.
11. Unless the statutes of the community provide otherwise, the appointment of the governing bodies shall be for a period of one year.
12. Those appointed may be removed from office before the expiry of the term of office by agreement of the Owners' Meeting, convened in an extraordinary session.
13. When the number of owners of dwellings or premises in a building does not exceed four, they may avail themselves of the administration system of art. 398 of the Civil Code, if expressly established in the

Article 14

The Board of Owners is responsible for:

• a) To appoint and remove the persons who hold the offices mentioned in the previous article and to resolve any claims made by the owners of the flats or premises against the actions of the former.
• b) To approve the foreseeable expenditure and income plan and the corresponding accounts.
• c) Approve the budgets and the execution of all repair work on the property, whether ordinary or extraordinary, and be informed of the urgent measures adopted by the administrator in accordance with the provisions of art. 20.c).
• d) Approve or reform the Articles of Association and determine the internal rules.
• e) To know and decide on other matters of general interest for the community, agreeing on the necessary or convenient measures for the best common service.
  The notice of meeting shall be issued by the President or, failing this, by the promoters of the meeting, indicating the matters to be dealt with, the place, day and time at which the meeting is to be held on first or, where appropriate, second call, in accordance with the provisions of the following article, and the summons shall be delivered, in writing, to the address in Spain designated by each owner and, failing this, to the flat or premises belonging to him.

Article 15

Attendance at the Owners' Meeting will be personal or by legal or voluntary representation, a written document signed by the owner being sufficient to accredit this.

If a flat or premises belong "pro indiviso" to different owners, these will appoint a representative to attend and vote in the meetings.

If the flat or premises are in usufruct, the attendance and the vote will correspond to the bare owner, who, unless otherwise stated, will be understood to be represented by the usufructuary, and the delegation must be express in the case of the agreements referred to in the first rule of Art. 17 or extraordinary works and improvements.

2. Owners who, at the time the meeting begins, are not up to date with the payment of all debts owed to the community and have not challenged the same in court or have not proceeded to the judicial or notarial deposit of the sum owed, may take part in the deliberations, although they shall not have the right to vote. The minutes of the Meeting shall reflect the owners deprived of the right to vote, whose person and share in the community shall not be counted for the purposes of reaching the majorities required by this Law.

1ª) Unanimity for the validity of those which imply approval or modification of the rules contained in the constitutive title of the property or in the Articles of Association. However, when their purpose is the removal of architectural barriers that hinder the access and mobility of disabled persons, the vote of three fifths of the total number of owners who in turn represent three fifths of the participation quotas shall be sufficient.

If the majority cannot be obtained due to lack of attendance of the owners, the Meeting shall meet on second call, which may even take place on the same day, provided that a minimum interval of half an hour has elapsed and that it has been previously called.

If the Meeting, duly called, is not held on first call, nor has the date and time of the second call been foreseen in the summons, it must be called, with the same requirements as the first call, within eight days following the date of the Meeting not held, and three days prior to the date of the meeting.

At the second call, resolutions adopted by the majority of those present shall be valid, provided that such majority represents, in turn, more than half the value of the quotas of those present.

Article 16

1. The Board of Owners shall meet at least once a year to approve the budgets and accounts, and on such other occasions as the Chairman deems appropriate or as requested by a quarter of the owners, or by a number of owners representing at least 25% of the participation quotas.
2. The notice of the Meetings shall be issued by the Chairman or, failing this, by the promoters of the meeting, indicating the matters to be dealt with, the place, day and time of the meeting on first or, where appropriate, second call, with the summons being issued in the manner established in art. 9. The notice shall contain a list of the owners who are not up to date in the payment of debts due to the community and shall warn of the deprivation of the right to vote if the cases foreseen in art. 15.2 occur.
   Any owner may request that the Board of proprietors study and decide on any subject of interest to the community; to this end, he will address a written document, clearly specifying the matters he requests to be dealt with, to the President, who will include them on the agenda of the next meeting to be held.
   If the meeting is not attended, on first call, by the majority of the owners representing, in turn, the majority of the participation quotas, a second call will be made, this time without a quorum.
   The Meeting shall meet on second call at the place, day and time indicated in the first summons, and may be held on the same day if half an hour has elapsed since the previous one. Failing this, it shall be reconvened, in accordance with the requirements established in this article, within eight calendar days following the Meeting not held, in which case the summons shall be issued at least three days in advance.
3. At least six days' notice shall be given for ordinary annual meetings, and as much notice as possible for extraordinary meetings, so that all interested parties may be informed. The Meeting may validly meet even without the Chairman's summons, provided that all the owners are present and so decide.

Article 17

The resolutions of the Owners' Meeting shall be subject to the following rules:

1. 1st) Unanimity shall only be required for the validity of agreements involving the approval or modification of the rules contained in the constitutive title of the condominium or in the community statutes.
   The establishment or suppression of lift, porter's lodge, concierge, security or other common services of general interest, even when they imply the modification of the articles of association or the bylaws, shall require the favourable vote of three fifths of the total number of owners who, in turn, represent three fifths of the participation quotas. The lease of common elements that have not been assigned a specific use in the property shall also require the favourable vote of three-fifths of the total number of owners representing three-fifths of the participation quotas, as well as the consent of the owner directly affected, if any.
   Without prejudice to the provisions of arts. 10 and 11 of this Act, the carrying out of works or the establishment of new common services aimed at removing architectural barriers that hinder access or mobility for disabled persons, even when they imply the modification of the constitutive title, or of the Articles of Association, shall require the favourable vote of the majority of the owners who, in turn, represent the majority of the participation quotas.
   For the purposes established in the preceding paragraphs of this rule, the votes in favour shall be counted as votes in favour of those owners absent from the Meeting, duly summoned, who, once informed of the resolution adopted by those present, in accordance with the procedure established in art. 9, do not express their disagreement by notifying the person acting as secretary of the community within 30 calendar days, by any means that allows proof of receipt to be recorded.
   The agreements validly adopted in accordance with the provisions of this regulation are binding on all the owners.
2. The installation of common infrastructures for access to the telecommunication services regulated in Royal Decree-Law 1/1998, of 27th February, or the adaptation of existing ones, as well as the installation of common or private systems for the use of solar energy, or of the infrastructures necessary for access to new collective energy supplies, may be agreed, at the request of any owner, by one third of the members of the community representing, in turn, one third of the participation quotas.
   The community may not pass on the cost of the installation or adaptation of said common infrastructures, nor those derived from their conservation and subsequent maintenance, to those owners who have not expressly voted in favour of the resolution at the Meeting. However, if they subsequently request access to telecommunications services or energy supplies, and this requires taking advantage of the new infrastructures or the adaptations made to the pre-existing ones, they may be authorised to do so, provided that they pay the amount that would have corresponded to them, duly updated, applying the corresponding legal interest.
   Without prejudice to what is established above with respect to conservation and maintenance expenses, the new infrastructure installed shall be considered, for the purposes established in this Act, as a common element.
3. The establishment or elimination of equipment or systems other than those mentioned in the previous section that are intended to improve the energy or water efficiency of the property, even when they entail the modification of the constitutive title or the Articles of Association, shall require the favourable vote of three fifths of the total number of owners who, in turn, represent three fifths of the participation quotas. Resolutions validly adopted in accordance with this rule are binding on all owners.
   However, if the equipment or systems have a private use, the favourable vote of one third of the members of the community representing, in turn, one third of the participation quotas will be sufficient for the adoption of the agreement, applying, in this case, the system of repercussion of costs established in the previous section.
   If an electric vehicle charging point for private use is to be installed in the car park of the building, provided that it is located in an individual parking space, only prior notification to the community that it will be installed will be required. The cost of this installation will be borne entirely by the person or persons directly interested in the installation.
4. For the validity of the other resolutions, the vote of the majority of the total number of owners who, in turn, represent the majority of the participation quotas, shall be sufficient. On second call, the resolutions adopted by the majority of those present shall be valid, provided that such majority represents, in turn, more than half the value of the quotas of those present.
   When the majority cannot be achieved by the procedures established in the preceding paragraphs, the Judge, at the request of a party filed within one month of the date of the second Meeting, and having heard the previously cited opposing parties, shall decide in equity what is appropriate within twenty days of the request, making a pronouncement as to the payment of costs.

Article 18

1. The resolutions of the Meeting of Owners may be challenged before the courts in accordance with the provisions of general procedural legislation, in the following cases:
   1. a) When they are contrary to the law or the Articles of Association of the Community of Owners.
   2. b) When they are seriously detrimental to the interests of the community itself, to the benefit of one or several owners.
   3. c) When they are seriously detrimental to any owner who is not legally obliged to bear it or when they have been adopted with abuse of rights.
2. Owners who have saved their vote at the Meeting, those absent for any reason and those who have been unduly deprived of their right to vote shall be entitled to challenge these resolutions. In order to challenge the resolutions of the Meeting, the owner must be up to date in the payment of all the debts due to the community or previously proceed to the judicial consignment of the same. This rule shall not be applicable to the challenge of the resolutions of the Meeting relating to the establishment or alteration of the participation quotas referred to in Art. 9 between the owners.
3. The action will expire three months after the adoption of the resolution by the Owners' Meeting, except in the case of acts contrary to the law or the Articles of Association, in which case the action will expire after one year. For absent owners, this period shall be calculated as from the communication of the resolution in accordance with the procedure established in art. 9.
4. Challenging the resolutions of the Meeting shall not suspend their execution, unless the judge so orders as a precautionary measure, at the request of the plaintiff, after having heard the Community of Owners.

Article 19

1. The resolutions of the Owners' Meeting shall be recorded in a book of minutes recorded by the Land Registrar in the manner provided for in the regulations.
2. The minutes of each meeting of the Board of Owners must state, at least, the following circumstances:
   1. a) The date and place of the meeting.
   2. b) The author of the notice of meeting and, if applicable, the owners who have promoted it.
   3. c) Whether it is an ordinary or extraordinary meeting and whether it is to be held on first or second call.
   4. d) List of all those attending and their respective positions, as well as the owners represented, indicating, in all cases, their participation quotas.
   5. e) The agenda of the meeting.
   6. f) The resolutions adopted, indicating, if relevant for the validity of the resolution, the names of the owners who voted in favour and against the resolutions, as well as the respective participation quotas they represent.
3. The minutes shall be closed with the signatures of the chairman and the secretary at the end of the meeting or within ten calendar days thereafter. As soon as the minutes are closed, the resolutions shall be enforceable, unless otherwise provided by law.
   The minutes of the meetings shall be sent to the owners in accordance with the procedure established in art. 9.
   Any defects or errors in the minutes may be rectified provided that the same unequivocally states the date and place of the meeting, the owners attending, present or represented, and the resolutions adopted, indicating the votes in favour and against, as well as the respective share quotas, and is signed by the Chairman and the Secretary. Said correction must be made before the next meeting of the Board of Owners, which must ratify the correction.
4. The secretary shall keep the minute books of the Owners' Meeting. He must also keep, for a period of five years, the notices, communications, proxies and other relevant documents of the meetings.

Article 20

The administrator is responsible for:

• a) To ensure the proper running of the house, its installations and services, and for these purposes to issue the appropriate warnings and admonitions to the owners.
• b) To prepare in due time and submit to the Board the plan of foreseeable expenses, proposing the necessary means to meet the same.
• c) To attend to the upkeep and maintenance of the house, arranging the repairs and measures that are urgent, immediately informing the President or, as the case may be, the owners.
• d) Execute the agreements adopted in the matter of works and make the appropriate payments and collections.
• e) To act, as the case may be, as secretary of the Board and to keep the documentation of the community at the disposal of the owners.
• f) All other powers conferred by the Board.

Article 21

1. The obligations referred to in Art. 9 (e) and (f) must be fulfilled by the owner of the dwelling or premises within the time and in the manner determined by the meeting. Otherwise, the chairman or the administrator, if so agreed by the meeting of owners, may demand it judicially through the payment order procedure.
2. The use of the payment order procedure will require the prior certification of the resolution of the Meeting approving the settlement of the debt with the community of owners by the person acting as secretary of the same, with the approval of the chairman, provided that such resolution has been notified to the affected owners in the manner established in Art. 9.
   To the amount claimed by virtue of the provisions of the previous section may be added that derived from the expenses of the prior payment request, provided that there is documentary proof that this has been carried out, and the request is accompanied by proof of such expenses.
3. When the previous owner of the dwelling or premises is jointly and severally liable for the payment of the debt, the initial claim may be directed against him, without prejudice to his right to take action against the current owner. The claim may also be directed against the registered owner, who has the same right as mentioned above.
   In all these cases, the initial claim may be made against any of the obligors or against all of them jointly.
4. Where the debtor opposes the initial application for an order for payment, the creditor may apply for the attachment of sufficient assets of the debtor to cover the amount claimed, interest and costs.
5. The court shall in any event order the attachment without the creditor having to provide security. However, the debtor may prevent the attachment by providing a bank guarantee for the amount for which it was ordered.
6. When in the initial application for the order for payment proceedings the professional services of lawyer and solicitor are used to claim the amounts owed to the Community, the debtor must pay, subject in all cases to the limits established in section 394 (3) of the Civil Procedure Act, the fees and rights accruing to both for their intervention, whether he complies with the order for payment or does not appear before the court. In cases where there is opposition, the general rules on costs shall be followed, although if the creditor obtains a judgement totally in favour of his claim, the fees of the lawyer and the rights of the procurator derived from his intervention shall be included in them, even if it has not been mandatory.

Article 22

1. The Community of Owners shall be liable for its debts to third parties with all the funds and credits in its favour. Subsidiarily and after having requested payment from the respective owner, the creditor may take action against each owner who has been a party to the corresponding process for the share corresponding to him in the unsatisfied amount.
2. Any owner may oppose the enforcement if he can prove that he is up to date with the payment of all the debts due to the Community at the time the summons referred to in the previous paragraph is issued.
   If the debtor pays at the time of the summons, he shall be liable for the costs incurred up to that time in the proportional part corresponding to him.

Article 23

The horizontal property regime is extinguished:

1. By the destruction of the building, unless otherwise agreed. This shall be deemed to have occurred when the cost of reconstruction exceeds 50% of the value of the property at the time of the incident, unless the excess of said cost is covered by insurance.
2. By conversion to ordinary ownership or co-ownership.

CHAPTER III. THE REGIME OF PRIVATE HOUSING DEVELOPMENTS

Article 24

1. The special property regime established in art. 396 of the Civil Code will be applicable to those private real estate complexes that meet the following requirements:
   1. a) Be made up of two or more buildings or plots independent of each other whose main purpose is housing or premises.
   2. b) The owners of these properties, or of the dwellings or premises into which they are divided horizontally, participate in an indivisible co-ownership of other real estate elements, roads, installations or services.
2. The private real estate complexes referred to in the previous section may:
   1. a) Constitute themselves into a single community of owners by means of any of the procedures established in the second paragraph of art. 5. In this case they will be subject to the provisions of this Law, which will be fully applicable to them.
   2. b) To form a group of owners' associations. For this purpose, it will be required that the constituent title deed of the new grouped community be granted by the sole owner of the complex or by the presidents of all the communities called upon to form it, previously authorised by majority agreement of their respective Owners' Meetings. The title of incorporation shall contain the description of the property complex as a whole and of the common elements, roads, installations and services. It shall also establish the share of participation of each of the integrated communities, which shall be jointly liable for their obligation to contribute to the general expenses of the grouped community. The title and the statutes of the grouped community shall be registrable in the Land Registry.
3. The grouping of communities referred to in the previous section shall enjoy, for all purposes, the same legal status as the communities of owners and shall be governed by the provisions of this Act, with the following special features:
   1. a) The Board of Owners shall be composed, unless otherwise agreed, of the chairpersons of the communities forming part of the grouping, who shall represent all the owners of each community.
   2. b) The adoption of agreements for which the law requires qualified majorities will require, in all cases, the prior obtaining of the majority in question in each of the Owners' Meetings of the communities comprising the grouping.
   3. c) Unless otherwise agreed by the Meeting, the provisions of art. 9 of this Act regarding the reserve fund shall not be applicable to the grouped community.
      The competence of the governing bodies of the grouped community only extends to the common real estate, roads, installations and services. Under no circumstances may their agreements undermine the powers corresponding to the governing bodies of the communities of owners belonging to the grouped community.
4. The provisions of this Act shall be applicable to private real estate complexes that do not adopt any of the legal forms indicated in section 2, with the same specialities indicated in the previous section, in addition to the provisions of this Act in respect of the agreements established between the co-owners.