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Community of owners: What to do if someone refuses to pay their community fees in Spain

What should the board of members do when faced with late payments in communities of owners?

In a community of owners in Spain, each member of the community or homeowner in the urbanisation or apartment block must pay a monthly stipend towards the running costs of the community as a whole.

These are known as ‘gastos de la comunidad’ or ‘community fees’ and must be paid on time every month.

However, as anyone who has ever tried to collect money from a group of people for any purpose will know, not everyone is always willing to pay on time. So how can you make people pay their community fees on time?

The legal experts in community administration in Spain, Resortalia, explains that Spanish law 10/2022, of June 14, on the urgent measures to promote building rehabilitation activity in the context of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, actually includes a battery of legal measures aimed at preventing and punishing the late payment of gastos de la comunidad in communities of owners.

One tool the community can use is the ability to fine anyone who does not pay, based on the percentage of interest of the amount they owe. They can also temporarily deprive anyone who doesn’t pay of the right of use and enjoy the community facilities and common areas.

That said, the law is hazy on what specifically a community of owners may or may not do. For example, the courts have, as a general rule, been declaring valid surcharges to the defaulting community member of up to 20% interest, but the law limits itself to declaring that “the board of owners may agree dissuasive measures against delinquency for the time in which it remains in said situation,” without specifying what majorities are required.

As in any co-habitation situation, disputes between members can often be drawn-out affairs that create animosity and awkwardness over the long term. For that reason, the responsibility for many such decisions over dispute resolution are delegated to the management company for the community of owners, which remains as a sort of neutral arbitrator in community affairs.

Resortalia community administrators are experienced experts who run the day-to-day minutiae of many multilingual communities on the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida. Contact them for advice and help with your community’s needs, management and conflict resolution:

Resortalia community management professionals and administrators in Murcia and Alicante

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Avenida de la Libertad, 301, Edificio Europa 2º1, 30710, Los Alcazares, Murcia

Tel: +34 968 104 710 / +34 965 06 36 13

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Trusted multilingual community administrator for solving resident and property owner issues on real estate developments on the Costa Cálida and Costa Blanca

Resortalia is an established community property administration company based in Los Alcázares, Murcia and in Orihuela Costa, Alicante that handles the management of numerous multilingual residential complexes, developments and urbanisations.

When you live on an urbanisation or have a house on a real estate development in Spain with lots of other property owners, you need external help to mediate and control the financial, technical and legal issues of the community. That’s where Resortalia comes in.

Resortalia includes a great human team of community administration experts who specialise in managing multilingual communities and solving any problems that may arise among the community of owners, wherever they’re from and whatever language they speak.

Their community property management service involves ensuring the correct running of the installations, as well as controlling the financial, technical and legal issues necessary for optimal maintenance and economic management.

The company’s motto is “We Care”, a value statement that reflects their philosophy for caring about their clients and the communities they administrate. This includes:

Commitment to helping clients achieve their goals in the most cost-effective way possible.
Transparency of communication with owners regarding information about the community’s accounts and contracts.
Quality when it comes to implementing advanced management systems for the property administration.

Whether your community needs to adapt to meet changing urban planning regulations and health & safety laws or you need to organise payment and debt collection from owners or debtors, or you wish to change the suppliers and contractors the community is associated with, Resortalia is on hand to help.

They are also able to handle multiple issues surrounding building codes and problems with the communitys facilities or installations, as well as undertake resolution of conflicts between neighbours or between the community of owners and an outside body.

All of this is carried out by an experienced and qualified team of professional accountants, architects and engineers who are experts in the latest updates in accounting and financial matters and are trained in helping committees and presidents to achieve their objectives, improve on their planning strategies and optimise the direction and smooth running of the entire community.

What’s more, the whole team of staff at Resortalia are on the best of working terms with both public and private entities related to the daily running a community, including everyone from Town Councils to water companies, builders, painters, landscapers and electricians.

Not only can this aid communities of property owners to resolve their fiscal and legal issues, but it can save money in the long run by implementing customised solutions that help the daily activity of clients, offering effective and real support with a human-face.

For more information on how to help your community meet its goals, contact the Resortalia team today.