How to stop disturbing activities in the owners' community?

1. The concept of owners' community 

We will quote Mundojuridico.com to define "owners community" (hereinafter CP): 'a group of natural persons or legal entities -concepts 34 and 35 of our Real Estate glossary- with exclusive ownership of a private real estate product (home, office premises or parking space) and at the same time owning the shared ownership of common elements (gardens, terraces, stairs, corridors, etc.)'. In this text we will deal with serious clashes in the exterior and interior spaces of the PC. 

2. What are the four main factors that give rise to an interpersonal conflict?

a) Differences in personal values:  

Is a reality that not all people give importance to rules. The appropriate answer to this point is to know if the OC has approved internal rules in the owners' meeting and, if so, to comply with them. What happens if there are no internal rules in the OC? Provisionally, we must reach a compromise as a lasting solution, it calls for the convening of a meeting to vote and approve a clear and comprehensive regulation.

b) Differences of personal interests: 

To put a common case, the owners of the first floor do not want to contribute to the payment of the installation of the elevator. For obvious reasons on the sixteenth floor they insist that this investment is essential and that every owner must contribute to it. 

The correct answer was fixed by the Spanish Supreme Court when it established that: 'the installation of an elevator and the extraordinary expenses must be paid by all the owners'.  

c) Different ways in which we value the impact of the same factor.

In the abstract, many of us agree that noise is a problem.  Now, while a pianist needs to play, the relative of a sick person does not want to play, an agreement must be sought. Here it is crucial to point out that in case the instrument is played without exceeding the legal decibels and at the right hours there is no legal criticism possible. 

d) Hobbies:

Celebrating parties in the community is a pleasure for some people, on the contrary, for others an ordeal.

This is a point that we recommend that it be explicitly stated in the rules of the PC. In any case, the Owners' Meeting must be informed of the celebration and, in the end, vote on the matter and, if approved, the PC must be informed of the event with visible signs. 

3. Who and why is empowered to close the confrontation?

An impartial third party, with authority recognized by society. 

The concept of "authority" is somewhat inaccurate. On the contrary, the Roman distinction between "auctoritas" and "potestas" is perfect for explaining why people renounce to impose his/her interests, delegate mediation to a third party and accept a pact with which is not a totally individual win but a win to win.  Below we define both concepts:

- Auctoritas: "moral legitimacy, which arises from being even-handed, by weighing the reasons of the parties, at the same time, fair when mediating or passing sentence."

- Potestas: "legitimacy which stem from having a deserved position in the Public Administration or from imposing oneself with violence on others". 

Both the good Real Estate agent and the good judge must build up personal and professional prestige in order to have "auctoritas".

4. How to legally claim the cessation of the injurious conducts of a landlord -or of his tenant-?

Justice is a resource that we recommend to use only after a three ways has been tried:

- Direct dialogue with the person causing the nuisance

- The mediation of the Property Agent

- The warnings by letter from the Property Agent to the person causing the nuisance. 

Then we will have to denounce his/her annoying activities on the courts. 

It is convenient that before doing it you know which legal dispositions protect you before annoying conducts and how they do it.

In Catalonia, we must invoke the Catalan Civil Code.

In its article 553.40.1 it specifies: "The owners and the occupants cannot make in their privative elements, nor in the rest of the building, activities contrary to the normal coexistence of the Community or that damage or endanger the building. Nor may they carry out those which the bylaws, the urban planning regulations or the Law expressly exclude or banned."

In the rest of Spain the legal text that protect you is the Urban Leasing Law (LAU in Spanish).

Article 7.2 of the LAU states: "The owner and the occupant of the apartment or premises are not allowed to develop in it or in the rest of the property, activities banned in the bylaws, that are harmful to the property or that are opposed to the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities. "

Finques Feliu works for your peace of mind.