That is why, from the Colegio Profesional de Administradores de Fincas de Madrid (Madrid Association of Property Administrators), its president Manuela Julia Martínez Torres says (statements reported by elmundo.es) “New legislation is urgently needed, based on a comprehensive set of articles – and not just 24 articles like the current Act – that resolves the main situations arising within a homeowners’ association”
The amendments made to the Horizontal Property Act (LPH) since it was enacted on 21 July 1960 have not been satisfactory. Minor reforms have done nothing more than patch up legislation that ought to be stricter with debtors.
According to Madrid’s property administrators, faced with a situation of arrears as critical as the present one, which reached €1,874 million in 2014, buyers of a home or commercial premises should be required to pay the homeowners’ association all the debt incurred by previous owners. In this way, the property’s liability would not be limited to the portion due for the year in which the purchase takes place and the three previous calendar years. “In addition,” Martínez Torres argues, “certain owners – such as companies or banks, the main defaulters – should also be required to pay their service charges by direct debit so as not to delay payments and cause problems for the association.”
CAFMadrid also believes that “article 90 of the Insolvency Act should be amended so that debts owed to homeowners’ associations for unpaid service charges are treated as claims with special priority for payment“.
With these measures, it would be possible to ease to some extent the existing arrears of owners in each property. And homeowners’ associations could cover certain costs, which could also include – why not – bringing a lawsuit. However, if the homeowners’ association you manage does not have sufficient funds but does have significant damage to claim for, contact us. We can offer you various forms of financing or even reach some kind of percentage-based agreement. Find out more.
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