Reception Guide

An owners' association (comunitat de propietaris) is represented by the chairperson of the board of owners, which also has a secretary and a treasurer or estate manager. Those positions are held temporarily, and the people who occupy them are selected by means of voting or a draw, or are appointed on the basis of rotation among all the owners in an association.

Under the Condominium (propietat horitzontal) Law, owners and users of property (whether buildings, facilities or land) must keep it in perfectly clean, healthy, safe conditions. That particularly applies to parts of the property which are visible from the street.

Associations may establish statutes (Estatuts) and internal regulations (normes de règim intern) .

An association's statutes are a set of rules intended to govern its internal affairs and to complete or expand upon aspects of the Condominium Law in relation to owners' rights and duties. While it is not compulsory for an association to have statutes, if such rules are established they must be recorded in the land registry (Registre de la Propietat). Statutes may only be changed or invalidated by the board of owners, and always with the unanimous agreement of all owners. Among other matters, such statutes may establish:

• Which apartments have direct access to terraces and yards.

• The frequency with which the association's governing bodies are reselected.

• Which areas are considered to be communal.

• Any prohibited commercial or professional activities.

Internal regulations are the rules agreed upon by the board of owners to govern aspects of co-existence and the proper use of communal objects and services, in accordance with the law and the association's statutes. These regulations govern matters such as:

• The appearance and position of nameplates on letterboxes, or of plaques announcing a professional activity.

• The colour of the front doors of homes.

• Hanging out clothes to dry.

• Restrictions on animals' access to communal areas.

• The installation of air-conditioning equipment or satellite dishes.

• The design of awnings, railings or external fixtures to be used by residents.

• The times at which rubbish is collected.

Unlike statutes, internal regulations do not need to be recorded in the land registry, nor is the unanimous agreement of the owners required for their approval.