By Dra Cristina Marcelino [email protected]
In her monthly column, lawyer Cristina Marcelino will be presenting legal advice to readers of the Algarve Resident. In 2004, she set up her own legal practice in Lagos and since then has been dealing with different areas including private law, property matters and company and business taxes.
Condominiums are legally understood as independent habitation units which share common areas and facilities, such as swimming pools, gardens, garages, etc.
Civil Law regulates most of the aspects and though frequently the administration of the so-called condominium is given to a company, nothing stops the property owners from doing the management among themselves, which can be advantageous for condominiums with only a few property owners.
The first aspect is therefore to establish to whom the administration belongs.
The administrator, whether a single person or a company, must, among other tasks, book meetings and chair them, collect condominium fees from the owners, represent the condominium before any authorities and, mostly, execute all deliberations of the assembly.
In other words, the administrator’s main job is to act in accordance with the decisions of the property owners, following the general assembly meetings.
These meetings are held at least once a year, on a specific day and time.
Should a property owner not be able to be present, it is always advisable to make a delegation of powers, for important decisions may be taken.
If the deliberations are not contested within 90 days from receipt of the meeting minutes, the decisions become effective. Silence is taken as approval. If non-resident, property owners must inform the administrator of their address or representative in Portugal.
In the next article, we will continue to address the subject of condominiums, covering common areas.
Your input is greatly appreciated, allowing us to answer some of your individual questions.
Please send your email to [email protected]
Part 1 of this series was published in the July 29 edition of the Algarve Resident.
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