Can I stop paying my service charges (owners' association fees) if I disagree or do not use a service? Can my flat be taken from me if I do not pay?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Generally, no. Resolutions of the owners' general meeting bind everyone, including anyone who voted against. Not using a service, such as the lift or the pool, does not release you from paying for it either, unless the by-laws specifically exempt you from it. If you stop paying, the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) can claim the debt from you in court, with interest. And if you still do not pay, the court can attach (seize) your assets, including the flat, which may end up being sold at auction. Neither disagreement nor lack of use If you disagree with what the owners' general meeting has approved, the way forward is to challenge the resolution in court, not to stop paying. To bring a challenge, you must be up to date with payments or deposit what you owe. Moreover, the challenge does not suspend the resolution. There is only one exception to the obligation to pay what has been approved. An owner who voted against a new facility or service that the law does not require does not have to pay for it if it costs more than a quarter of the owners' association's annual budget. Nor can you stop paying for a service because you do not use it. The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, says that not using a common part does not exempt anyone from paying for its maintenance, unless the by-laws, which are the owners' association's own rules, say so for specific services or common parts. That is why the first-floor neighbour who walks up the stairs still pays for the lift and the owner who never goes down to the pool still pays for it, unless the by-laws exempt them or set a special share for those expenses. Deducting from the bill what you believe you should not have to pay also counts as not paying. What happens if you do not pay The debt accrues interest from the day it should have been paid. While you owe money, you cannot vote at the owners' general meeting, unless you have deposited the amount owed with a court or a notary or have challenged it in court. The owners' association can claim the debt from you through the “proceso monitorio”, a fast-track procedure for recovering money debts. Before going to court, the prudent course for the owners' association is to invite you in writing to negotiate. The flat itself is answerable for debts owed to the owners' association for the current year and the four previous years, even if you sell it. For those debts, the owners' association also has a preferential right to be paid from the flat. Can my flat be taken from me? Yes, as a last resort. If you do not pay after the “proceso monitorio” or the judgment, the owners' association can apply for enforcement and the court attaches the debtor's assets. It normally starts with the money in bank accounts. The flat is attached and put up for auction above all when there are not enough other assets or the debt has grown. The proceeds are used to pay the owners' association and the other creditors entitled to payment. Anything left over goes to the owner. The fact that the flat is your principal residence does not prevent its attachment. In the rest of Spain, the flat is answerable for the debts of the current year and those of the three previous years, not four.