Can the list of owners in arrears be put up in the entrance hall?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Not as a list for everyone to see. The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, requires the notice of the owners' general meeting to include the list of owners who owe service charges, with a warning that they may speak but not vote. That notice is sent to each owner, whereas in the entrance hall or on the noticeboard the announcement of the meeting is enough, without the list. According to the “Agencia Española de Protección de Datos”, the Spanish data protection authority, the name of an owner in arrears may only be displayed on the noticeboard when it has not been possible to notify them personally. Even then, the noticeboard should not be in a passageway within anyone's reach. What Catalan law says The notice of the meeting must include the list of owners with outstanding service charge debts and warn that they have no right to vote, unless they have lodged the amount owed (“consignar”) with the court or with a notary or have challenged it in court. It is sent at least eight calendar days in advance to the address each owner has given, by post, by email or by any other means that proves its authenticity and content. If the owner has not given one, it is sent to the flat. In addition, the announcement of the meeting is put up with the same advance notice on the noticeboard or somewhere visible in the building. That announcement counts as notification for any owner who could not be notified personally. So the law requires the list to go in the notice of the meeting, not to be put up in the entrance hall. What the data protection authority says The preferable course is to send the list of owners in arrears to each owner individually, by post, in their letterbox or on a password-protected intranet. Means that third parties can access, such as the internet, must be avoided. The name of the owner in arrears may only be displayed on the noticeboard when it has not been possible to notify them. The owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) must be able to prove that it tried. The noticeboard should not be in a passageway that anyone can access. A list of owners in arrears should never be put up in the lift or on the door, or circulated on the internet or on social media. An owners' association or managing agent that does so is exposed to a penalty from the data protection authority. In the rest of Spain, the Horizontal Property Act (“Ley de Propiedad Horizontal”) provides for something similar. The notice of the meeting includes the list of owners in arrears and the noticeboard only serves as notification when it has not been possible to notify the owner at their address, with a formal note explaining why.