Is it compulsory to have a managing agent?

No. In Catalonia, the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) can hire a professional managing agent, but it is not obliged to do so. What is compulsory is to have a president, a secretary and an owners' general meeting. If there is no professional managing agent, the secretary must be an owner and it is advisable for the meeting to decide who handles the accounts, collections, payments and the maintenance of the building.

Alburquerque Abogados

José Manuel Alburquerque
Condominium law

What the law requires

The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, states that the association's governing bodies are the president, the secretary and the owners' general meeting. Those three must always exist. Hiring a professional to handle the management is an option, not an obligation. The posts are allocated as follows:

  • The president is always an owner.
  • The secretary is an owner. If the association hires a professional managing agent, the agent acts as secretary.
  • The management is in the hands of a professional or whoever the meeting decides. If there is no professional, the law does not say who is responsible for it and the usual practice is for the meeting to entrust it to an owner, often the secretary.

If the building has fewer than three owners, its organisation is governed by the rules on ordinary co-ownership, the regime for property that has several owners.

In the rest of Spain, the Horizontal Property Act (“Ley de Propiedad Horizontal”) provides for the president also to act as secretary and managing agent, unless the by-laws or the meeting separate those posts.

What someone has to do

Whether or not there is a professional, someone has to take on the management tasks set out in the law:

  • Looking after the upkeep of the building and its services.
  • Commissioning urgent repairs and reporting them to the president straight away.
  • Preparing the previous year's accounts and the budget, which the meeting approves.
  • Collecting the service charges, paying the expenses and carrying out the meeting's resolutions.
  • Making sure that the owners meet their obligations to the association.
  • Paying urgent and unforeseen expenses out of the reserve fund, with the president's authorisation.

It is advisable for the minutes to make clear who does what and who can sign at the bank.

If a professional is hired

If the association hires a managing agent, the agent also takes on the role of secretary and can be paid for the work, because the agent is not part of the association. The law only allows the management to be entrusted to a professional who meets the legal requirements of the profession. The agent is hired by the meeting, by a simple majority. It is advisable to sign a contract stating which services are included, how much they cost and how the contract is ended.

This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.