The owners’ meeting in Ibiza or the Balearic Islands

At least once a year, the co-owners of a residential complex in Ibiza meet for the ordinary owners’ meeting to decide on the income and expenditure of the owners’ association, among other things.

The president is the legal representative of the community; he is the leader of the community and is responsible for convening the meeting. Each owner has the right to vote at the meeting, provided that he or she is not in arrears with payments to the community.

All owners, including defaulting co-owners, have the right to speak.  The list of debtors is sent as an attachment to the invitations. Meetings must be held in Spanish, unless all owners agree to hold the meeting in another language. Usual items on the agenda of the owners’ meeting are the greeting and determination of the owners present or represented who are eligible to vote, the report of the President, the adoption of resolutions concerning the income and expenses of the community, the election or confirmation of the Board of Directors, other matters of concern to the owners.

In order to ensure the proper conduct of the owners’ meeting, the president of the community should ensure that the items on the agenda are dealt with briefly and objectively and that legally enforceable resolutions are passed which cannot be easily challenged in court. The President is usually assisted at the meeting by an administrator (“administrador”), a community lawyer and an interpreter. The aim of the administrator and the lawyer is to mediate in the event of disagreement between the co-owners and to reach solutions acceptable to the majority

Resolutions of the owners’ meeting require either unanimity (example: amendment of the statutes), a 3/5 majority or a simple majority (adoption of internal house rules), depending on the matter under discussion. For the latter two majorities, so-called double majority is required: A majority of the total number of owners and at the same time a quota majority (there is a “quota” for each housing unit, which is recorded in the land registry).

The secretary of the owners’ association should actually draw up the minutes of the owners’ meeting, but in practice this task is often performed by the administrator. The minutes must be written in Spanish so that it can be noted in the minutes book. For communities with many foreign owners, the minutes are often translated into German, English or French. The minutes do not have to reflect literally the course of the meeting with all the contributions to the discussion, but are mainly used to record the resolutions. The following points should not be missing in the minutes: Place and date of the meeting, first or second call, the names of the owners present and represented, the details of the defaulting debtors who are not entitled to vote, all the items on the agenda and the respective results of the votes (“for, against, abstentions”) and the exact wording of the resolutions. It is essential that the resolutions are written down in full. If the minutes do not accurately reflect the resolutions of the meeting, some owners will object and try to challenge the minutes. An objection addressed to the community administration has no legal effect. If the resolutions violate the statutes, the law or are in conflict with the interests of the community, the owner can appeal against them in the courts. A lawyer is required to bring an action for annulment, although it should be noted that the time limits for appeal are very short. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)