Conventional deterrent measures against non-payment in condominiums

Abstract

The Law 10/2022, of June 14, on urgent measures to promote building rehabilitation activity in the context of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (hereinafter, Law 10/2022), amended Article 21.1 of the Horizontal Property Law (hereinafter, LPH), expressly introducing two measures classified as deterrents against the community debtor in the horizontal property regime. Specifically, it introduces the possibility of imposing on the defaulter the payment of interest above the legal interest and temporarily depriving them of the use of communal facilities or services. This is a reform of difficult practical application, which leaves open the possibility for the community of owners to approve other types of measures. Those expressly described in Article 21.1 LPH can be classified as named conventional measures, coexisting with other conventional unnamed measures. Its regulation leaves certain questions open, which are the subject of analysis in this study, such as the sanctioning power of the community of owners, the precise majority required for its approval, statutory modification, or the need for registration in the Property Registry.