According to article 20 of the Horizontal Property Law, the following functions correspond to the Property Manager:
● Attend the maintenance and upkeep of buildings. Also suggesting repairs that are a priority.
● To ensure the smooth running of the community, its installations and services.
Acting as secretary of the Board and keeping custody of the community’s documentation.
● To implement the agreements adopted regarding works and carry out the necessary payments and collections.
● Drawing up and submitting the plan of foreseeable expenses to the Board, proposing the means necessary to meet them.
● All other functions assigned to it by the Board.
When the administration of a community presents a certain complexity, it is advisable that it be carried out by a professional with sufficient and legally recognised qualifications to perform these functions. The aim is to ensure the best and most efficient community management, always answering to the Board of Owners.
When we are dealing with small Communities of Owners, its management can be carried out by any member of the community with some dedication. On the other hand, in the case of large communities, mancomunidades or urban complexes, it will be the administrator who will be responsible for the most burdensome tasks and will provide the president and the Board of Owners with the appropriate guidance when necessary, making it considerably easier for them to carry out their duties.
The fact of the matter is that there are often doubts about what the functions of the administrator are, which can lead to misunderstandings or to assume responsibilities that do not correspond to the administrator.
We cannot ignore the law, even if we do not like it.
For his own responsibility and to protect the community, the administrator is obliged to always act within the limits determined by law. That is why in Meridional we are aware that sometimes these laws are difficult to understand, because they can slow down many agreements or necessary and urgent actions in the communities.
These situations are also sometimes frustrating for Meridional, but it is our legal and moral obligation to abide by them without preventing us from always trying to find the best way to do what is best for the community, looking for legal solutions where sometimes it seems that there are none.
It is quite possible that sometimes other people will whisper in your ear that certain laws can be broken without consequences, which is totally untrue; they are just telling you what you want to hear, because ultimately they will not be the one held responsible and it will not be them harmed criminally or financially.
What are the duties of the Administrator as Secretary?
In addition to being the administrator, he/she is also the Secretary. In this role as Secretary, the following functions will be carried out:
● Signing the minutes of the Meetings
● Keeping the Minutes books of the General Meeting.
● To issue certificates of the statement of debts owed to the Community and of the agreements of the Meetings.
In addition to the functions that the Horizontal Property Law requires us to perform, we can also perform other duties:
Counsel and Advise the Community on real estate and legal matters:
● The constitution and validation of the agreements of the Board.
● Statutes and Internal Regime Regulations
● Procedures for claiming debts
● Employment regulations, protection of personal data, tax, labour and contract matters
● Technical advice on architectural and infrastructure aspects that may affect the proper functioning of the services and maintenance of the community.
● Informing and processing applications for aid or subsidies to which the community may be entitled.
Personnel control:
● We handle labour relations with the community’s employees.
● We look for the most favourable contracts for the community but within the law.
● We take care of the payments to the Social Security and Tax Authorities.
Accounting: Keeping proper accounts, advising on late payments, etc.
The relationship between president and administrator
The administrator must always collaborate with the president, but it must be clear that the administrator is not at the service of the president, nor must instructions be carried in a way that is contrary to what is established by the owners’ meeting, what is established by the Horizontal Property Law, the community statutes or the legal system.
The administrator must be a tandem with the president, but there must not be any hierarchical relationship between the two, rather absolute collaboration for the benefit of the community.