Topic 4

Unfortunately the above statement is incomplete.

It leaves conveniently out what the highest authority is. The highest authority for the amendment of Condominium Regulations is the Extraordinary Assembly of the Condominium Regime. Not just any assembly.

By mentioning the highest authority and leaving out, what that actually is, the paragraph is clouding the issue. 

This maybe the place to add some clarity about Assembly’s and conditions for them.

When it comes to changes to Condominium bylaws and regulations certain procedures have to be followed by the law.

Article 31, … Ordinary Assemblies shall be those that are convened to deal with the matters referred to in article 35 of this Law, with the exception of section I, which must be dealt with in an extraordinary assembly,….

Article 35, : The assembly of Condominiums shall have the following powers:

I.- Modify the Constitutive Deed of the Condominium and approve or reform the Regulations of the same, these must be registered in the Public Registry of Property in the cases and conditions that provide for one and the other;…..

Article 33, …. Between the publication of the Call and the celebration of the corresponding Assembly, there must be a period of at least ten calendar days.

 Article 13…. In any case, any modification to the Constitutional Decree and its Reglamento, will be agreed in an extraordinary assembly, which must be attended by more than half of the Condóminos, and its resolutions, in order to be valid, must be adopted at least by a qualified majority of Condóminos representing 75% of the undivided of the Condominium.

 Article 34.- The calls for the celebration of Assemblies must meet the following requirements:

I.- The call must indicate the type of assembly in question, place where it will be held within the condominium, or where appropriate the one established by the Reglamento but in no case outside the municipality in which the Condominium is located, as well as the date and time in which it will be held, including the agenda and who convenes; and

II.- The Condóminos or their representatives, will be notified by means of the delivery in a reliable way, of the respective call, in the Unidad de Propiedad Exclusiva that corresponds to it or in the diverse domicile that within the municipality in question they have indicated for this purpose and in writing to the administration of the C ondomain. In addition, the convener must fix the call in one or more visible places of the Condominio, or in those expressly established in the Reglamento, on the date on which it is issued, and must draw up a detailed record of the above, signed by the person who convenes, by a member of the surveillance committee and three Condóminos,  or failing that, draw up such a detailed record before the faith of a notary public

Therefore, a valid and lawful amendment to the regulations requires:

1. 1. A Call for an extraordinary Assembly of the Condominium Regime
   2. The call needs to specify the type of the assembly and needs to be reliably delivered to Homeowners
   3. The call needs to be posted in visible places
   4. The call has to be 10 days before the Assembly meeting
   5. The call has to include an agenda of items to be discussed
   6. The celebration of the assembly must follow certain rules. (listed for completeness)
   7. Changes to regulations require.
      1. More than half of the condominiums in attendance. (based on shares in undivided**, not per lot)
      2. A 75% majority of undivided** in favor (not per lot)
   8. Proper documentation and notarization. (listed for completeness)

**undivided refers to the % share given for each lot in the Incorporation document.

To prove a valid and binding change to an amendment the Administrator would need to present notarized protocols that verify all the above conditions. .

As to the facts:

We asked the Administrator for a complete set of protocolized minutes over the years and found:

• The assemblies for 2013-2018 were ordinary Assemblies for the Homeowners Association CA. There was no Assembly for the Condominium Regime in these years.
• 2020-2022 (up to 03/30/2022) only ordinary Assemblies for the Condominium Regime were held and protocolized.