WHEN there are several owners (co-owners) of a real estate property, on many occasions, even if their relationship is good, numerous problems may arise between them.
In Spanish law, it will be understood that there is, in such cases, a community of goods, regulated in articles 392 and following of the Spanish Civil Code, since one thing (the property) belongs pro indiviso to several people.
As lawyers, the most common legal disputes between co-owners that we see, which sometimes end up in court are: non-payment by one of the co-owners of the expenses, the refusal of an owner to sell the house or to buy the part owned property of the owner who wants to leave the joint ownership or community, etc.
In today’s article we are going to focus on possible judicial and legal claims, when one of the co-owners uses the property in an exclusive way, preventing others from using it.
In these cases, article 394 of the Spanish Civil Code is applicable, which says:
Each participant will be able to use the common things, as long as they use them according to their purpose and in a way that does not harm the interest of the community, nor prevent the others from using them according to their rights.
Therefore, if a co-owner prevents the other co-owners from using the property, the ones who are deprived of their right to use, based on the indicated article, may claim compensation for the deprivation of their right of use (which must be proportional to its percentage in ownership), but for this, it is essential that;
1.- There is an opposition to the use by the one that uses it exclusively. Therefore, it is necessary, following advice from an expert lawyer, that a legal declaration is made prior to the filing of the claim, demanding the shared use of the property.
2.-It is important how to determine the compensation for the purposes of legal claims, and in general this will be equivalent to the monthly rent that could be obtained from the property if it was rented and the number of owners and their percentage rights will be taken into account when calculating this.
3.-In addition to the aforementioned article, the claim will be legally based on extra-contractual liability (article 1902 of the civil code, and unfair enrichment), regarding the compensation to be claimed.
Therefore, if you have a condominium or property jointly owned with another person in Spain and they do not agree on the shared use, its possible sale, or the payment of expenses, contact our law firm and we will help you. .
The information provided in this article is not intended to be legal advice, it merely conveys information related to legal issues.
Carlos Baos
White & Baos.
Tel: +34 966 426 185
E-mail: info@white-baos.com
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