This post addresses a crucial topic for residents in homeowners' associations: the process of challenging agreements adopted in meetings. Under the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), there are specific provisions that allow homeowners to contest decisions made by the association.

Legal procedure

Any agreement adopted by the homeowners' meeting can be challenged through an ordinary judicial procedure, as set out in Article 249.8 of the Civil Procedure Law. This applies regardless of the amount claimed and covers legal actions against decisions that violate the Horizontal Property Law or the association's own statutes.

Grounds for challenging an agreement

According to Article 18.1 of the LPH, an agreement may be challenged if:

  1. It is contrary to the law or the association's statutes. If not contested within one year, it becomes valid by default. However, if the agreement violates any legal provision outside the Horizontal Property Law, it is deemed null and void.
  2. It seriously harms the interests of the community for the benefit of one or more homeowners.
  3. It causes significant damage to a homeowner who is not legally obligated to bear it, or has been adopted through an abuse of rights.

Who can challenge an agreement?

As per Article 18.2 of the LPH, the following are eligible to challenge an agreement:

  • Homeowners who formally opposed the agreement during the meeting. To exercise the right to challenge, their disagreement needs to have been recorded in the meeting minutes, so it is worth requesting a copy to confirm how the vote was registered.
  • Absent homeowners, if they notify the association secretary of their opposition within 30 calendar days of receiving the official notice. On receiving notice of the meeting's decisions, an absent homeowner can either state their disagreement in writing to the secretary, or take no action, in which case their vote is counted as being in favour of the agreement.
  • Homeowners who were improperly denied their voting rights.

One point worth flagging: a homeowner who abstains from voting without explicitly stating that they "reserve their right to challenge" may lose the ability to contest the agreement later, so any opposition or reservation of rights should be clearly recorded in the minutes.

Requirements to challenge an agreement

Article 18.2 of the LPH also requires that the homeowner be up to date on all outstanding debts with the association to bring a challenge. If a homeowner does have debts, they can still challenge an agreement by depositing the owed amount in court and making it available to the association. This requirement does not apply to challenges relating to changes in participation fees (Article 9 of the LPH).

Deadlines for challenging an agreement

Under Article 18.3 of the LPH, the deadlines are three months from the date the agreement was adopted, or one year for agreements that violate the law or the statutes. For homeowners who attended the meeting, the deadline runs from the date of the decision; for those who were absent, it runs from when they receive official notification.

Does challenging an agreement suspend its execution?

No, filing a challenge does not automatically suspend the agreement's execution. Under Article 18.4 of the LPH, a judge may grant a precautionary suspension at the claimant's request, after hearing the association's position.

This framework gives homeowners a real mechanism to challenge unfair or unlawful decisions while keeping the governance of the community workable. If you are considering a challenge, it is worth getting advice on the specifics before the deadline runs out.