Resident questions administrators need to answer

Portugal says condominium management will have new rules: what changes in practice? The reports describe a regime still in the legislative circuit, so it is not a settled operational obligation yet. The signal is clear: transparency, responsibility, training, and operational records will matter more when administration needs to prove what it did. If the Digital Building File arrives, what should a condominium have ready? There is no settled operational detail yet. Still, the useful preparation is clear: minutes, contracts, insurance, works, contacts, units, fees, receipts, and request history should be accessible and linked to the right building. If condominium management becomes more demanding, what proof should I be able to show? Administration should be able to show, simply, who owes money, which bank movements exist, which receipts were issued, which documents support expenses, which requests are pending, and which communications were made. Do I have the right to see where condominium money was spent? Yes. Under article 1431, accounts are approved in the meeting; under article 1436, the administrator must prepare the budget and render accounts. Asking for invoices, expenses, and bank extracts is the minimum needed to understand where the money went. Can we know who owes money to the condominium? Yes, the administration needs to know who owes, since when, who owes the most, and the debt balance by unit. But it should communicate with context and necessity: a debtor map for accounts, collection, or the meeting, not exposure without a criterion. What is the condominium no-debt declaration? It is the written declaration under article 1424-A for selling a unit. It must state current condominium charges, their nature, amounts and payment deadlines and, if debts exist, their nature and due dates. The administrator must issue it within 10 days after the request. Lack of quorum in a condominium meeting: meaning and second call The question is not only legal: administration needs to know whether enough ownership share is present, whether the notice allows a meeting 30 minutes later, and what proof will stay in the minutes. Lack of quorum means the meeting does not have enough voting power to approve the decision. Under Article 1432, the default rule is a majority of votes represented by ownership share; if there is no approval path, a second call can happen one week later, or 30 minutes later when the notice already supports that path, as long as present owners represent at least 250/1000. This does not remove unanimity or special majorities for matters such as changing the constitutive title or common-area innovations. What does lack of quorum mean in a condominium meeting? In legal terms, under article 1432, lack of quorum is when the meeting does not have enough owners present to obtain approval. For administrators, read this as ownership share: the general rule is a majority by ownership share; on second call, a majority of attendees can decide if they represent at least 250/1000. What ownership share do we need to approve this decision? There is no single number. Total building value is not market value: it is the ownership share of the units. Main exceptions: innovations, changes to expense criteria, exclusive-use/lift expenses, and matters requiring unanimity or a special majority. Does this work need simple majority or two thirds? It depends on the work type. Maintenance/conservation is not automatically an innovation: article 1424 covers expenses needed for conserving and using common areas; if it goes to a meeting, the rule is majority of votes by ownership share, or on second call majority of attendees with at least 250/1000. Urgent and indispensable work under article 1427 means short timing, defects or pathologies, risk, and administrator absence or impediment: it does not wait for a percentage. Innovation under article 1425 needs a majority of owners and about 667/1000 of total ownership share. Can we split this expense equally across all owners? The base rule is that common expenses follow ownership share. Exceptions appear when the title, approved regulation, actual use, common areas used only by some owners, or lifts justify another criterion. The criterion must be clear before collection. I need old minutes and the administration cannot find the document. Minutes and documents should be organized by building, date, topic, and decision. When they sit in emails or personal folders, every request becomes a manual search. We paid for building works, but the issue remains and nobody explains the status. After paid works, the administrator needs to separate decision, quote, payment, execution, warranty, and next step. Without status, residents only see cost without resolution. Administration moved ahead with urgent works. What proof should it show? The explanation should show problem, risk, date, supplier, budget, possible authorization, and communication sent. Urgency does not remove the need for a trail. I reported an infiltration and do not know where the process stands. An infiltration needs visible status: request received, evidence, assessment, responsible party, vendor contacted, and next update. Without that, silence becomes conflict. I messaged the administration and nobody replies with clear status. Many response failures are system failures, not only willingness failures. The request needs an owner, status, next-response date, and links to relevant documents or payments. The elevator is still broken. Why is there no update? The reply should show outage date, supplier contacted, intervention status, next update, and notices sent. Without that, silence feels like abandonment. Does the water damage go through condominium insurance or unit insurance? Before debating responsibility, administration should gather likely origin, photos, dates, policy, contacts, and claim status. The decision depends on facts. Common areas are dirty and nobody replies. How do you prove follow-up? Administration should have schedule, supplier, issue record, photos, and resident reply. Without a visible routine, the complaint repeats every week. I received an old charge and cannot understand where the debt comes from. Old debt should be explained with a timeline: due fees, payments received, decisions in minutes, interest if any, and current balance. Without that, the charge feels arbitrary. I have payment proof. Why does the building say my fee was not paid? A standalone proof is usually not enough. The administrator needs to match the transfer to the right bank account, unit, payment month, and bank entry date. The movement reached the bank. How do I prove which fee it belongs to? A bank movement becomes clear when it has reference, unit, month, expected amount, and receipt attached. Without that link, proof stays scattered across statements and messages. I have payment proofs in WhatsApp. Is that enough to manage fees? WhatsApp is useful for receiving information, but weak as an operational archive. Proof should leave the chat and be linked to the unit, month, bank movement, and receipt. Who reserved the shared space and which rules apply? A reservation is clear only when calendar, visible rules, responsible person, usage time, and history are recorded. Without that, each request becomes a loose conversation that is hard to confirm. There is repeated noise in the building. What can the administration do? The administration should answer with the applicable rule, complaint record, evidence request when available, and contact history. Without a trail, the conflict becomes one person's word against another. A pet is causing problems in the building. How should administration reply? The reply should separate the right to have a pet, rules for common areas, and complaint facts. The administrator needs records, evidence, and consistent communication. Someone is occupying the garage or common parking space. What should administration do? Administration needs to confirm whether the space is common, exclusive, or assigned, record the issue, and reply with the rule and available evidence. Does the leak come from a common pipe or another unit? Before replying, administration should record photos, affected area, likely origin, inspection, involved units, and insurance. A reply without proof increases conflict.