The minutes (acta de la junta) are the record of what an owners' meeting decided: when and where it was held, who called it, who attended with which shares, the agenda and the resolutions with their votes. The president and the secretary sign them, and from that closing point the resolutions take effect.
In practice
The Horizontal Property Act sets what the minutes must state, at a minimum:
- The date and place of the meeting.
- Who called it and, where relevant, the owners who requested it.
- Whether it was ordinary or extraordinary, and at first or second call.
- All attendees and their positions, and the owners represented, always with their shares (cuotas de participación).
- The agenda.
- The resolutions and, where it matters for their validity, who voted for and against and with which shares.
They must also record the owners in arrears who lost their vote. Together with the meeting notice, the minutes are one of the two places where the Spanish Data Protection Agency's guide sees the law as covering the names of owners who are behind on payments.
The minutes are closed with the signatures of the president and the secretary when the meeting ends or within the following ten calendar days. They are then sent to every owner by the same procedure as meeting notices, to the address each one designated. That sending matters: absent owners have 30 calendar days from being informed to object, and their time limit to challenge a resolution runs from when it is communicated. Keep proof of each delivery.
Errors can be corrected before the next meeting, which must ratify the correction, as long as the minutes clearly state the date, place, attendees and resolutions with votes and shares, and are signed.
Turning notes into a first draft is a task an AI system can prepare for you to review: we cover it in AI for property managers. The signatures, and checking attendees, shares and votes, stay with you.
What the law says
- Article 19.1 of the Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal). Resolutions are recorded in a minute book stamped by the Land Registrar (Registrador de la Propiedad).
- Article 19.2. Minimum content of the minutes.
- Article 19.3. Closing and signing within ten calendar days, effect of resolutions, sending to owners and correction of errors.
- Article 19.4. The secretary keeps the minute books and, for five years, the notices, communications, proxies and other meeting documents.
- Articles 15.2, 17.8 and 18.3. Owners without a vote, the vote of absent owners and their time limit to challenge.
Common mistakes
- Not recording votes and shares when a resolution needs a specific majority.
- Signing late, or leaving the minutes without both signatures.
- Sending them without proof of receipt. Without it, it is hard to know when the absent owners' time limit started.
Sources
- Law 49/1960, Horizontal Property Act, arts. 15, 17, 18 and 19.
- AEPD guide on data protection and property management (in Spanish), which the agency itself marks as under review.