There are few things as Spanish as a neighborhood association. Coexistence is a dish that is served hot and Spanish courts have to deal with many strange situations. Some have even gone to the Supreme Court so that the highest judiciary can decide. In others it was not necessary
And from this we can draw some conclusions.
a fence. Some neighbors from Huelva installed it in their garage. Specifically, one had a metal mesh so no one could get into it and an electrical installation so they could better see what was going on inside.
The works were carried out despite the owner’s community not being informed of the decision. It decided to give full powers to the neighborhood community president, if necessary, to censure these neighbors if they don’t remove the installation.
Failure to do so resulted in lawsuits against neighbors against neighbors. It was 2013.
What happened? In the years that followed, the community of neighbors and owners maintained an open battle in court. The result was that the Court of First Instance of Moguer (Huelva) ruled that the installation, not authorized by the owners’ community, was illegal and therefore they had to dismantle the metal fence and the electrical installation.
The decision, which did not come before 2016, was appealed by the plaintiffs because it did not consider that the defendants should pay the costs of the trial. Two years later, in 2018, the Huelva Provincial Court had to confirm the previous court’s decision, emphasizing that although the agreement rejecting the installation was challenged by affected neighbors, it was not enough to override the veto. Without a judge’s cautionary order, there was no legal right to continue working.
The reason? The Horizontal Property Act states the following in its Article 7.1:
The owner of each apartment or premises may modify the architectural elements, facilities or services of the former when it does not undermine or change the security of the building, its general structure, its external configuration or the state or damage the rights of other owners, and must previously report such work to those who represent the community.
In this case, the neighbors were doing many illegal things. And they will change the external configuration or state but, in addition, they do not send notice that they are going to act to the neighboring communities or their representatives. Therefore, the court determined that they were unilaterally changing the garage configuration.
More cases. Although the fence of a garage space with a metal mesh is attractive, this is not the only case where the modification of garage facilities has ended with cross demands between the community of neighbors and owners.
This same year, its colleagues Xataka Home They brought us the case of a neighbor who built a storage room above his garage. In the lower part he kept the van and just above it he built a kind of warehouse.
There are those who use the space just the other way around. In 2024 we had Xataka That the Supreme Court has decided more or less similar cases. In this case, the neighbor is accused of using his storage room as a garage. Taking advantage of both spaces being adjacent, he knocked down the wall that separated them to create a double garage where he could keep two cars.
A structural problem. What must be taken into account in this case is that these changes represent a significant change to what we find in the garage. And, as experts have confirmed XatakaWe can mount a railing in the square so that the neighbor’s car does not scratch but only if we do not block his entry and exit from the car and we maintain the use of the square.
What was settled in this case was the use of the square as a storage room. This is prohibited because the space will not be used for what it was designed for. Any such changes must respect the safety conditions of the building and, if so, have the consent of the neighbours. In the case of Huelva, there is no trace of the second.
Picture | Haberdowidas
In Xataka | The Horizontal Property Act makes it clear and experts agree: “If you follow the rules, you can park two cars in your garage.”
