We own an apartment in Lagos area on the Algarve and want to put a small freestanding glasshouse on one of our terraces.we are told that terraces are communal areas even though we bought the whole area terraces and all,so we have to get Condo permission.Out of 9 owners we have 3 inc including ourselves who have said yes.One has said no and the rest do not reply to letters or attending meetings with the Condo who say because we don't have 2/3 approvals we can't put it up!
Surely this is crazy and I know of other people who cant do works to their property.
The condo laws are very much in favour of the locals,we want the building painted,its been 7 years but the same process seems to apply.
we feel very strongly about this and feel the laws need to be changed to suit the 21st century!!
Maybe if all Expats got together and requested the Authorities to look at the rules it could be to others advantage

Welcome to BE. i have moved your thread over to our Portugal forum as it will get more views from people living in the country.

Afraid I can't help with your condominium rules but I would be interested in info about the freestanding glass structure.

I'm in Italy and feel very strongly about many things, especially old fashioned school rules. Do you think that my petitions, newspaper articles, protests etc have got anywhere? They haven't. It's going to take a lot more than you and I to change what is normal and comfortable so sit back and be prepared to be frustrated.

Hi Fred
I can imagine that you feel frustrate about this,but it is a well known draw back of condominium living.Its a collective really, and if you do not have the support of the majority to make what sound like fundamental changes to the exterior view ,thats called democracy.
The frustrating bit about it is that whilst you might have more response in say New York where people tend to live 99% of the time in their appartments.I n a holiday place like Lagos you can virtually reverse those no's.I have a friend who has lived here many yrs and with full knowledge of the rules applying to condo's ,bought a lovely penthouse flat in Luz.Now she wishes to sell it,but the building is looking very shabby and in need of painting.Because two owners have refused to pay their dues for yearly maintenance ,the work cannot go ahead. Always been wary of these arrangements in any country to be honest

Like Lorna, I live in Italy. We are lucky, in our condo we all get along and everyone is keen to keep up with the repairs. We also need 2/3 for repairs etc, but it's thankfully, never a problem, but I know it can be a problem for friends.

My mum, in the UK, lives in a flat has a lot of problems with a couple of owners being real PITAs even calling the police about a council installed chair lift that goes up a ramp of stairs that only access her flat! Her lease agreement does not permit anything on the balcony that can been seen from the street.

We live with layers of rules; EU, country of residence [as well as country of origin rules sometimes], regional, county, and town rules.

If you buy into a condo, you have yet one more layer of rules and laws.

When I lived in a condo in Spain the 2/3 majority rule applied to the AGM or EGM. Most "holiday" owners sent their proxy to the President of the condo. Which in turn meant that if someone wanted something to get through the AGM they had to keep the president sweet. I do not know if the same principle applies in Portugal but I would not be surprised

You can't do that in Italy as there is a limit to the numbers off proxies you can hold. And the administrator is not allowed it hold proxies. If there weren't set rules, knowing the Italians it would be shear caos.

What is the quorum for an AGM or EGM

Where I live it is 3 when there maybe 100s of interested parties.

Opens up many varying scenarios.

Talk of the Devil....YD returned to her flat on tuesday night to find a court order pinned to her door..(she rents) Owner in the UK has not paid this yrs fee's....again!

So what is the freestanding glass structure.

I think Fred is wanting to build a greenhouse!

There is no president arrangement in Portugal which I personally think makes things difficult as it is virtually impossible to get consensus. At least in Spain you have a president voted in by the community who has its best interest at heart. One of my friends does a sterling job as a president of a large condo. The place looks lovely and she has made some wise decisions. Where I have my home a small group are working to try and do the same but there is a lot of apathy but gradually we are managing to make the expat element realise they need to protect their investment. Sadly I don't think that view is fully agreed with by all.

Fred
Qustions and observations
Do you have a Condominium management company?
Please realise you are a shareholder in the Condominum
Do you have a committee
If people do not attend you can amend the rules you just write to them give them 90 days to respond if no reply new rules apply, usually you need 25%
Usually properties are painted every 5 years you should have a 10 % contingency fund for this
I could go on have a word with your Lawyer or check out with AFPOP for more detail.
I have organised ours we have an administrator and their role is to administrate we change/amend update rules and make decisions
It is not rules for locals we have a local on ours who do does not like to pay condo fees we introduced a rule with a fine of an additional 20% if fees not paid within 30 days now they pay in the timescale.