Unofficial/Official Condominiums

[mojowilts]

Can anybody explain the difference between an official condominium and an unofficial one and identify the pros and cons of either please. If somebody can point me at an easy to read 'guide' so much the better.

[HampshireRich]

mojowilts - there are plenty of definitions if you Google. The best one appears to be:

In modern property law, individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building. Unit owners have undivided ownership interest in the land and those portions of the building shared in common. This type of ownership has been present in Europe since the end of the Middle Ages; in the U.S. it dates to the latter half of the 19th century and has been popular in crowded urban areas. An alternative to the condominium is the cooperative, in which residents own a share of a corporation, with each share entitling the owner to reside in a particular unit in the building.

I would imagine an "unofficial" condo does not conform to the above - probably around the undivided ownership interest - ie the land will be owned by a landlord rather than the tenants - but there will be shared facilities (such as a pool) and presumably shared costs. Wouldn't part with my money for something like that.

[sam]

Then there is our situation. There are 3 flats in our block - all own the freehold to their flat, but there is a small communal area where the stairs are. Not sure where that fits in legally - perhaps an unofficial condo? We all get on and share costs when necessary. We use the communal entrance sometimes, but as a ground floor flat we have our own entrance as well, so not a problem.

[maccasa]

I know a lady who "owns" a block of 6 x T1/T2 flats. She owns the freehold to the property, but there are 22 people on a list as owners for the land the flats sit on....... confused

[shanagarry]

Can anybody explain the difference between an official condominium and an unofficial one

Why

[Geriatric]

The Escritura sets out all the details relating the rights and liabilities of a condominium.

Apartments are sold with
absolute title, (i.e. freehold) under the system of 'horizontal property'. This system applies to apartments that are built as independent units with a separate entrance, although townhouses and similar semi-detached properties may also opt for this system of ownership.
Before you can own a new apartment, the builder or developer must sign a deed before the Notary creating the system of horizontal property. The whole object of the deed of horizontal property is to create a separate legal title for each individual apartment that will then be registered at the local land registry who will give new title numbers for each apartment.
A habitation license issued by the Municipality is required, confirming that the building has been built in accordance with the plans and building regulations.
If you are thinking of obtaining a mortgage secured on the property in order to purchase the apartment, it is absolutely essential that you ask the builder whether or not the deed of horizontal property has been duly constituted and registered.
If it hasn't, then you will have to make him agree that the money you are borrowing from the bank is paid on the signing of the escritura conveying the title to you. This is because until the deed of horizontal property has been registered, the apartment does not legally exist. Therefore the lender cannot use it as security for the loan, and must normally register a provisional mortgage against the title of the apartment.
The deed of horizontal property must contain:
. The relative value of each

unit, expressed as a percentage or fraction of the whole building.
. The authorized use of each unit.
. The Condominium Regulations.
. Arbitration rules to be applied in the event of a dispute among the owners.
The deed of horizontal property will state what things make up the communal parts of the building. Apart from obvious matters such as the ground on which the property is built, roof, staircases and so on, it should also deal with patios, gardens, car-parking areas, and anything which has a communal use.
This is particularly important if the building also has a swimming pool or other facilities. Not only do you need to know whether there are any restrictions in using the facilities, but also whether they are owned separately or jointly as part of the condominium.
The Condominium regulations govern the administration and maintenance of the building as well as the way in which owners' meetings will be held. An administrator is appointed, normally from amongst the apartment owners, to effectively manage the building. The functions of the administrator are essentially to ensure that the property is insured, to keep proper accounts of expenditure, to recover outstanding amounts from the owners, enforce any restrictive covenants regarding the use of the units in the deed of horizontal property and to represent the owners before the local authority or before the courts.
A meeting of owners should be held annually by mid-January to
Discuss and approve the accounts of expenditure on the building during the previous year and to approve the budget for the following year.
Further meetings may take place if called by the administrator or by owners’ whose apartment value total at least 25%of the value of the whole building.
Condominium expenses are shared by the owners in proportion to the to the value of their unit in the deed of horizontal property

(Portuguese Chamber of commerce www.portuguese-chamber.org.uk
info@portuguese-chamber.org.uk

[mojowilts]

Thanks to all who have responded. The reason for the query is that we have owned an apartment for a number of years in a condominium with no problems. We now have a potential situation regarding a 'common area' and we want to be clear as to how we can proceed. Ashamed to admit that we cannot lay our hands on any of the documentation at the time of purchase. I guess our next step is to approach the lawyer who was involved with our purchase, any further comments/advice would be appreciated.

[Geriatric]

If you go to the Conservatoria do Registo Predial in Lagoa.
See for address
http://codigopostal.ciberforma.pt/dir/0 ... -de-lagoa/

There you will be able to obtain a copy of the Cardeneta Predial relative to your property. This should set out all the details re rights and obligations of the condominium.