The importance of the Administrator in the Horizontal Property
In view of the large number of registrations of projects to the Horizontal Property Regime, it seems that the figure of the "Property Manager", who has the responsibility of making everything work well and other things, is of vital importance.
But do we all know how the administrator is defined and what are his functions? What are his rights and what are his obligations?
Let's review these and other questions that can help us to better understand the figure, its importance and perhaps from there we will know how to enhance it for its better functioning, according to the current law (as is our custom).
Law 31 of June 18, 2010 "That establishes the Horizontal Property Regime", in its article 5, numeral 2 defines what an administrator is when it states:
"Article 5. For the purposes of this Law, the following terms shall be understood as follows:2. Administrator. Natural or legal person who manages one or more real estate units incorporated into the Horizontal Property Regime".
This same regulation gives functions to the administrator in the following articles, in which we summarize its content:
Article 14: Function of assigning parking lots and other appurtenant property corresponding to the owners.
Article 21: To manage the repairs to be made by an owner when it harms another owner and to manage their collection according to article 25. Article 25: To initiate executive proceedings against delinquent owners, to announce in visible places the delinquency, to suspend or cut off the access, benefit and use of the common areas, gas when it is common, Internet, cable television, electric doorman service, cleaning and other common services.
Article 26: To file a report for damages caused to third parties by owners, guests or dependents, and to manage their collection through legal channels in case the guilty party refuses to pay.
Article 30: To denounce before the Ministry of Housing and Land Management anyone who violates the prohibitions contained in Article 29 of Law 31. Article 31: To request permission to enter the real estate units or annexed properties for the purpose of making repairs.
Article 50: Power to call Ordinary and Extraordinary Owners' Meetings.
Article 52: To act as Ad-Hoc Secretary in case of absence of the owner, if so designated by the Assembly.
Article 53: Deliver a copy of the Minutes of the Owners' Assembly when requested by the owners.
Article 61: Several that derive from the responsibilities of the Board of Directors.
Article 72: Contains all the obligations, including those assigned by Law 31, the Regulations or the Owners' Assembly.
Article 76: Collect the owners' fees and manage the funds of the condominium in accordance with the budget.
Article 88: Issuance of Paz y Salvo for sale or others.
Continuing with the subject of the administrators and in the light of all the norms that we have just reviewed, it is clear the great responsibility that they have, and more so since in the day to day there are many situations that they must face to maintain the good coexistence and therefore the complete enjoyment of the goods on the part of the owners of a condominium.
In another article titled Is it necessary to have an administrator in your Building/P.H.? we already spoke a little of how convenient it is to have this figure of support for the Boards of Directors of horizontal properties. Below we leave the link of the above mentioned writing http://nelsonyordonez.com/2018/09/18/panama-abre-las-esclusas-al-comercio-con-china/
We do not want to finish without providing some brief conclusions on the subject:
There are more and more horizontal properties, and therefore a greater number of people living or working under this legal regime, therefore, the figure of the administrator will be of greater importance for the society in general.It is important that the owners and the Board of Directors know the functions of the administrator.It is important that the administrator knows what his functions are.It is necessary to professionalize and train the administrator.It is possible that we are in front of the necessity of the creation of a new guild: "The one of Administrators of Horizontal Property", which has its own legislation that regulates it.Finally, we have wanted to emphasize and express our opinion on this figure within the gear and operation of the horizontal properties, since in times like the ones we live in, we consider that it is necessary to have trained personnel for the management of situations like those caused by the Pandemic of Covid-19 or even for the management of additional crises that may arise in terms of fortuitous events or force majeure at a given time, to make the coexistence between neighbors in a crisis situation a more manageable event.