The register before the meeting: owners, properties and shares to review
Review owners, properties, shares, contacts and representation before the meeting. A guide to preparing the register and spotting issues in time.
A returned meeting notice, two seemingly duplicate contacts or a pending ownership change can cause problems as the meeting starts. Preparing the register early helps the team spot these issues and arrive with verifiable information.
Here, “register” means the working record linking owners, properties, shares, contacts and representation. Review each element separately: an email address identifies a communication channel; ownership and participation rights require their own checks.
The following legal references concern communities governed by Spain’s national Horizontal Property Act. Communities under another regime must check their specific rules.
Start by correctly linking people and properties
Check which properties form the community and who is recorded as each owner. Keep a stable reference for each home, commercial unit or garage even when the contact person changes.
Watch for situations hidden by simple lists: one person linked to several properties, several owners of one property or someone receiving messages without being an owner. Make those relationships explicit for attendance and vote counting.
For jointly owned flats or commercial units, article 15.1 of the LPH provides for the co-owners to appoint one person to attend and vote. Adding several contacts to a record does not settle that appointment. Article 15 of the LPH (opens in a new tab).
Review ownership changes with their documents
Compare changes reported since the last meeting and identify cases needing clarification. A difference between files may indicate a sale, correction or incomplete information. Find its cause before replacing data.
Article 9.1.i of the LPH requires ownership changes to be notified to the secretary by a method that evidences receipt. It also governs consequences and exceptions related to that notification. Article 9 of the LPH (opens in a new tab).
Record the date of each change, its source and who reviewed it. If an owner disappears from a received file, treat that absence as something to check. The file alone does not explain what happened.
Check shares without adjusting them by eye
Check that property shares match the applicable documents. Pay attention to decimals, units and the list’s scope: a partial property list is not interpreted like the community’s full list.
If a total differs from expectations, find out why. A property may be missing, a record duplicated or a number copied incorrectly. Do not adjust a percentage just to make the total fit; keep the discrepancy open until resolved against a proper source.
Keep the number of people, properties and shares distinct. This supports the counts required for each resolution without automatically turning every spreadsheet row into a vote.
Separate contact details from representation
Two different owners may normally share one email address. One person may also have several addresses. Check those relationships before merging records or deleting apparent duplicates.
A fictional example shows why it matters:
| Finding | What to check |
|---|---|
| Two different owners use the same family email | Keep their identities separate and confirm whom each message concerns |
| One owner is linked to a home and a commercial unit | Verify both ownerships and shares, avoiding duplicate identities |
| The contact phone belongs to a relative | Identify their role and check separately whether they have representation authority |
For formal notices, also check the address designated for that purpose and the applicable procedure. Article 9.1.h of the LPH governs this; an up-to-date email address does not alone satisfy every notification requirement. Article 9 of the LPH (opens in a new tab).
Update the information affecting voting rights
A payment’s status in an old export may have changed. Check the information relevant to the meeting and document issues awaiting review.
Article 15.2 of the LPH links loss of voting rights to overdue debts at the start of the meeting and provides for judicial challenge or payment into court or notarial escrow of the amount owed. Those without voting rights may join deliberations. Check the full circumstances, not just an “unpaid” label. Article 15.2 of the LPH (opens in a new tab).
Organise checks so documented changes can be assessed before the meeting is constituted. The working register must reflect the reviewed situation and reasons for issues affecting participation.
Keep a reviewed version and an issue log
Before the meeting, identify the working version and who will enter corrections. For each issue, record the affected data, outstanding documents and person responsible for resolving it.
If you use an import tool, review its proposed changes before confirming. Then check the result, especially owners, property-person links, shares and contacts. Differences must be explained.
Restrict the full register to those who need it for their role. The AEPD reminds communities and managers of their duties when processing this data. Formal communications must be prepared according to their purpose and the applicable procedure. AEPD guidance (opens in a new tab).
