In accordance with the provisions of Law 675 of 2001, the owners of the buildings and complexes subject to the Horizontal Property Regime must hold their first annual meeting “on the ordinary date indicated in the horizontal property regulation and in silence from it, within the first three months following the expiration of each budget period in order to examine the general situation of the legal person, make the appointments whose election corresponds to it, consider and approve the accounts of the last financial year and budget for the following year.”
(Also read: Colombia, with more than 500 projects registered with the LEED standard).
This is how the aforementioned norm sums it up, but the requirements of the call, its general functions and those of each of the administrative bodies they are also enunciated in this and in the respective horizontal property regulations.
Despite the fact that it seems simple, the truth is that in practice there are many situations and conflicts that are generated, since the administrator and the board of directors begin the preparation of these meetings, during their celebration and even after they have been held. met the owners. Failure to comply with the formal and substantive rules may cause the nullity of the decisions of the assembly.
With the permanent purpose of orientation to the readers, in its majority, administrators, members of boards of directors, tax auditors and those who work with different positions in the buildings and complexes, and to which are added owners and users not only of housing but of business or office, commercial, tourist, health or industrial units, I highlight on this occasion some of the questions and answers to concerns raised in the last year and that have been feel in recent months given the proximity of the call to the assemblies.
(Of interest: Local repairs in leased properties).
Besides specific aspects that are included in the annual budget that the administrator is preparing For prior review by the board of directors and presentation to the assembly, what others should be taken into account?
There are essential expenses such as those related to administration payments, security, cleaning and elevators. In order to avoid having to resort later to the imposition of extraordinary quotas, it is necessary before works and expenses related to the maintenance of roofs and terraces which corresponds to all the owners and not as has been mistakenly believed, which is the responsibility of the users of these.
Attending is not only a right, but also a duty
Years ago I made some recommendations so that the owners could exercise their right to participate in the assemblies and one of these was and continues to be the granting of powers to other people. Today it has been shown that the number of powers in the regulations should not be limited. On the other hand, these can also be granted to tenants.
However, many people who do not reside in the place of their private unit or who are limited to attend, especially due to age, or for health reasons, wish to participate directly and not through another person and therefore it is necessary to look for other alternatives.
I believe that currently, and based on the sanitary measures due to the pandemic derived from the coronavirus covid 19, one of the instruments that were provided for by the Horizontal Property Law but little was applied, is the holding of remote assemblies.
One of the current concerns is that if the health emergency no longer exists, Assemblies can still be held remotely. My answer is affirmative because these did not originate in the transitory regulations of the emergency, but in Law 675 of 2001.
Administrators and councils can go directly to technology and also to specialized companies than all the logistics to facilitate the assemblies, making them faster and more efficient. As he pointed out on other occasions, they control entry, verify attendance, use electronic devices to verify quorum and vote electronically, rent audio and video, rent computers, recorders, and other requirements.
As in all cases where technology is used, care must be taken to strictly observe the Law.
Nora Pabon Gomez
Lawyer – External advisor
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