Selling the house: new law requires taking on condominium debts

Living in a house in a condominium is not always easy – there are rules to follow and various expenses to pay. And now there is a new law that changes the horizontal property regime. Whoever wants to sell the house must, first, ask the condominium manager for a statement containing all the charges for the condominium and any debts to be paid. And this is even a mandatory document at the time of deed. But there are exceptions.

At issue is a PSD bill, presented in March, which changes the horizontal property regime that has existed for more than 20 years. However, the document was sent to the committee without a vote and the replacement text prepared by the Committee on Economy, Innovation, Public Works and Housing was approved last Friday, November 19, 2021.

It is a diploma that proposes to "facilitate the administration of condominiums, assign greater responsibility to the administration of condominiums and make life easier for people who live in condominiums", summarized Afonso Oliveira, the vice president of the Social Democratic bench when presented the document at the end of March.

But what fundamental changes does this document bring? From the outset, it requires that a joint owner who sells his house must inform the condominium administration by registered mail within a maximum period of 15 days before the transaction. And this will ensure that the joint owner “does not disappear completely, as sometimes happens today”, said Afonso Oliveira at the time.

If there is no communication, the selling condominium will be responsible for the amount of the expenses inherent to the identification of the new owner and for the charges incurred with the delay in payment of the condominium expenses of the fraction that become due after the transaction, according to the document.

On this point, the final text on the responsibility for the charges of the condominium (Article 1424-A) is clear: "The joint owner, for the purposes of entering into a sale agreement, of the fraction of which it is the owner, must request a written statement from the administrator of the what is the amount of all condominium charges in force, in relation to the fraction, specifying their nature, respective amounts and payment terms, as well as, if any, existing debts, respective nature, amounts, incorporation dates and Due date".

This statement must be issued by the administrator within a maximum period of 10 days, and even constitutes a "mandatory instructional document of the deed or of the private certified document of disposal of the fraction in question", the document also refers.

Thus, the new bill guarantees that someone will assume the debts of the condominium. In the forefront, it will be the seller to assume the responsibility for your debts. But the buyer can also be responsible for them. The document clarifies that "responsibility for existing debts is assessed based on the time when they should have been settled, unless the purchaser expressly declares (in the deed or in the private certified document that entitles the sale of the fraction) that it dispenses with the declaration of the administrator, accepting, as a result, the responsibility for any debt of the seller to the condominium".

After the business is closed, the text is clear stating that "charges with the condominium, regardless of their nature, which fall due on a date after the transfer of the fraction, are the responsibility of the new owner".

Source: idealista.pt