What the president of a community can do without calling a general meeting

One of the most common questions in a community is how far the president can go without calling a general meeting. The answer cannot be reduced to “the president can” or “the president cannot”, because a distinction must be drawn between representing the community, dealing with ordinary management and adopting the resolutions that the law reserves to the general meeting.

The president legally represents the community

Article 13 of the Horizontal Property Law establishes that the president legally represents the community, in and out of court, in all matters affecting it.

That representation is important, but it does not mean that the president can freely replace the will of the general meeting in matters that legally belong to it.

Which matters belong to the general meeting

Article 14 assigns to the general meeting, among other functions, appointing and removing officers, approving the plan of income and expenditure and the accounts, approving budgets and works, amending the bylaws and deciding on matters of general interest to the community.

This must be read together with other provisions of the law itself. In particular, article 10 covers certain compulsory works and actions that do not require a prior resolution of the general meeting, and article 20 allows the administrator to arrange urgent repairs and measures, with the duty to report immediately.

Therefore, when a decision involves approving a significant unforeseen expense, adopting a new general criterion, carrying out an action that does require a resolution or amending community rules, it is worth checking whether there is sufficient prior authorisation, a specific legal mandate or whether a general meeting must be called.

Day-to-day management and execution of resolutions

Many day-to-day actions do not require a new meeting because they already form part of ordinary management or execute decisions previously adopted.

The administrator's legal functions include preparing the plan of foreseeable expenses, attending to maintenance and arranging urgent repairs and measures while reporting to the president or the owners, executing resolutions and making the resulting payments and collections.

The president can coordinate with the administrator, drive forward the execution of resolutions and represent the community where appropriate. The scope of any power to decide or to contract specific expenses will depend on the law, on the resolutions adopted and, where applicable, on the powers conferred by the general meeting; an unlimited authorisation must not be presumed merely because a budget line exists.

What if there is a genuine emergency?

A real emergency should not remain paralysed waiting several weeks for a general meeting if immediate action is necessary to prevent damage or protect the common services.

The law itself entrusts the administrator with attending to urgent repairs and measures, with the duty to report immediately. Afterwards, what happened must be properly documented and, where appropriate, subsequent decisions must be reported or submitted to the general meeting.

Urgently repairing a breakage is not the same as using that urgency to approve, by individual decision, an unnecessary complete refurbishment.

Three questions before deciding

Before acting without a general meeting it is worth reviewing:

1. Is there already a community resolution authorising this action?
2. Is it within the budget and within ordinary management?
3. Is it a genuinely urgent measure, or can it wait until the general meeting decides?

If the answer is not clear, it is preferable to review the title, the bylaws, previous resolutions and the applicable regulations before committing the community.

President, administrator and general meeting have different roles

A community works better when the roles are not confused. The president represents the community and performs their duties; the administrator manages and executes within their powers; and the general meeting adopts the resolutions the law reserves to it.

That separation avoids both paralysis and the adoption of decisions without sufficient backing.

Main sources of law reviewed for this article: Act 49/1960 on Horizontal Property (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal), in particular articles 10, 13, 14 and 20. Consolidated text as published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), last update published on 21/03/2026.