Special rights of use in Spanish residential property law

[pullquote]In order to understand the right of exclusive use, it is first necessary to understand the meaning of the two opposing concepts of ‘separate ownership’ and ‘common ownership’. The right of exclusive use allows individual owners to use common property, often on an exclusive basis.[/pullquote]

The declaration of division or the articles of association, but also a subsequent unanimous resolution of the owners’ meeting, may stipulate that a common element may only be used by the owner or owners or users of one or more elements of special ownership. As a result, this element remains communal in nature, even though its use is restricted to the beneficiaries. Of practical importance here is that the ordinary maintenance and repair work and the resulting costs are borne by the beneficiaries of the special right of use in accordance with Articles 9 and 10 LPH, while the community of owners is responsible for work and costs of an extraordinary nature or of a structural nature. Once the right of exclusive use has been granted, it cannot be revoked without further ado. This requires a unanimous decision by the owners’ meeting. If this is not the case, the use of the common property subject to a right of exclusive use by the community may only take place with the permission of the person entitled to exclusive use. However, the person entitled to special use must take into account that the right granted to them does not legitimise any use that is not in accordance with the purpose of the property. The common property must always be used in accordance with its purpose, which is why, for example, a communal courtyard may not be converted into a storage area.