The Community President in Spain: LPH Election, Duties and Personal Liability Under Article 13 (2026)

Under Spain’s Horizontal Property Law (Ley 49/1960, the LPH), the community president is not a figurehead. Article 13 makes the role mandatory: an owner elected at the annual general meeting must accept the position, holds legal representation of the entire community in and out of court, and by default also discharges the secretary and administrator functions unless the community decides otherwise. Understanding what the presidency entails, how it differs from the professional administrador de fincas, and how to seek judicial relief if you cannot serve is essential for any apartment or urbanisation owner in Spain. For the broader legal framework, see our guide to the Horizontal Property Law, and for how decisions get voted on at the AGM, our community governance and voting guide.

What does LPH Article 13 say about the community president?

Article 13 of the LPH sets out the four governance organs of a comunidad de propietarios: the junta (the general meeting of all owners), the president and any vice-presidents, the secretary, and the administrator. The president is appointed from among the owners by election or, subsidiarily, by rotational turn or draw (sorteo). The legislature made the appointment compulsory so that no community can fail to function for lack of a leader; an owner who is designated but cannot serve must apply to a judge for relief within one month of taking office, invoking the reasons that justify release from the duty. The judge resolves through the procedure in Article 17.7 and, if the claim succeeds, names a substitute president to serve until a new appointment is made.

The president holds legal representation of the community in all matters that affect it, whether in judicial proceedings or outside them (Article 13.3). This means the president signs official communications, represents the community in court, and acts as the community’s visible face in dealings with contractors, utilities, and public authorities.

Is the presidency mandatory or can you refuse it?

The appointment is legally obligatory under Article 13.2. The drafters of the LPH understood that if owners could simply decline the role, many communities would be unable to constitute their governance organs. The refusal route is therefore judicial, not informal: the designated owner must petition a judge within the month following their accession to the role, presenting the reasons that make service impossible. The judge decides the matter through the Article 17.7 procedure, which allows the court to resolve in equity within twenty days, hearing the opposing parties in a preliminary hearing.

If the community itself cannot appoint a president for any reason, Article 13.2 also allows recourse to the judge, who will designate the office holder directly. This is the safety valve that prevents a community from becoming ungovernable when no owner steps forward.

What duties does the president actually perform?

The president’s duties flow from three sources in the LPH. First, Article 13.3 grants legal representation, which carries the practical responsibility of acting on the community’s behalf in legal and administrative matters. Second, Article 7.2 gives the president the power to require owners or occupants who carry out prohibited, nuisance, or illegal activities to cease immediately, on the president’s own initiative or at the request of any owner. If the offending conduct persists, the president, with prior junta authorisation, can file a cessation action in court; the judge may order provisional cessation on filing the claim, before the full trial takes place.

Third, under Article 13.5, the president by default also exercises the functions of the secretary and the administrator, unless the statutes or a majority junta agreement provides for those roles to be filled separately. This makes the president the central operational figure in many smaller communities, handling everything from calling meetings to commissioning urgent repairs. The financial side of community obligations, including what owners must pay and the reserve fund, is covered in our community fees guide.

How does the president differ from the secretary and administrator?

The distinction between these three roles is one of the most practically important and least understood aspects of Spanish community governance. The table below sets out the differences as the LPH structures them.

Role	Who can hold it	How appointed	Term	Core function
President	Must be an owner	Elected at AGM, or by turno rotatorio / sorteo	1 year unless statutes state otherwise	Legal representation of community (Art 13.3); mandatory
Vice-president	Must be an owner	Same procedure as president	1 year unless statutes state otherwise	Substitutes president in absence, vacante, or impossibility (Art 13.4)
Secretary	Any owner, or combined with president	By junta majority or statutes; defaults to president	1 year unless statutes state otherwise	Keeps records, issues debt certificates, handles notifications (Art 13.5)
Administrator	Any owner, or a professionally qualified person, or a company	By junta majority or statutes; defaults to president	1 year unless statutes state otherwise	Day-to-day building management, urgent repairs, budget preparation (Art 20)

The key distinction is between the president, who must be an owner and holds legal representation, and the administrator, who can be a non-owner professional. Article 13.6 expressly allows the administrator role to be exercised by persons with recognised professional qualifications or by corporate entities. This is why many communities employ a professional administrador de fincas to handle the day-to-day work while the elected resident president retains the legal representation and decision authority. The secretary and administrator roles can also be combined in a single person or held separately.

What personal liability does the president carry?

The LPH does not impose a standalone personal liability regime on the president. Liability flows from two sources. The first is the president’s role as legal representative under Article 13.3: when the president acts within their mandate and on the basis of validly adopted junta agreements, the community is the party liable, not the individual. The second is general civil law: a president who acts negligently, exceeds the scope of their mandate, or takes decisions without the junta authorisation that the LPH requires (for example, filing a cessation action under Article 7.2 without prior junta approval) can be personally liable for the resulting damage.

This means the president’s exposure is bounded by proper procedure. A president who follows the LPH’s requirements, obtains junta authorisation where the law demands it, and executes validly adopted agreements is not personally on the hook for the outcomes of those decisions. The community absorbs that liability. For how owners can challenge junta decisions the president executes, see our community dispute resolution guide.

Can the president be removed before the term ends?

Yes. Article 13.7 provides that the term of office is one year unless the statutes state otherwise, and that any designated office holder can be removed before the term expires by a junta agreement adopted at an extraordinary meeting. The same junta that appoints therefore has the power to remove, which provides a democratic check on a president who loses the confidence of the ownership.

What happens in small communities of four or fewer owners?

Article 13.8 allows communities with no more than four owners to opt into the simplified administration regime of Article 398 of the Spanish Civil Code, provided the statutes expressly establish this arrangement. This is a lighter-touch alternative to the full LPH governance structure and can be practical for small buildings where the formal AGM, secretary, and administrator apparatus would be disproportionate.

How does the president interact with the junta’s voting rules?

The president’s powers are exercised within the framework of the junta’s voting majorities set out in Article 17. Most decisions require either a simple majority of owners representing a majority of participation quotas (Article 17.7), or a qualified three-fifths majority for matters such as establishing new services, accessibility works, or modifications to the title constitutive (Articles 17.2 to 17.4). When a majority cannot be reached through the prescribed procedures, Article 17.7 allows a party to apply to the judge, who resolves in equity within twenty days after hearing the opposing parties.

The president therefore operates within a system of checks and balances: they hold legal representation and can take urgent action, but major decisions require junta majorities, and disputes that cannot be resolved internally can be taken to a judge.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.