Let’s start this article by taking a tour of the Horizontal Property Law of Venezuela in terms of the articles that mention the term “repair”; “urgent repairs”; minor repairs”; major repairs” in the pro indiviso or condominium community. So we have to:
Article 3 notes: “The use and enjoyment of each apartment or premises will be subject to the following rules: …c) Consent to the repairs required by the building service and allow the essential easements required for the creation of common services of general interest, agreed by the seventy-first five percent (75%) of the owners, under the conditions provided in article 9 of this Law, having the right to be compensated for damages”. In this norm, the legislator does not make any qualification about the type of repairs to which all joint owners are obliged to consent and speaks of the service of the building, which in particular we think should be understood as the purpose for which it was built and that you must respond to the heading of this article: for your use and enjoyment. In conclusion, all co-owners agree to endorse the repairs in order to use and enjoy the building, this being a rule of public order, since it imposes an express obligation: to approve, consent or give consent for the use and enjoyment of each apartment. or local is effective and harmonious.
Then he article 4 provides that: “The owner of each apartment or premises may modify its ornamental elements, facilities and services when it does not undermine or alter the security of the building, its general structure, its external configuration or condition, or harms the rights of other owners, and must give prior account of such works to the Administrator.
In the rest of the property you may not make any alteration or modification and if you notice the need for urgent repairs you must notify the Administrator. In this norm it is observed that the legislator makes a qualification of the term reparations, by adding the word “urgent”; more note that one of the gaps that we see throughout this law is precisely the absence of a solid conceptual basis. It seems that the legislator assumes that it is a repair and even more, that it is an urgent repair. Well, we highlight that in our professional experience we observe precisely an infinity of disputes derived from these conceptual omissions, which some owners understand or want to understand in one way and others in a different way.
Here it can also be seen that the legislator imposes an obligation on the co-owner to communicate or inform the building administrator, if he appreciates what he understands as a need to carry out an urgent repair.
He article 11 sets the following: “These are common expenses to all the owners or to part of them, as the case may be: a) Those caused by the administration, conservation, repair or replacement of common things…”. Here for the first time the singular term “reparation” appears and although it does not refer to a technical definition, the legislator for the first time comes close to saying that “they are common expenses”which imposes a specific treatment to be considered to determine the charges and benefits, in light of their distribution by the rate factor, as indicated in article 7.
He article 12 In his first paragraph he tells us: “The owners of apartments or premises must contribute to the common expenses, to all or part of them, depending on the case, in proportion to the percentages that, according to article 7, have been attributed to them. However, if there are common assets whose use has been attributed exclusively to an apartment in the cases authorized by this Law, all the maintenance expenses of said assets will be borne by the owner of said apartment, as well as minor repairs that may be required. and the major ones whose need is due to not having carried out minor repairs in a timely manner. Owners can free themselves from such obligations by abandoning their apartment in favor of the remaining owners. In such a case, the abandoned apartment becomes common to them, in proportion to the percentages that correspond to them on the common goods to all the apartments.… This standard presents two qualifications of the term “repairs” and we refer to those that are “minor” and “major”. The legislator regulates the attribution of these repairs to the owner of an apartment and ties the fate of major repairs as a consequence of the owner’s omission that not having made minor repairs, occasions this type of major repairs, which incidentally, nor does the legislator define it.
He article 20 tells us: “It corresponds to the Administrator: …b) Carry out or have them carried out urgent acts of administration and conservation, as well as minor repairs of common things…”. This is a rule of public order that imposes an express duty on the building administrator to carry out or have carried out through other people “minor repairs”, which are still not defined by law.
In no other article of the law is mention made of any of the forms that we indicate in the heading to the meaning of reparation and its qualifications.
A first conclusion is that the legislator does not define what a repair is from a point of view of the obligation to do that is implicit in the verb to repair; then, by qualifying them as “urgent”, “minor” or “major”, he does not define the classification either, all of which leaves a large field open for the free interpretation of the co-owners, a permanent source of conflicts in condominiums.
What source should we turn to to approach a correct definition of the word “repair” and then its different derivations mentioned above? It is there where the general provisions of the Venezuelan Civil Code come into play and by application of the provisions of article 19 of the ejusdem Law with regard to the responsibility of the mandate, nominated contract established in articles 1,684 and following of the aforementioned Code and which we will talk about later.
He article 4 of the Civil Code brings us the following: “The Law must be attributed the meaning that appears evident from the proper meaning of the words, according to their connection with each other and the intention of the legislator.
When there is no precise provision of the Law, the provisions that regulate similar cases or analogous matters shall be taken into consideration; and, if there are still doubts, the general principles of law will be applied.” In this way, the legislator himself must appeal to the meaning of the words and there, obviously the dictionary (DRAE) is not very helpful; Let us therefore see the meaning of each of the words at stake in these reflections that we make. Let’s start with the word:
“Repair”:
From the lat. late repair, -ōnis ‘restoration, renewal’.
1. F. Action and effect of repairing something broken or damaged.
“Fix”:
From the lat. repair.
1. tr. Fix something that is broken or damaged.
2. tr. Amend, correct or remedy.
3. tr. Redress, satisfy the offended.
4. tr. Oppose a defense against the blow, to get rid of it.
5. tr. Remedy or prevent damage or harm.
6. tr. Restore forces, give encouragement or vigor.
7. tr. Said of a caster: Give the last hand to his work to remove the defects that he removes from the mold.
8. intr. Look carefully, notice, notice something.
9. intr. Attend, consider or reflect.
10. intr. Stop, stop or stop at a part.
11. prnl. Contain or report.
applied the verb “fix” For the purposes of the Horizontal Property Law, we are left with the definitions contained in numerals “1” and “2” to fix the things or common goods of the building that show deterioration.
Regarding the word “urgent(s)” the DRAE says:
Of urge y -nte; lat. urgent, -being
1. adj. What urges.
in relation to the verb “urge” the DRAE tells us:
From the lat. urgent care.
U. only in infinit., in ger., in part. and in 3rd person in accept. 3 and 4.
1. tr. Ask or demand something urgently or urgently. Los
2. tr. Drive or push someone into a quick performance. The director the
3. intr. Said of one thing: Urge or specify its prompt execution or remedy.
4. intr. Said of the law or a precept: compel with urgency.
Applied to the condominium, it is quite easy to understand: for example: the co-owners urged the repair of the damage caused by the leaks that are threatening the operation of common electrical equipment and that also represent a risk or threat to the physical integrity of people or property.
Regarding the word “minors”, in the singular:
smaller
From the lat. minor, -ōris.
Comp. the little an aceps. 1-3.
1. adj. Which is inferior to something else in quantity, intensity or quality.
2. adj. Less important in relation to something of the same genre. works less than
Applied to the confominio in a logical way, minor repairs are those that are of less importance compared to others of the same kind; For example, the repair of the painting of a façade is a minor repair, if we compare it with the repair of a column of the structure of the same façade. Or, for example, the repair of leaks in a roof, a rooftop, or expansion joints that affect common areas, will always be minor repairs in relation to other infrastructure repairs that support them standing.
Regarding the word mayo(s) in the singular, the DRAE indicates:
From the lat. greater, -ōris.
Comp. the grande in accept. 1 and 2.
1. adj. Exceeding something in quantity or quality.
2. adj. Said of a person: that exceeds another in age. Her
3. adj. Said of a person: entry into years, old age. Old man.
4. adj. important. Those are
We are left with the meaning “1” from which we derive that a major repair in the condominium is the one that exceeds minor repairs both due to the number of tasks or resources required to carry out the latter, of the same gender or of different genders and species. We point here to quantitative and qualitative criteria of repair works in the condominium. For example, a major repair of one of the common things indicated in article 5 of the horizontal property law or in the condominium document or in its regulations, would be, for example, propping up a land slope that threatens to move and destroy or totally or partially ruin other common areas: parking lots, facades, swimming pools, sports fields, hydropneumatic pumps, etc.
On the responsibility of the building administrator to carry out minor repairs: as we said before, the Venezuelan horizontal property legislator in its article 20, literal “b” establishes that it is up to him to carry out or order minor repairs. This norm is of public order and the legislator does not contain any limit in relation to the amounts of economic resources that are required to execute them. In our humble legal opinion, this is due to the fact that within the obligations that the Civil Code imposes on every agent (and the administrator is) is precisely article 1,692 which states that all agents must execute the mandate as a good father of a family, far from fraud and guilt (negligence, imprudence, incompetence or non-observance of the law). Then, if a condominium document regulation established a limit to define minor repairs, it would be in contravention of a higher-ranking regulation such as the special horizontal property law and with the provision of the condominium document. article 14 of the Venezuelan Civil Code which states that: The provisions contained in the Codes and special national laws, will be applied in preference to those of this Code in the matters that constitute the specialty.”
Prepared by Rafael Ángel Viso Ingenuo
