Clearer accounts, please

Versión en español

These days, the AGMs (Annual General Meeting) of the sub-communities are being held separately, as usual. It is the only occasion when we are asked for our vote. That is why we think it is necessary to have a moment of reflection on what we are deciding with that vote.

Before the AGM, the administration sends each sub-community the financial report. Some owners take a look at it and only see clearly how much they have to pay next year. The rest of the report they don't understand, they get lost in all the accounting terminology. We think this needs to change.

It has to be said that the General Accounting Plan is not compulsory in a community of owners. It is only obligatory for companies, and HRGR (Hacienda Riquelme Golf Resort) is not a company. For the same reason, it is not compulsory for a sub-community either.

But it is obligatory to render accounts and these must be very clear so that any owner can understand them.

The Horizontal Property Law and the statutes of HRGR are the ones that regulate this task and only state that “the owners’ meeting will meet once a year to approve the accounts and budgets”, without further specifications.

The administration is obliged to send the statement of accounts clearly explained. And the owners have the right to receive it and understand it, even if they have no knowledge of accounting, or do not know Spanish law or do not speak Spanish. If this is not done, a situation of defencelessness arises.

From our point of view, the financial report provided by the resort administration before the AGMs should at least detail in a simple and unequivocal way:

• Actual income and expenditure for the previous year
• List of debtors
• Balance in the sub-community's account as of 31 December of the previous year
• Budget for the following year

Since a community of owners is not a commercial company, the profit and loss account of the previous year and the balance sheet presented by the administration are unnecessary, difficult to understand and should be deleted.

Of course, the way it is calculated and the criteria by which the amount contributed by the sub-community to the GC (General Community) and the EUCC (Collaborating Urban Development Entity for Conservation) is determined should also be fully explained, but it is not.

The contribution is about 70% of our owner fee. With it we pay for deficient, expensive and unjustified maintenance of the gardening, a TV and internet service with continuous breakdowns, insufficient and poor quality pathlights, macro-projects for irrigation of the resort and they do not irrigate, a hillside that crumbles in phase 7 when it rains without a solution despite the fact that every year it is included in the budget, excessive expenditure on paving swimming pools, a significant and not sufficiently justified cost in self-administration together with huge legal expenses..... In short, a lot of money.

It is not enough of an explanation to post on TucomunidadApp the subcommunity bills for electricity, water, insurance, cleaning, etc. The invoices of what we pay with 70% of our share should also be available to the owners. And they are not there. And not only they are not, but also the subcommunities must approve their accounts, which include the contribution to the GC and the EUCC without the possibility to vote or have a say.

Related post: Los Estorninos Homeowners Association
Facebook: Los Estorninos Homeowners Association