Condominium management: Government prepares diploma to regulate activity

The Government is working on a diploma with the objective of regulating the professional activity of managing condominiums, which must be approved by the end of the year. The guarantee was given at a meeting between the Portuguese Association of Condominium Management and Administration Companies (APEGAC) and the Secretary of State for Housing.

The document intends to be a working tool for the maintenance of buildings in horizontal property. At the meeting, says APEGAC, in a statement, the concerns of the sector were exposed, namely regarding the need to regulate the professional activity of condominium management. According to the association, several issues were addressed such as:

the energy efficiency of the buildings;
the need for buildings to have a maintenance and inspection plan;
the creation of support lines for condominiums;
the incentive for the creation of the common reserve fund;
the possibility of condominiums having different financial years than the calendar year;
the condominium accounts be presented to the Tax Authority, in a simplified way;
insurance with coverage in addition to fire risk is mandatory and must be contracted exclusively by the condominium, covering all fractions;
the application of the reduced VAT rate for conservation works, among other topics.
Marina Gonçalves, Secretary of State for Housing, quoted in the document, said that she “shares all the concerns” that have been exposed to her, showing her “grateful for the way in which APEGAC presented them”, adding that they “will be the object of analysis” . Without committing to dates, the official said she hoped that this diploma would be approved by the end of the year.

“APEGAC, despite being a business association, does not have a corporatist sense, having as one of its main concerns the maintenance of the Portuguese housing stock and buildings, taking into account that the professional administrations of condominiums must be considered as the main partners of the condominium owners, who are almost five million Portuguese and also as partners of public entities, which should consider them privileged interlocutors”, emphasizes Vítor Amaral, president of the association.

It is recalled that the new condominium law entered into force on April 10, 2022.

Source: idealista.pt