How to run a residents association without a managing agent

Thousands of small buildings in Spain run without a managing agent — and run well. The law allows it, the saving is considerable and, with a minimum of order, the day-to-day is simpler than it looks.

Is it legal not to have one?

Yes. Spanish horizontal property law allows the functions of the administrator to be carried out by the chair themselves or by any owner appointed by the meeting. All it takes is agreeing it and recording it in the minutes.

What genuinely needs covering

Stripped of the wrapping, running a small building is five tasks:

• Collecting the charges and keeping a record of who has paid.
• Paying and filing the expenses (cleaning, electricity, lift, insurance).
• Calling the meeting at least once a year, taking minutes and keeping them.
• Handling incidents: the leak, the entryphone, the blown light.
• Communicating: making sure everyone knows what is going on.

None of them requires a professional. They require order.

The classic mistake: WhatsApp + a spreadsheet + a box of papers

That is how almost all of them start — and how almost all chairs burn out. The information gets spread across the WhatsApp group (where everything is lost), a spreadsheet only its author understands, and papers nobody can find. The problem is not the workload: it is that it looks more complicated than it is.

The alternative: one place for everything

When charges, expenses, minutes, announcements and incidents all live in the same tool, chairing a 15-home building is a couple of hours a month. The chair posts the announcement once, issues the charges in a click, marks who pays, and at the meeting shows the accounts on screen instead of handing out photocopies.

How much do you save?

A managing agent for a small building costs between 100 and 250 € a month. Self-managing with a good tool costs between 0 and 24 €. The difference pays for the facade levy within a few years.