Dear Fellow Owners,
We want to highlight to ALL owners the facts and the law that Iva & Co. and Boyan do not want you to know, emphasising the legal basis behind SRIOC’s position. It’s straightforward: take less than 5 minutes, Google the following questions, and see all the legal firms that agreed with the SRIOC and our very experienced solicitor’s version of the law, including the High Court in Bulgaria. As you will see, only the legislators can change these laws, FACT, not Iva & Co. or Manol AKA Boyan. Please do not be fooled by their smoke and mirrors; they want to scare owners into paying undue fees and accepting a dictatorship and bypassing Bulgarian law with a gated community.
We want to stress that ALL owners want peace and the best for the resort, which SRIOC has repeatedly advocated for with Iva & Co. and Boyan. It has been SRIOC that has organised all the meetings so far with Boyan and Iva & Co., demonstrating who truly seeks the best for the resort and not just a cash cow for a few.
Our door is always open as we believe in democracy, not a dictatorship, which Boyan had for years, and now Iva & Co. want the same, and where did that get them a resort closed for years? No one is a winner in this situation. We also want to highlight that members of the SRIOC have received abuse messages and death threats from a member of Iva & Co ( Not IVA), which is not acceptable at any level and if it continues will be reported to the Police in Bulgaria.
Let us make it abundantly clear that SRIOC will not back down in its legal and EU actions to ensure that no one takes away our legal property rights, reaffirming our commitment to protecting owners’ rights.
We will continue to appeal all AGMs that try to take away our legal property rights.
We will be appealing all decisions of this week’s AGM meetings, which were called two weeks before Christmas, leaving the SRIOC and our Solicitor working on this over the Christmas period. This is done deliberately to make things difficult for us.
The SRIOC will never back down until we have our legal rights to direct connection of utilities, accountability for our funds, and that all MM fees are collected and spent in the correct legal manner, and not paid to commercial entities, i.e., Swimming pools, etc., which are not the responsibility of the condominium owners. These need to be collected separately in a separate fund.
So, do your part: Google these questions to see what all Bulgarian legal firms have to say, and don’t just take our word for it.
The SRIOC is working for ALL owners to ensure a well-run resort in accordance with Bulgarian law and respect for ALL owners, not just a few.
QUESTION
CAN a BULGARIAN CONDOMINIUM BE CHANGED TO A GATED COMMUNITY AT AN AGM?
ANSWER
A Bulgarian condominium cannot be changed into a formal gated community solely by a decision at an Annual General Meeting (AGM). The legal framework for a gated community (closed-type residential complex) is distinct and generally established by a written agreement between the original investor/developer and the initial owners, which is then registered and binding on all subsequent owners.
Key Differences and Requirements
Initial Agreement: Gated communities are formed at the outset of development, with a specific management agreement that defines the limited access and common areas, which is registered with the Property Register (RER) and applies to all future owners.
Condominium Management Act (CMA): Existing condominiums are primarily governed by the general provisions of the CMA, which manages the common areas of standard buildings.
Fundamental Change: Converting a standard condominium into a gated community involves fundamental changes to the nature of the property, potentially affecting ownership rights, access to public land, and management regimes. Such changes typically require more than a simple AGM vote and may involve:
Unanimous Consent/High Majority: Decisions that affect the fundamental use of common areas, or potentially involve additional construction (like gates or security booths), often require unanimous consent (100% of owners) or a very high majority (e.g., 75% or more of the common parts).
Legal & Planning Approval: Physical changes, such as installing access control (gates), might require local authority permits and compliance with the Spatial Planning Act, as they could impact public access or the building’s condition.
New Legal Basis: The management of a gated complex operates under a specific written agreement, different from the standard general meeting management structure. Shifting to this different legal basis would require a complex legal process beyond a standard AGM decision.
Recommended Steps
If owners wish to implement gated community features (e.g., controlled access):
Consult Legal Expertise: The owners’ association should consult a Bulgarian property lawyer to understand the specific legal constraints and possibilities.
Review Existing Rules: Review the current condominium’s internal rules and the original formation documents to see if any provisions allow for a change in access control or an amendment to the common area use.
Propose Changes via AGM: The AGM can be used to discuss and vote on proposed changes, but the required majority will be very high, and the changes must still conform to Bulgarian law.
Formal Registration: Any significant change in the management or physical structure of the property would likely need to be properly documented and registered with the relevant authorities to be legally enforceable.
QUESTION
CAN AN AGM FOR A RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX VOTE IN MAKING IT MANDATORY FOR INDIVIDUAL OWNERS TO SIGN A MANAGEMENT CONTRACT WITH A MANAGEMENT COMPANY THAT BYPASSES THE CONDOMINIUM ACT IN BULGARIA?
ANSWER
An Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bulgaria cannot legally mandate that all individual owners sign a management contract that bypasses or contradicts the provisions of the Bulgarian Condominium Ownership Management Act (COMA).
The Bulgarian Condominium Act is the superior legal framework, and any decision made at an AGM must comply with its provisions. The law is binding on all owners, and an AGM resolution cannot override it.
Key Legal Principles
Law Takes Precedence: Decisions made by the general meeting of owners that violate the law are invalid. The general meeting cannot vote to give itself the right to challenge or ignore existing national law.
Mandatory Management: The Condominium Act already regulates the relationship between homeowners and management. Within six months of a new building being commissioned (Act 16 issued), owners must convene a general meeting to elect a management body (manager or management board) according to the law.
Management Contracts: While it is possible to hire an external legal entity as a manager under a service agreement, this agreement must still comply with the Act. The general meeting has the power to decide the terms and approve the contract, but these terms cannot be onerous or contrary to the law.
Unfair Practices: Developers or management companies sometimes trick owners into signing contracts with unfair terms ,Co.that are contrary to the law, often using a lack of legal knowledge to their advantage. Such contracts are challengeable in court.
Majority Rule within the Law: While a majority vote at an AGM can make decisions that are binding on all owners (including minorities), those decisions must remain within the bounds of the Condominium Act and other Bulgarian laws.
If owners are faced with a management company attempting to enforce terms that violate the Bulgarian Condominium Act, they should unite and seek legal counsel to resolve the conflict and ensure the general meeting is organized according to the rules.
QUESTION
CAN A MANAGEMENT COMPANY OR AN AGM OVERTURN ART 51 OF THE CONDOMINIUM ACT IN BULGARIA ?
ANSWER
Neither a management company nor a General Assembly (AGM) can legally overturn or override Article 51 of the Bulgarian Condominium Ownership Management Act (CMA).
Bulgarian law stipulates that the provisions of the Condominium Act are generally mandatory. Article 51, in particular, grants individual owners in certain condominium regimes the right to be exempt from paying general maintenance/management fees for common areas if they do not reside there permanently and have invoked this right.
Key points regarding this:
Statutory Right: The right under Article 51 is a legal right provided by the Bulgarian Parliament, not a rule set by the condominium’s management.
Management Company’s Role: A management company is an executive body responsible for the day-to-day affairs and implementing the decisions of the General Assembly and the law. It has no authority to alter the law.
General Assembly’s Powers: The General Assembly’s decisions are mandatory for all owners, but only if they are made in accordance with the law. An AGM cannot make a decision that contradicts a specific provision of the Condominium Act. Any such decision would be open to legal challenge in court.
Legal Recourse for Fees: The law does provide a mechanism for the management body to apply for a payment order in the local District Court to collect outstanding fees. The court then determines the validity of the claim based on the law, including the applicability of Article 51 to the owner in question.
Therefore, an owner who has correctly invoked their rights under Article 51 cannot have that right removed by an AGM decision. The building’s management must follow the legal process for collecting any disputed fees.
it’s a law confirmed by high court rulings (like the High Court decision on 20/10/2021), meaning it stands unless the Bulgarian legislature changes the law itself, and owners successfully invoking it can be exempt from certain fees, a point confirmed by courts.
Key Points:
Court Confirmed: Bulgarian courts, including the High Court, have upheld Article 51 as valid law, invalidating attempts by management to ignore or overrule it.
Law, Not Policy: It’s part of the national law, not just a management company rule, so only Parliament can amend it.
Applies to Non-Use: Owners who use their apartments for under 30 days a year can invoke Article 51 to claim exemption from management/maintenance fees.
Management Cannot Override: Management companies cannot unilaterally decide that Article 51 doesn’t apply or penalize owners for invoking it; they must comply.
In essence, if you’ve correctly invoked Article 51 and meet the criteria (not using your property for over 30 days), courts have supported your right to be exempt from fees, and management can’t legally challenge that.
No, Article 51 of Bulgaria’s Condominium Ownership Management Act (COMA) cannot be simply overturned by a management company or at a General Meeting (AGM);