More and more people in Spain have pets. The number of pets in our country continues to grow among households. However, while they are a source of joy for some, a bad owner can be an ordeal for others, especially if you live in a neighborhood community. It is common for friction to arise around the possible damage that these animals can cause between the owners of a community building.
Anyone who has had a dog will know the responsibility it entails. These need to be fed, played constantly, cleaned… many chores that may not be considered correctly in the excitement of adopting or buying one, but that later take their toll on everyone. What happens, for example, if my neighbor’s dog needs him in the common areas? Here we tell you.
The Horizontal Property Law is the legislation in charge of defining and stipulating which behaviors are suitable and which are not within a community of neighbors. In this way, access to common areas, the amount of noise that can be made or the characteristics of the elevator are regulated. However, these statutes do not include rules about excrement produced by a dog, and what attitude the owner of the animal must present in such cases.
In the absence of rules defined in the statutes, municipal regulations are applied in full, which would be illegal. This general rule applies to all areas of the urbanization, so even if there is a dog park, the owner must pick it up or receive a penalty.
In this way, the most advisable thing is to face the situation in a collaborative and cordial manner, to make the neighbor see reason and stop his behavior. You can talk to him, raise the complaint to the president of the community or even present it as an agenda at the next meeting. This way, the situation does not escalate and a waste of time and money on both sides is avoided.
Fines for dog droppings
But you can realize from the situation that all this is not working, and judicial intervention is needed to settle the matter. For this, article 7.2 of the Horizontal Property Law is used. This rule states that no person residing in the building can “carry out activities in it or in the rest of the property that are prohibited in the statutes, that are harmful to the property or that contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous, pink or illicit”.
In this case, the matter is presented as a case of nuisance or unhealthy activity, and will be brought before a judge. Thus, the institution will force the person to immediately stop the prohibited activity, and in extreme cases, may deprive the dog owner of his right to use the property for his habitual use for up to a maximum of 3 years.
