The joint ownership or condominium as a situation in which several people have the shared ownership of a real estate is considered in our Civil Code with a capital regulation without prejudice to other specific regulations for figures that have acquired their own substantivity as for example the Horizontal Property Law.

Usually, the origin of this shared ownership situation derives from an inheritance, from a community of property’s liquidation or as a consequence of the people’s will to acquire a real estate in a shared way.

Unlike other more modern modalities, such as the timeshare, or tourist apartments, the community of property implies the shared ownership of the domain without distinction or division in the same way so that any individual has an abstract ownership over the totality of the real estate like the others without being a concrete materialized assignment of it.

The Law regulates the rights and obligations of several co-owners that, unless otherwise agreed or unless there is a specific regulation of use and enjoyment, they have the same right to the use and enjoyment of the property, without prejudice to each other’s rights.

Sometimes the co-owners regulate by agreement the individualized use, or for specific periods, of each one, of this good but this is not usually normal because in addition in many occasions the co-ownership doesn’t come voluntarily but by a given situation as it is in the case of an acceptance of inheritance.

Normally, this situation of shared ownership in condominium cases is usually provisional, although this doesn’t eliminate the potential for conflict that occurs in those cases.

Think about the cases of dissolution of marital bond and liquidation of joint assets where, except in the event that there is an assignment in favour of one of the spouses for the use of the dwelling, there is often a conflict between the ex-spouses when it comes to settling the division of the property in common.

It follows from what we have said that the most important issue raised by co-ownership or condominium is the duration of maintenance in that situation.

Our Civil Code establishes that no co-owner can be required to remain in such a situation of co-ownership and hence it allows the right of any of them to demand the division of the property and the assignment to each one of the part that corresponds to each one of them although normally this is not usually possible as it is a property that cannot be divided without prejudice to its nature.

In these cases of indivisibility of immovable property, the Law establishes that by mutual agreement the parties may agree on the sale of the same or in the absence of agreement they may request the arbitration of a third party.

In the same way they can do it through the system of sale by voluntary auction, established in the Law of Voluntary Jurisdiction, Law 15/2015 of July 2nd.

Besides and for the cases of disagreement it regulates a judicial procedure of division of property that will be carried out through the sale of the real estate or through a judicial procedure by public auction, and in a notarial way if the parties request it to the Court.

The judicial procedure of division of property begins with a lawsuit signed by a lawyer in which, after confirming the condition of co-ownership of a real estate property, the Court requires to put an end to this situation of shared ownership.

The other parts are informed by the Court and it is done after the period of allegations if there isn’t an agreement in the valuation of the real estate.

An expert is appointed to carry out the valuation of the property and all this as a step prior to the voluntary or forced sale of the property.