Overdue dues are, by far, the most frequent conflict in managing condominiums in Portugal. The good news is that Portuguese law gives the administrator a structured path before reaching court — the bad news is that most administrators don't follow it in order, which needlessly drags out the resolution.
Step 1 — A Formal Notice, Not Just an Informal Reminder
The first contact should always be in writing and with proof of delivery (registered mail or email, if the owner has opted for that communication channel) — never just an informal conversation or a group chat message. The notice should state the amount owed, the period it covers, and a reasonable deadline to settle it.
A verbal reminder creates no record. A written notice does — and that record is the foundation for every step that follows.
Step 2 — Late-Payment Interest
Overdue dues accrue late-payment interest, at the statutory rate unless the condominium's regulations set a different one. Applying interest from the first missed payment (not only once the process has already dragged on) reinforces the message that non-payment has a real cost, not that it's simply tolerated.
Step 3 — Assembly Resolution: The Minutes as an Enforceable Title
This is the most underrated step in the entire process. Article 6 of Decree-Law No. 268/94 (the regulatory rules of Portugal's horizontal-property regime, as amended by Law 8/2022) states that assembly minutes resolving on the amount of contributions to be paid — stating the annual amount owed by each owner and the due date of each obligation — constitute, on their own, an enforceable title against an owner who doesn't pay on time.
In practice, this means the condominium can move directly to enforcement proceedings, without needing a prior declaratory action to prove the debt in court — as long as the minutes meet the right requirements.
There's a distinction that makes all the difference: only constitutive minutes serve this purpose (those that fix the amount to be paid in the future, typically when approving the annual budget and dues plan), not merely recognitive minutes (which only acknowledge a debt that already exists, after the default has already happened). That's why the assembly minutes approving the annual budget — which most administrators treat as bureaucratic routine — are exactly the document that can later save months of litigation.
Step 4 — The Injunction Procedure
For debts within the applicable limits for this procedure, an injunction is normally faster and cheaper than an ordinary court case — it's a request that, if the debtor doesn't contest it, produces an enforceable title without a hearing.
Step 5 — The Administrator's Duty to Act Within 90 Days
What most administrators don't know is that this process isn't just a right of the condominium — under certain conditions, it's a personal duty of the administrator. Article 6, paragraph 5 of the same Decree-Law No. 268/94 requires the administrator to file a collection lawsuit within 90 days of the first default, whenever the amount owed is equal to or greater than the value of Portugal's Social Support Index (IAS) for the current calendar year — unless the assembly resolves otherwise.
This changes how this deadline should be read: it's not "how long the owner has before being sued," it's "how long the administrator has before they can be held liable for inaction." Letting a significant debt build up without acting within this deadline isn't just poor management — it's a legal breach of the administrator's own.
Step 6 — Enforcement or Declaratory Action
If the previous steps don't resolve the situation, the condominium can pursue an enforcement action (when an enforceable title already exists, such as an uncontested injunction) or an ordinary declaratory action, seeking to summon the debtor owner and, potentially, seize assets or the unit itself.
What to Avoid
- Ignoring the arrears "because it's only a month" — experience shows the debt grows faster than the administrator's patience; acting early is always cheaper than acting late
- Letting the 90 days pass without acting or bringing it to the assembly — if the debt already exceeds the IAS for the year, silence stops being prudence and becomes personal risk for the administrator (Step 5)
- Confronting the owner publicly in an assembly — the debt should be handled with procedural rigor, not personal exposure; that generates additional conflict without speeding up payment
- Mixing debt collection with other disagreements (noise, use of shared areas) — these are separate processes and should be handled separately
- Drafting the annual budget minutes "as routine", without including the exact amount owed by each owner and the due dates — it's precisely that detail that turns them into an enforceable title (Step 3)
How Not to Let the Situation Drag On
The biggest risk in a dues debt isn't the amount itself — it's how long it takes to be identified and handled. A system that automatically flags overdue payments as soon as they happen, instead of depending on someone noticing on a spreadsheet, is the difference between fixing a 30-day arrears and discovering an 8-month debt only at the annual audit.
Learn more → actias-gest.solid-ai.net