Article 1407 of the Portuguese Civil Code regulates the Administration of Common Property (Co-ownership), establishing the rights and duties of co-owners. The regime for administering common property follows the principle of majority, calculated based on the value of each one’s shares. The main points of the regime are:
Rights and Duties of Co-owners
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Administration by Majority:
Co-owners have the right to administer common property. Decisions regarding current administration or normal management of the common property must be made by majority vote, calculated based on the value of each co-owner’s shares. This is the supplementary rule established in no. 1 of Article 1407.
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Convention to the Contrary:
Co-owners can establish, by convention, different rules for the administration of common property. This convention must be agreed upon by all co-owners and may provide for a method of administration different from the majority rule.
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Principle of Administration:
In principle, administration belongs to all co-owners (Article 1403). However, deliberations on the administration of common property are always decided by majority vote corresponding to shares, and not by equality of decision-making power.
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Conflict Resolution:
If there is no agreement between co-owners and administration by majority is not possible, any co-owner can resort to the court to resolve the impasse.
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Deliberations and Regulations:
Deliberations made by co-owners can be recorded and, in some cases, may be subject to an administration regulation, which must be respected by all co-owners[1].
Article 1407 is fundamental to ensure effective and fair administration of co-owned property, allowing co-owners to establish specific agreements for the management of common property, while ensuring a decision-making mechanism based on majority of shares when there is no prior agreement.