Can you be fined for hanging out your laundry?

Can you be fined in a community for hanging out your laundry?

Q.- On our complex we have a few tenants and some owners (fortunately not many) who refuse to abide by the community rule that you are not allowed to erect lines for washing on a building.

These owners have been approached and asked politely, but they just become rude and abusive and ignore the requests. The point is that, if we all did it, our buildings would look like a Chinese laundry! Are we able to fine them for every time it happens or do you have any other suggestions please?

K C (by email)

A.- The community is not empowered to issue fines of any sort. In fact the only legal recourse it has is the power to prohibit serious offenders from using their flats for several years.

This would not apply to a relatively minor annoyance such as you describe. You are already doing the only thing you can do, which is to continue to insist on reminding them politely that they are breaking a community rule and annoying the other members. A more positive response would be to offer them another space where they could hang their laundry.

Send your questions for David Searl through lawyers Ubeda-Retana and Associates in Fuengirola at Ask@lawtaxspain.com, or call 952 667 090

Can you be fined in a community for hanging out your laundry?