How to call an extraordinary general meeting
Who can ask for it, what the notice must carry and how much notice is needed —which is not six days—. With the article to hand.
An extraordinary general meeting is any meeting other than the annual one for budgets and accounts. The Horizontal Property Act governs it in four paragraphs of article 16, and almost every resolution that falls in court falls because of what happened before the meeting: a notice served badly or an item that was not on the agenda.
Who calls it and who can ask for it
Notice is given by the chair and, failing that, by the conveners of the meeting (art. 16.2). The meeting is held whenever the chair thinks fit or whenever a quarter of the owners ask for it, or a number of them representing at least 25% of the ownership shares (art. 16.1).
They are two alternative routes, not cumulative ones: one is enough. And the percentage is measured against the association as a whole, not against those who reply.
The manager does not call the meeting
Art. 20 lists what falls to the manager and calling meetings is not on it: they prepare the schedule of expenses, carry out resolutions, act as secretary where applicable and keep the records. In practice they draft the notice and serve it, but they do so for the chair. A notice with no decision of the chair —or of the entitled conveners— behind it is nobody's notice.
When a quarter of the owners ask for it
If those entitled request it and the chair does not call the meeting, the Act empowers them as conveners to call it themselves. No period is fixed for the chair to react: it is worth keeping written proof of the request and its date, because that is what later shows the chair was «in default».
An individual owner is another matter: they cannot force a meeting, but they can require an item to go on the agenda of the next one. They write to the chair setting out the subjects clearly, and the chair shall include them —the Act leaves no discretion— at the next meeting held (art. 16.2, second paragraph).
What the notice must contain
Art. 16.2 requires four things in the notice. All four are conditions of validity, not matters of style.
| Contents | What is at stake | Article |
|---|---|---|
| The business to be dealt with | The agenda limits what the meeting may resolve. A resolution on an item that was not announced is contrary to the Act and falls under art. 18.1.a). «Any other business» is not a back door: under that item there is discussion, not resolution | 16.2 |
| Place, day and time, on first and —where applicable— on second call | Providing for the second call in the same notice is what allows it to be held the same day. Not providing for it means going through the whole procedure again | 16.2 |
| A list of owners not up to date with payment of debts due | It goes in the notice, not in the minutes. Leaving it out is the most disputed defect, because it bears directly on who votes and on the base for counting the majorities | 16.2 |
| A warning that the right to vote is withdrawn | The notice must expressly warn that art. 15.2 will apply. An owner in arrears takes part in the discussion but does not vote, and neither that owner nor their share counts towards reaching the majorities | 16.2 and 15.2 |
The general regime of Act 49/1960. Catalonia is governed by book five of its Civil Code and this guide does not apply to it.
How much notice: the six days do not belong here
This is where one mistake is repeated most often. Art. 16.3 says two different things in the same sentence:
«Notice of the annual general meeting shall be given at least six days in advance, and for extraordinary meetings, with such notice as is possible for it to come to the knowledge of all those concerned.»
The six days belong to the annual general meeting. For an extraordinary meeting the Act sets no time limit: it sets a result —that the notice comes to everyone's knowledge— and leaves the period to the case. An urgent meeting after a collapse can be called in forty-eight hours; one deciding a sixty-thousand-euro special levy cannot.
In practice this turns the work on its head: since there is no deadline to meet, what has to be provable is receipt. That is where the notice is defended, not in the calendar.
Two qualifications that do narrow the margin: the bylaws may impose a stricter time limit of their own, and that one does bind; and calling a meeting in a hurry over something that was not urgent is ammunition under art. 18.1.c) —abuse of rights— even if the notice was received.
Where each owner is served
Notices are served «in the manner laid down in article 9» (art. 16.2). And art. 9.1.h) sets up a three-step cascade:
- The address in Spain notified to the secretary. This is an obligation on the owner, who must notify it by a means that provides proof of receipt.
- Failing that, the flat or unit within the association. And notices handed to the occupier —a tenant included— take full legal effect. An owner who gives no address accepts being served through their tenant.
- If that proves impossible, the notice board or another visible place in common use set aside for the purpose, with a record stating the date and the reasons, signed by the secretary and approved by the chair. It takes full effect after three calendar days.
The notice board is the last step, not a shortcut. Posting the notice there without having first attempted delivery at the address, or without the signed record, leaves the owner unserved —and owners improperly served are entitled to challenge without having attended.
For the manager this is above all a filing problem: a notice is not defended with its text, it is defended with the record of who it was sent to, to what address and with what proof of receipt.
The second call
If on first call there is no majority of owners also representing a majority of ownership shares, it moves to the second call, with no quorum requirement (art. 16.2). And from there, two routes:
- It was provided for in the notice. The meeting is held at the place, day and time stated, and may take place the same day once half an hour has passed since the first call.
- It was not provided for. A fresh notice must be issued, on the same terms, within eight calendar days of the meeting that did not take place, serving the notices at least three days in advance.
That the second call has no quorum does not mean it serves for everything. Without a quorum the meeting goes ahead; reinforced majorities —three-fifths and unanimity— are still worked out on the association as a whole, not on those present. Only art. 17.7 resolutions make do with a majority of those attending. This is set out in the table of majorities.
The meeting held without notice
It is possible, and it is valid: the meeting may be held even without notice from the chair provided every owner is there and they so decide (art. 16.3). Every owner, not a reinforced majority, present or represented. In small associations it settles an emergency without formalities; in one of forty neighbours it is theory.
What happens if the notice is defective
A defective notice makes the resolution contrary to the Act, which is the ground in art. 18.1.a). And the Act deals the cards like this:
- Who may challenge (art. 18.2): owners who recorded a dissenting vote at the meeting, those absent for any reason and those improperly deprived of their vote. An owner who was not properly served sits squarely in the middle of that list.
- On what condition: the owner must be up to date with all debts due or have deposited them with the court beforehand. The exception is a challenge to resolutions on setting or altering the ownership shares under art. 9.
- Within what time limit (art. 18.3): three months as a general rule, but one year if the resolution is contrary to the Act or to the bylaws —which is what a defective notice amounts to—. For absent owners the period runs from when the resolution is communicated to them under art. 9.
- In the meantime (art. 18.4): a challenge does not suspend the resolution unless the court orders it as an interim measure.
That one year is why the notice deserves more care than the minutes: a special levy approved in March on a defective notice may have been charged, collected and spent by the time the claim arrives.
Carry on here
- Majorities at the general meeting — the table by type of resolution and the three counting rules that decide whether the numbers add up.
- Tourist letting and homeowners associations — the three-fifths resolution under art. 17.12, a staple of the extraordinary meeting.
- How the copilot avoids inventing articles — where each citation comes from and how it is checked.
Written on the consolidated text of Act 49/1960 published in the BOE (BOE-A-1960-10906), last updated on 23 March 2026 and checked on 25 August 2026. Art. 16 keeps the wording of Act 8/1999 and art. 9 that of 2022. This guide is not legal advice: it is a working tool for someone who already has the judgement and answers for what they sign.
A notice is defended with the record of what was sent
Finkua records who was served, at what address and with what proof of receipt, and the demo comes with the Horizontal Property Act ingested from the BOE article by article. Ask it about the time limit in your case and check the wording it cites.