The community's WhatsApp group: personal data and votes

Yes. According to the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD, Spain's data protection authority), the rules apply to communities of owners "insofar as they process personal data of natural persons".

The AEPD guide "Protección de datos y administración de fincas" (published as a document under review) answers that, if the owner has provided their phone number, it can be used to communicate with them as part of running the community without needing consent. "However, it cannot be used to add the owner to a group without their express, informed and explicit consent."

In proceedings PS-00365-2023, the president of a community shared a resident's bank receipt in the WhatsApp group, showing their first name, surnames, account number and address. The AEPD proposed fines of €1,500 and €500, and the proceedings ended with a reduced voluntary payment of €1,600. In another case (AI-00336-2023), the AEPD closed the complaint about a land registry extract (nota simple) shared in a group made up only of owners, finding that the scope of the community had not been exceeded.

On owners in arrears, the AEPD recommends notifying each owner individually, "avoiding any means that could involve access by third parties", and accepts posting the list on the community notice board when it can be shown that notifying the owner has not been possible.

The Ley de Propiedad Horizontal treats resolutions as decisions of the owners' meeting (Junta de propietarios). The notice of meeting states "the matters to be dealt with, and the place, day and time at which it will be held" (art. 16.2), attendance is in person or by proxy (art. 15.1), and resolutions are recorded in the minutes book (art. 19.1), whose minutes state the date and place of the meeting (art. 19.2). No article of the law recognises a poll in a WhatsApp group as a resolution of the owners' meeting.

The only national rules on meetings by videoconference were temporary: Real Decreto-ley 8/2021 (a royal decree-law) allowed them, subject to conditions, until 31 December 2021. The current text of art. 16 of the law does not mention online meetings.