Terrace enclosures
Terrace enclosures are a more complicated issue than it may seem at first glance. According to article 7.1 of the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), this type of work affects the building of your community of owners, so you cannot carry out this type of work without the following permissions:
Steps for terrace enclosure
Consult an architect about the nature of the work you want to do.
Submit a project to your Town Hall.
Talk to the President of the residents' association to test the ground.
Have "your terrace" included as an item on the agenda at the next meeting of the residents' association.
Once you have obtained the permission from the Town Hall, and your neighbours have voted in favour of your reform (3/5 in favour) you can proceed with the terrace enclosure after waiting 30 days. Why do you have to wait 30 days? Because if a neighbour has not been able to attend the residents' meeting, he/she has 30 days to vote against the balcony enclosure. Once the 30 days have passed, it is understood that their vote is in favour.
Problems with balcony enclosure
Care must be taken, because the same article 10 LPH warns that the works must be carried out with the consent of the neighbours who are affected by them. In fact, the latter will be able to stop the works if they can prove that they affect them by means of a technical report and they will be able to demand compensation if they are carried out. Another problem with terrace enclosures is the following: If you have made a balcony enclosure your neighbours will not be able to ask you for explanations if 10 years have passed, however, if two years have passed your neighbours will be able to ask you for explanations and even get you into trouble.
Closing terraces without permission
In the manual of things you should not do in a community of neighbours, this is in the top 10. If you finally decide to enclose a terrace without the permission of your local council or neighbours, be prepared, because you are going to be in for a bit of trouble. Firstly, you may have to pay a fine for contempt of court. Secondly, because you will have to leave your terrace as it was before the work was done and you will have to pay a lot of money for nothing. For all these reasons, it helps to have a property manager on your side. The experience and knowledge of a professional in communities of owners will avoid a multitude of problems between neighbours as well as unnecessary expenses of money and, of course, unpleasantness.