Legal language of an assembly in an Dominican condominium is French?

[Catsegler]

Hello,

we have bought in a condiminium of 14 owners a Villa in Las Terrenas. 80% of owners are native Speakers of French language. We are German an I speak better Spanish than French. The assembly is hold in French. The condominium of 2010 is registrated by Dominican law in Nagua and refers to the law of condominiums.
I will no more accept in future that the assembly is hold in French. This is in my eyes illegal , if an owner wants to hold the assembly in the official language of the country.
Can I refuse and the Assembly is not valid if next year against hold in French language?. Has ist to be repeated by costs of the administration in this case?

Thanks for Helping me.
Thomas

 

[cavok]

Technically, you are right, but you would have to give your proxy to a lawyer and have him/her represent you at the AGM to try to change it. Then, everything would have to be said in Spanish and French.

 

[windeguy]

The legal language in the DR is Spanish. Period.

 

[cavok]

The agenda, bylaw, and minutes of the meeting must be in Spanish. Translations is other languages can be provided to the owners

 

[CG]

It's impossible that the assembly is legally documented in the French language, it would be invalid, the office of registry in Nagua would not accept it.
Your meetings may be verbally held in French as the majority of owners are most likely to be too lazy to learn Spanish but as per the previous post by Cavok all minutes and bylaws, new agenda of the assembly must be documented & written in Spanish.
What language is your contract of sale written in?.

 

[XQT]

The legal language in the DR is Spanish. Period.

Correct!

Yet how many laws in the DR do you know, that are not being observed by government and citizens?

So what are you going to do?

In this case you are moving into a community which has an 80 % majority.
Of course one can get lawyers and fight to have legislation enforced, success rate??

Sounds like a pleasant environment to live in and make your home.

Living in a Dominican neighbourhood I'm surrounded by infractions of laws every day.
I'm sucking it up, as I'm not going to turn the whole neighbourhood against me,
Or my Dominican family which lives here year around, also when I'm afuera.
They did not want to live afuera any more and choose this.

I could call medio ambiente, police, get people summoned to the fiscaleria............no thanks!
Pick your battles.

Understand the country and community where you live in.

 

[Manuel01]

Correct!

Yet how many laws in the DR do you know, that are not being observed by government and citizens?

So what are you going to do?

In this case you are moving into a community which has an 80 % majority.
Of course one can get lawyers and fight to have legislation enforced, success rate??

Sounds like a pleasant environment to live in and make your home.

Living in a Dominican neighbourhood I'm surrounded by infractions of laws every day.
I'm sucking it up, as I'm not going to turn the whole neighbourhood against me,
Or my Dominican family which lives here year around, also when I'm afuera.
They did not want to live afuera any more and choose this.

I could call medio ambiente, police, get people summoned to the fiscaleria............no thanks!
Pick your battles.

Understand the country and community where you live in.

I hate to agree but somehow i have to. Also try to see the cup half full and not half empty Catsegler. One day you might act against something that was agreed on at the assembly, there is no way on earth that they can hold you accountable because here we go: "everything was in french"LOL. Just don't ever sign anything that is in French.

 

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Article 29 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic: "Artículo 29. Idioma oficial. El idioma oficial de la República Dominicana es el español".

 

[windeguy]

Correct!

Yet how many laws in the DR do you know, that are not being observed by government and citizens?

So what are you going to do?

In this case you are moving into a community which has an 80 % majority.
Of course one can get lawyers and fight to have legislation enforced, success rate??

Sounds like a pleasant environment to live in and make your home.

Living in a Dominican neighbourhood I'm surrounded by infractions of laws every day.
I'm sucking it up, as I'm not going to turn the whole neighbourhood against me,
Or my Dominican family which lives here year around, also when I'm afuera.
They did not want to live afuera any more and choose this.

I could call medio ambiente, police, get people summoned to the fiscaleria............no thanks!
Pick your battles.

Understand the country and community where you live in.

No doubt on most of the above. I could not live there in that environment. I would be concerned that separatists would want to start another country in the northeast and then there would be 3 countries on one island. I am almost kidding.

The point in this case is if you have to go to the fiscal or a lawyer because the French are trying to fark you over and it is an important battle, you might actually win because they are on the wrong side of the law in this case doing documents in French, despite Parisian French being a lovely language.

 

[XQT]

Article 29 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic: "Artículo 29. Idioma oficial. El idioma oficial de la República Dominicana es el español".

Most are aware of this fact!
Is the suggestion to engage into litigation to enforce this??

Realities.
A German buys a condo in Las Terrenas.
Las Terrenas has a large expat population of Italian and French ex-pats.
This condo has an 80% residency of French seeking owners.

The condo is run by a strata council- condo association under Dominican laws.
Maintenance, repairs, condo rules will be governed by the president/chair and council members.
Even if the German owner was elected to council, he would be outvoted on every item by the 80% French majority.
You will be interacting with your neighbours on a daily basis.

In other condos with foreign ownership one can expect US,CAN, EU owners.
Each nationality with their own quirks.

Maintenance and repairs will be done by Dominicans.
Once you go outside of your gates, you are in the DR.
Dominican laws will rule inside and outside.
Figure out your chances and costs of litigation before you engage into it.
Lawyers will be happy to help.

Dreams of tropical escape from German bureaucracy and realities.
New bureaucracy and realities encountered.
The palm trees gently swaying in the sultry tropical air.

 

[El Hijo de Manolo]

Article 29 of the Constitution of the Dominican Republic: "Artículo 29. Idioma oficial. El idioma oficial de la República Dominicana es el español".

Most are aware of this fact!
Is the suggestion to engage into litigation to enforce this??

Realities.
A German buys a condo in Las Terrenas.
Las Terrenas has a large expat population of Italian and French ex-pats.
This condo has an 80% residency of French seeking owners.

The condo is run by a strata council- condo association under Dominican laws.
Maintenance, repairs, condo rules will be governed by the president/chair and council members.
Even if the German owner was elected to council, he would be outvoted on every item by the 80% French majority.
You will be interacting with your neighbours on a daily basis.

In other condos with foreign ownership one can expect US,CAN, EU owners.
Each nationality with their own quirks.

Maintenance and repairs will be done by Dominicans.
Once you go outside of your gates, you are in the DR.
Dominican laws will rule inside and outside.
Figure out your chances and costs of litigation before you engage into it.
Lawyers will be happy to help.

Dreams of tropical escape from German bureaucracy and realities.
New bureaucracy and realities encountered.
The palm trees gently swaying in the sultry tropical air.

Germans OK, just move past Hitler please. As for the French, a dead Language and let anyone cross the borders. Vive Madame LaFarge! And steak frites!

 

[Aguaita29]

You`re in a very vulnerable situation. No one can force you to agree to or sign up for stuff that isn´t in the country`s language, or that you don´t fully understand.
I suggest you first approach them nicely to find a solution in between, perhaps get you an interpreter or translator? but if they still do nothing to accommodate your needs, get an attorney.

 

[cavok]

A Dominican lawyer is an owner in our association. We have two or three other Dominican owners. The Dominican lawyer/owner insisted the AGM be conducted in Spanish per Dominican law. Our association lawyer, who is also Dominican, agreed. The meeting is carried out in both English and Spanish. The official minutes of the meeting are in Spanish. An English translation is provided.

 

[westcan]

The agenda, bylaw, and minutes of the meeting must be in Spanish. Translations is other languages can be provided to the owners

this! You can conduct the Assembly in a different language if that is specified in your condo bylaws. But all the documents that have to be registered at land titles or whatever you call it, must be in Spanish. (that includes the copy of the condo bylaws)

 

[cavok]

this! You can conduct the Assembly in a different language if that is specified in your condo bylaws. But all the documents that have to be registered at land titles or whatever you call it, must be in Spanish. (that includes the copy of the condo bylaws)

You can get away with conducting it in a different language if there are no Dominican owners, but the bylaws cannot supersede Dominican law in post #8. If you have Dominican owners and they cannot understand what is being said and voted on, they could invalidate the meeting.

 

[Catsegler]

Thanks to all fore this very good and helpful discussions. Yes you have to live with your neighbors and I live in Las Terrenas for 5 Month only the year and the other 7 in Germany. My kids go to school here and lessons are in Spanish. I am engaged in about 5 Condos in Germany and know the condo laws very well there. In The DR I got the worst and most unstructured administration I ever saw in my business life. 20% of owners do not pay without no interest rate and the others 80% are playing the bank for them. Next year I will be a 2000$ debitor , too and by a MH paper with 11.5% interest rate instead. In the french discussions in the Assembly French people argue that my wording and my French is not very diplomatic. Next year I want that the assembly is hold in Spanish and I will be very happy to hear in Spanish the diplomatic expressions and argumentations of my French neighbors. I would recommend for them to leave their French ghetto and to pass next 11 month more time with Dominican woman than with Haitian woman. Incredible for me to live more then 2 years in a country and to be to proud to learn the national language here. That is colonialist behavior for me.