Guides  ·  2026-05-11  ·  9 min read

How to Approve Court Rules at a Homeowners Meeting

Your residential community has a padel, tennis, or multi-sport court. That sounds great. But you also have neighbors arriving at 11pm, outside guests treating the court like their private club, and endless arguments about whose turn it is. The solution is not personal confrontation: it is clear rules, approved at the homeowners meeting, and tools that enforce them automatically.

This guide walks you through the full legal process for approving court usage rules at a Spanish comunidad de vecinos meeting: what the Horizontal Property Law (LPH) says, what quorum you need, what rules to include, how to draft them, and how to make them stick without mediating every dispute.

For a broader view of managing sports facilities in residential communities, our complete guide to court management in housing complexes covers everything from regulation to digitization.

Legal Framework: What the Horizontal Property Law Says

Before calling a meeting, you need to understand the legal framework. The Horizontal Property Law (Ley 49/1960, with multiple amendments) governs homeowners associations in Spain and is the reference standard for any agreement on common areas.

Article 17: required majorities

• Simple majority (more than half of attendees): For internal management rules, including rules for using sports facilities. This is the easiest threshold to reach and applies in the vast majority of cases.
• Three-fifths of all owners (and ownership shares): For new services or structural/facade changes. Not applicable to court usage rules.
• Unanimous vote: Only needed to modify the community's founding statutes. Not needed for internal management rules.

In short: a simple majority of owners present at the meeting is all you need to approve court usage rules.

Article 6: internal management rules

Article 6 of the LPH explicitly allows communities to establish internal management rules regulating the use of common services and facilities. Court usage rules fit squarely here.

Article 7: nuisance activities

Article 7 prohibits annoying, unhealthy, harmful, or dangerous activities. Noise outside permitted hours falls directly under this article and can support sanctions even without specific court rules — though having a clear rulebook is far better.

Statutes vs. internal management rules

It is important to distinguish between the community's founding statutes and its internal management rules. Modifying statutes requires unanimity. Approving or amending internal management rules only requires a simple majority. If your community has no court rules yet, you will be creating them from scratch: simple majority, no problem.

Before the Meeting: Preparing the Proposal

Diagnose current problems

Before drafting anything, inventory existing conflicts. Talk to neighbors and collect recurring complaints. The most common issues are:

• Court use outside permitted hours (noise at night)
• Outside guests monopolizing the court
• Bookings that are not honored, leaving the court unused
• Lack of maintenance (no sweeping, equipment left behind)
• Conflicts between neighbors over prime-time slots

Each identified problem becomes an article of the rules. Do not write generic rules: write rules that solve your community's actual conflicts.

Check local noise ordinances

Any hours you set must comply with local noise ordinances. In most Spanish municipalities, daytime hours run from 8:00 to 22:00. Check your municipality's ordinance before setting hours to ensure you are neither too restrictive nor proposing something that conflicts with local law.

Draft a clear and specific proposal

The draft should be readable by any neighbor, without unnecessary legal jargon. Use short paragraphs, numbered lists, and plain language. Avoid ambiguity: terms like "reasonable noise" or "normal hours" generate different interpretations and future conflicts.

What to Include in the Rules

1. Who has the right to use the court

Define who can use the court: owners, tenants (with owner notification), spouses or partners, children and dependents. Specify whether outside guests are allowed and under what conditions.

2. Usage hours

Set differentiated hours by season and day of the week. A common structure:

3. Booking system

Specify how bookings are made, how far in advance, and for how long. Common rules:

• Maximum advance booking: 48–72 hours
• Maximum duration per booking: 1–2 hours
• Maximum bookings per week per unit: 2–3
• Penalty for no-show without cancellation: suspension of booking rights for 7–15 days

4. Outside guests

This generates more conflicts than any other rule. The most common approaches:

• Maximum 2 guests per session, always accompanied by a resident.
• Guest visit limit per month (e.g., maximum 4 visits per guest per month).
• Only residents may book the court, not guests.
• The resident is responsible for their guests' behavior.

5. Basic maintenance

• Obligation to sweep the court after use
• Put away sports equipment (nets, protectors, etc.)
• Report any damage to the president or administrator
• No eating or smoking on the court

6. Noise and conduct rules

• No loud music without headphones during quiet hours
• Reasonable noise levels, especially during early mornings and holidays
• Children below a certain age must be accompanied by an adult

7. Enforcement and sanctions

Without consequences, rules do not stick. Define a graduated penalty system:

1. First minor violation: Verbal or written warning from the president.
2. Second violation or serious breach: Suspension of usage rights for 15–30 days.
3. Repeat violations or very serious breach: Suspension of up to 3 months; treatment as a nuisance activity under Art. 7 LPH.

Meeting Day: Presenting the Proposal

1. Include it in the agenda: The proposal must appear explicitly in the meeting notice. If it is not on the agenda, a valid vote cannot be taken.
2. Distribute the draft in advance: Send it to all owners at least 5–7 days before the meeting so people arrive having read it and the discussion is more productive.
3. Clear, brief presentation: At the meeting, explain what problem each rule solves. Do not read the entire rulebook: highlight the key points.
4. Accept reasonable amendments: A rulebook approved with minor adjustments is better than a blocked one. Accept modification proposals that do not undermine the core objectives.
5. Vote and minutes: Once approved, the secretary records it in the meeting minutes with votes for, against, and abstentions. The signed minutes are the document that gives the rules their legal validity.

After the Meeting: Communicating and Enforcing the Rules

Communicate to all owners

Even if only some owners attended the meeting, the approved rules are binding on everyone. Send a copy of the approved rulebook to all residents: by post, email, or management app. Also post a visible summary near the court (notice board or sign at the access point).

Digital tools to automate enforcement

Booking management apps like BookrGo and other community tools automate most of the process:

• The system only allows bookings within approved hours
• Automatically limits bookings per unit per week
• Logs who used the court and when (audit trail for sanctions)
• Sends automatic reminders to the booker before their slot
• Manages cancellations and makes the court available again for other residents

BookrGo is designed specifically for this kind of community management. Free for the community. No booking fees. You can configure the rules approved at your meeting directly in the platform.

For practical examples of how other community presidents have handled similar situations, our complete guide for community presidents and the article on common booking problems in residential communities offer real-world cases.

Practical tip: when communicating the new rules to residents, explain the "why" behind each rule. People comply better when they understand that the rules address real conflicts rather than administrative formality. A little communication effort at approval time saves many disputes later.