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Legal reference

Arrears: what happens when owners do not pay in Ecuador

Short answer

The settlement of necessary expenses that the administrator or president of the condominium issues, once approved by the general assembly of owners, has the force of an enforceable title (título ejecutivo). For enforcement the obligations must be clear, determined, liquid, pure and overdue, and the term counts as overdue when two or more expenses have not been paid.

What the law says

Original wording of the law (Spanish). The summary and the notes around it are ours.

La liquidación que por expensas necesarias emita el Administrador o el Presidente del condominio, una vez aprobada en asamblea general de copropietarios, tendrá el carácter de título ejecutivo; y, para que las obligaciones sean exigibles en juicio ejecutivo, deberán ser claras, determinadas, líquidas, puras y de plazo vencido. Se considerará que ha vencido el plazo cuando no se hubiere pagado dos o más expensas.
Provision: Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 13 · Official text

Last verified:

What this means in practice

This is the route for collecting overdue expenses in court. A decree of August 2026 added further rules on arrears, interest and the effect of default on the use of common areas; they are not covered on this page and should be read in the official text.

General information, not legal advice. Check with a lawyer in Ecuador before relying on it, and read your building's own documents: they can change how a rule applies.

Where Unitify fits

Unitify records the debt per unit, records payments and sends reminders. Interest, voting limits, liens and enforcement come from the law above and your own rules and are applied by people; Unitify records the debt and the payments.

How this works in Unitify

Questions and answers

What are the consequences of unpaid contributions in Ecuador?
The settlement of necessary expenses that the administrator or president of the condominium issues, once approved by the general assembly of owners, has the force of an enforceable title (título ejecutivo). For enforcement the obligations must be clear, determined, liquid, pure and overdue, and the term counts as overdue when two or more expenses have not been paid.
Where does this come from, and when was it checked?
The quotation is from Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 13, at the official source linked on this page. It was last checked against that source on October 12, 2026.
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