The previous company was terminated some time ago and the committee have identified a new potential company called Human Control. They have taken them on to carry out emergency tasks prior to possibly signing a contract which I understand has not yet been done (as of 22nd May 2026) pending checks on their suitability, the President reports they are currently working at their own risk and he will announce them to the community when the contract is signed. It appears they may have been chosen because they are the cheapest.
There is a famous quote by John Ruskin that explains the error of doing this: (all business people know this well and ignore it at their peril):
«If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.»
The Maintenance bill for the Gardens, pools, supplies and and some ancillary tasks is our biggest expense and risk by a long way accounting for around €51,000 of our annual budget (€51,059.15 is 32.73% of the total €156,000 budget).
It also has the biggest impact of owners quality of life and Saleabilty/Value of apartments. We have had many problems with previous contractors so this is our chance to get it right. In my opinion and having discussed this at length with the management and produced a comprehensive report on the subject I believe we are repeating past mistakes which is why I had to resign from the committee
From my investigation there is a lot of money to be saved by good management that can be put into the building restoration project.
Ideally we should pay per task rather than by time which is PROVEN to encourage contractors to work slowly and use manual tools rather than invest in automation, it is also MUCH easier to manage and saves most of the risk we are currently exposed to. We should pay a swimming pool contractor a gardening contractor etc. We also need to make the gardens low maintenance, Just elimating the need to strim can save 8 or more days a month in summer. (€1232 EVERY month). It’s all in my report
Here are the latest provisional contracts supplied to me by ACV on 29th April 2026
Contrato y condiciones de mantenimiento (borrador) – Español
Maintenance Contract and Conditions (Draft) – English
Here are the risks we run if we where to agree to this contracts. Something that In my opinion we MUST NOT DO
Note the information I have is taken for the contracts given to me by ACV and comments from Peter and the committee. errors and omissions excepted and there may have been updates I am not aware of:
RISKS & ITEMS NEEDING CLARIFICATION – MAINTENANCE CONTRACT
PART 1: CRITICAL RISKS (YOUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS)
1. No evidence of due diligence (checks, references, accounts, Social Security)
Problem: Nowhere in the contract or notes is there any clause requiring the company to provide:
- References from other communities.
- Audited accounts or financial solvency proof.
- Certificado de estar al corriente de pagos con la Seguridad Social (proof of Social Security payments).
- Certificado de estar al corriente con Hacienda (tax agency clearance).
- Liability insurance certificate (cláusula séptima says they will have it, but no proof is attached).
Risk: If the company fails to pay its workers’ Social Security, you could be held jointly liable for those payments under Spanish ley de subcontratación. If they go bust we are in real trouble. and could have serious liabilities.
What needs checking:
- Request vida laboral of the assigned worker.
- Request certificado de estar al corriente from Social Security and Hacienda.
- Request copy of póliza de responsabilidad civil (minimum €300,000 recommended).
- Request at least 2 references from similar communities.
2. Single worker – is he qualified in all skills?
Problem: The contract implies a single jardinero cualificado will do:
- Gardening
- Hedge trimming
- Herbicide application
- Pool daily maintenance (pH, chlorine, photometer)
- General electrical maintenance (bulbs, switches, timers)
- Minor plumbing (pipe bursts, irrigation)
- Tile repairs
- Drain cleaning
- Pressure washing
Risk: A single gardener is unlikely to be a certified pool technician, a qualified electrician, and a plumber. Complex electrical and pool equipment issues are explicitly noted as requiring external specialists – but the contract does not say who arranges or pays for them.
What needs checking:
- Request copies of qualifications / certificates for the assigned worker:
- Certificado de manipulador de productos fitosanitarios (herbicides)
- Certificado de mantenimiento de piscinas (pool technician)
- Formación en prevención de riesgos laborales (especially for height work – but palm pruning is excluded anyway).
- Clarify: For electrical or pool equipment repairs beyond routine checks, who calls the external specialist, and who pays?
3. Weak supervision
Problem: Supervision is done by the company itself (visits from a supervisor, weekly plans, monthly check-ins with a community member). There is no independent community oversight of work quality or hours worked.
Risk: You have no way to verify that the worker is actually on site for the full contracted hours, or that work quality meets standards.
What needs checking:
- Add a clause requiring daily sign-off sheet signed by a designated community representative.
- Require photographic evidence of completed tasks (e.g., before/after pool cleaning, hedge trimming).
- Require GPS-logged timesheet or similar if the worker is dropped off and collected.
4. Working hours and legal breaks – no allowance for breaks
Problem: Summer hours: 8:00 to 15:00 = 7 hours. Winter hours: 9:00 to 14:00 = 5 hours.
Under Spanish labour law (Estatuto de los Trabajadores, Art. 34):
- For a continuous shift of more than 6 hours, a minimum 15-minute break is required.
- That break is normally considered working time only if specified in contract or collective agreement, but if not given, it can be a violation.
Risk: The worker could later claim that the company (and potentially you, as the end user) failed to provide legally required breaks. If the worker is deemed your employee (see below), this becomes your liability.
What needs checking:
- Clarify in writing whether the 7 hours includes or excludes a 15–30 minute break.
- If no break is provided, the working day should be reduced to 6.5 hours or the break explicitly waived in a written agreement (though this is difficult under Spanish law).
5. Rain days – no mention
Problem: The contract is completely silent on días de lluvia (rain days). Gardening and outdoor maintenance cannot be performed in heavy rain.
Risk: If it rains all day, do you still pay? Does the worker stay indoors doing indoor maintenance? Are rain days deducted? Is there a force majeure clause?
What needs checking:
- Add a clause stating that on days where outdoor work is impossible due to rain, the worker will perform indoor tasks (e.g., cleaning community rooms, garage, stairwells, equipment maintenance).
- If no indoor tasks exist, agree on a pro-rata deduction or a maximum number of rain days per year.
6. Risk of worker being deemed YOUR employee
Problem: This is your most serious concern, especially given your past experience.
Under Spanish labour law, the following factors can lead to cesión ilegal de trabajadores (illegal worker posting) or a direct employment relationship being declared:
- The company provides only one worker (low organisational autonomy).
- The worker uses your equipment (tractor – see below).
- The worker does not have their own transport (you implied they are dropped off and collected – this suggests the worker is not genuinely independent).
- You supervise or direct the worker (even indirectly).
- The company has no other significant clients or workers.
Risk: If a judge declares the worker to be your direct employee, you would be liable for:
- Back Social Security payments.
- Back holiday pay, severance, and other labour rights.
- If you terminate the maintenance contract, the worker could claim unfair dismissal against you (exactly what happened to you before).
What needs checking:
- Ensure the company provides its own vehicle and tools (except the tractor – see below).
- Ensure the worker has a uniform or badge clearly identifying the company, not the community.
- Ensure the company has other clients and other workers – request proof.
- Crucially: Add a clause stating that the community does not direct or supervise the worker, and any instructions must go through the company’s supervisor.
- Consider asking for the worker to be changed periodically to avoid an implied employment relationship.
7. The tractor – not suitable and not used
Problem: The contract says the community will provide the tractor in good condition, and the company will do maintenance and fuel. But you say the worker does not use it because it is not suitable.
Risk: You are lending expensive equipment to a contractor. If the worker is injured using your tractor, you could be liable for workplace accident claims. Also, if the tractor is not fit for purpose, the work is not being done efficiently.
What needs checking:
- Do not lend the tractor. The company should provide its own suitable machinery.
- If you insist on lending it:
- Add a clause that the company assumes full responsibility for any accidents, injuries, or damage arising from use of the tractor.
- Require the company to have specific machinery insurance.
- Clarify in writing exactly what tasks the tractor is suitable for.
8. Pool open on weekends and holidays – no coverage
Problem: The pool is open on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, but the contract only provides maintenance Monday to Friday. In Spain, if a pool is open, water must be tested daily including weekends and holidays. You have two pools.
Risk: Fines from health authorities, pool closure, or resident illness. No one is currently responsible for weekend/holiday testing.
What needs checking:
- Clarify who tests on weekends and holidays.
- Obtain cost from contractor or arrange alternative coverage.
- Require a daily logbook and response protocol for failed tests.
9. No reporting, no hours verification, and no community oversight of work done
Problem: The previous contractor never provided any reports and charged for hundreds of hours not worked. They were only discovered after owners spotted the problem themselves. The current contract has no system to prevent this happening again. No daily or weekly reports, no sign-off by a community representative, no verification of hours actually worked, no photographic evidence, no independent community supervision.
Risk: The exact same fraud could happen again. You could be billed for full hours even if the worker leaves site early, takes long breaks, or does not complete assigned tasks. Without reports and sign-off, you have no legal evidence to dispute invoices or terminate the contract.
What needs checking:
- Require daily task log signed by worker and community rep (or timestamped photos).
- Require weekly summary comparing planned vs actual hours.
- Require monthly report with total hours, pool logs, photos of completed work.
- Require pool logbook kept on site with daily pH, chlorine, temperature, and signature.
- Require timestamped photo at start and end of each day.
- Allow random spot checks by a designated community member.
- Add right to deduct payment if reports are not provided on time.
10. Sick days and holiday pay – no mention
Problem: The contract does not address what happens when the assigned worker is sick or on holiday. Does the contractor provide a replacement? Is the community charged for days no worker attends? Who pays for sick leave and holiday entitlement?
Risk:
- If the worker is sick, no maintenance or pool testing may happen for days or weeks.
- The community could be charged for services not received.
- If the worker is later deemed your employee, you could be liable for back holiday pay and sick pay.
What needs checking:
- Require the contractor to provide a trained replacement worker for any sick days or holidays, at no extra cost to the community.
- Require the contractor to confirm in writing that all holiday and sick pay obligations are borne solely by the contractor.
- Specify a maximum response time for providing a replacement (e.g., within 24 hours).
- If no replacement is provided, agree on a pro-rata deduction from the monthly fee for each day without service.
PART 2: ADDITIONAL GAPS FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTS
11. Materials and components – «at the community’s expense» is too vague
Cláusula Quinta: «Todos los materiales y componentes necesarios para el mantenimiento, mejora o adecuación correrán a cargo de la comunidad.»
Problem: This could include even small items like light bulbs, screws, glue, herbicide, pool chlorine – unless otherwise specified (fertilisers and palm pruning are excluded, but pool chemicals are not clearly excluded).
What needs checking:
- Define a list of consumables included in the monthly fee (e.g., small tools, cleaning products, basic chemicals).
- Define a list of materials that the community will pay for separately, with prior approval.
12. External laboratory pool analysis – no budget clarity
Problem: The meeting notes say: «El laboratorio de análisis de agua de piscina será contratado por la comunidad.» This is a separate cost, but your earlier budget (€156,000) already includes «Pool Analíticas» for €1,450.
What needs checking:
- Confirm whether the €1,450 in your budget covers exactly this external laboratory, or whether it’s a different line item.
- Clarify who orders the lab test, how often, and what the maximum cost is.
13. Emergency services – unclear who decides when to call
Problem: Extraordinary services are billed at €21/hour (weekday) or €60/hour (weekend). But who decides what constitutes an emergency? Could the worker decide to call themselves out and bill you?
What needs checking:
- Require prior authorisation from a designated community representative for any extra hours.
- Require a written report for each emergency call-out.
14. Tile repairs – «little by little throughout the year» is too vague
Problem: The meeting notes say flooring will be repaired «poco a poco a lo largo del ejercicio» but materials are at community expense. There is no schedule or quantity.
What needs checking:
- Define a maximum number of tiles to be replaced per month/quarter.
- Require a quarterly plan approved by the community.
15. No key performance indicators (KPIs) or service levels
Problem: There is no definition of what constitutes acceptable work quality. No inspection criteria. No penalties for poor performance.
What needs checking:
- Add a simple checklist for each task (e.g., «pool pH within 7.2–7.6», «no visible litter in garden», «hedges trimmed to X height»).
- Add a right to deduct payment for repeated failures.
SUMMARY – WHAT NEEDS CHECKING (ACTION LIST)
| Area | Specific Action Required |
|---|---|
| Due diligence | Request Social Security clearance, tax clearance, insurance certificate, references, and vida laboral of the worker. |
| Worker qualifications | Request copies of certificates: phytosanitary, pool maintenance, health & safety. |
| Supervision | Implement daily sign-off sheet with photographic evidence. |
| Working hours / breaks | Clarify if 7 hours includes a legal break; document agreement. |
| Rain days | Add clause for indoor alternative work or pro-rata deduction. |
| Employment risk | Ensure company provides own transport, uniform, tools. Add clause prohibiting direct supervision by community. |
| Tractor | Do not lend it, or add full liability clause for accidents. |
| Weekend/holiday pool testing | Clarify who tests, obtain cost, require logbook and response protocol. |
| Reporting & hours verification | Require daily task logs, weekly summaries, monthly reports, pool logbook. Add right to deduct for missing reports. |
| Sick days & holiday pay | Require trained replacement at no extra cost. Confirm contractor bears all costs. Specify pro-rata deduction if no replacement. |
| Materials cost | Define which consumables are included, which require prior approval. |
| Pool lab analysis | Confirm if €1,450 budget item covers this, and who orders it. |
| Emergency call-outs | Require prior authorisation. |
| Tile repairs | Define maximum quantity per period. |
| Service levels | Add simple KPIs and penalties for non-performance. |
| Termination | Ensure contract clearly states that termination ends all obligations – no implied employment of the worker. |
