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Owners' association and common expenses in Peru: what the law says about paying (or not paying) them

Short answer

If you live in a building, row-house complex, or condominium with shared areas and services, you're subject to the exclusive-and-common-property regime (Law N.° 27157 and its regulations). The Owners' Association (Junta de Propietarios) manages the common property and approves common expenses, which you must pay according to the percentage set in the building's Internal Regulations. If you fall behind on three ordinary fees or one extraordinary fee, you lose your right to vote in the Association until you catch up.

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MUNIATE · El Peruano

Checked 1 Oct 2026Next review 19 Mar 2027

By Gyason · verified 1 Oct 2026

PeruviansForeign residents

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The clock running against you

5 calendar days from the date the President sends the meeting notice.This is a procedural deadline: miss it and you lose that route and have to start another.

What day was it?

This is the minimum notice period for calling a meeting of the Owners' Association, unless the building's own Internal Regulations set a different one. If the called meeting doesn't take place, it must be called again within the following 3 calendar days.

Consolidated Text of the Regulations of Law 27157, Article 146

What the exclusive-and-common-property regime is

If you live in an apartment building, a row-house complex, a co-owned house, or a condominium with shared areas, your building is regulated by the exclusive-and-common-property regime under Law N.° 27157 and its regulations (Consolidated Text approved by Supreme Decree N.° 035-2006-VIVIENDA). Article 129 defines it as the legal regime involving a building made up of sections under exclusive ownership (your apartment or unit) and property and services under common ownership (hallways, elevators, roofs, installations). Every building under this regime has both Internal Regulations and an Owners’ Association.

What common services and common expenses are

Article 137 lists the common services: cleaning, upkeep, and maintenance of common areas; building administration; caretaking, gardening, and doorkeeping; security and surveillance; garbage removal; advertising services; parking-lot administration; and anything else the Association agrees on. The first of these (cleaning and maintenance) is mandatory for every building under the regime; the others become mandatory once the Association agrees to them.

Article 138 defines common expenses: everything caused by maintaining those services, plus any extraordinary expense the Association agrees on. Payment is made according to the percentages set in the Internal Regulations, which can be based on use, occupied space, demand for services, or the number of people per section — and these percentages don’t have to match the percentages of ownership in the common property.

Not paying common expenses has concrete consequences

Article 144 is clear: failing to pay or falling behind on dues leads to collection actions under the Regulations and the law, and not occupying your section doesn’t exempt you from paying, unless there’s an agreement to the contrary.

Article 143 also sets out a consequence within the Association itself: if you fall behind on three or more ordinary fees, or one extraordinary fee, you become ineligible to vote. You can still attend meetings with voice but no vote, and you aren’t counted toward the quorum. You regain your standing as soon as you pay what you owe.

How the Owners’ Association is formed and called to meet

The Owners’ Association is made up of every owner of the exclusively-owned sections and jointly represents them (Article 145). It’s fully constituted once the Internal Regulations are executed, which must name a President when there’s more than one owner, and it’s registered with the Public Registry of Real Property.

Unless the Internal Regulations say otherwise, Article 146 requires the President to call a meeting with at least 5 calendar days’ notice, through a means that leaves a record of delivery (letter, email, etc.) and notices posted in visible places in the building. If a called meeting doesn’t take place on the scheduled date, it must be called again the same way within the following 3 calendar days. Meetings must be held on the property itself.

The qualified majority for important decisions

Not every agreement is approved the same way. Article 148 requires a qualified majority — the concurring vote of owners representing at least two-thirds of the participation in the common property — for decisions about selling, encumbering, granting use of, or permanently affecting common property, areas, or services. For these specific votes, only owners in good standing (current on their payments) or their representatives may vote, even if they aren’t active participants in the Association.

What each building decides for itself: the Internal Regulations

Article 153, literal i), leaves everything related to ordinary and extraordinary meetings, quorum, voting, agreements, and the functions of the Owners’ Association to each building’s own Internal Regulations. This means the general rules in Law 27157’s regulations are a default regime: they apply only when your building’s Internal Regulations don’t say something different. That’s why, before assuming how quorum or dues work in your building, you should check your own Internal Regulations first.

In practice

If you bought or rent a unit in a building or condominium, check the Internal Regulations to find your exact common-expense percentage and the applicable quorum and voting rules. Keep your dues current so you don’t lose your right to vote in the Association, and if a meeting is called to decide on selling or encumbering common property, verify that the two-thirds qualified majority the law requires is respected.

Short-term rentals and neighbor access

If your building’s bylaws restrict Airbnb-style rentals, see short-term rentals and Airbnb in Peru: what rules apply. If the dispute is about passage or access to a neighboring property rather than common expenses, that is covered in right-of-way easements in Peru.

A new law that is not in force yet: Decreto Legislativo 1568

Decreto Legislativo 1568 (2023) creates a new horizontal-property regime, but it is not in force yet: as of 30 September 2026 its regulation has not been published. That is why this page applies Ley 27157 and its regulation. We explain what would change in «Possible changes ahead» below.

Check your case

The Common-expense share and voting at the junta tool works out your share of a common expense at your Reglamento Interno percentage, and whether unpaid fees take away your vote at the junta. It does not calculate interest or fines: the rule does not set them.

How to file

Check your building's Internal Regulations before the general lawThe Internal Regulations govern the quorum, voting, and specific common-expense percentages for your building (Article 153.i); the general rules in Law 27157's regulations only apply when the Internal Regulations are silent on the matter.
Verify your exact common-expense percentageDon't assume it's the same for everyone: Article 138 allows it to be calculated based on use, space, demand for services, or number of occupants.
If you fall behind on payments, catch up before the next meeting is calledArticle 143 strips your voting rights starting with the third unpaid ordinary fee (or the first extraordinary one), and that suspension lasts until you pay off what you owe.
If you're called to a meeting, check the notice periodUnless the Internal Regulations say otherwise, the meeting must be called at least 5 calendar days in advance (Article 146), and meetings must be held on the property itself.
If the Association decides to sell or encumber common property, demand the qualified majority be respectedArticle 148 requires the concurring vote of owners representing two-thirds of the participation in the common property for this type of decision, not a simple majority.

Possible changes ahead

None of this is law in force yet. What this page explains is what applies today; this is what could change it.

Published, not yet in force

Decreto Legislativo N.° 1568, Decreto Legislativo del Régimen de la Propiedad Horizontal

Where it stands: Published in El Peruano on 28 May 2023, but not in force yet. The only step so far is the draft regulation the Ministry of Housing published for comment with Resolución Ministerial 242-2024-VIVIENDA (El Peruano, 16 July 2024). As of 30 September 2026 we found no supreme decree in El Peruano approving that regulation.
What it would change: If you do not pay maintenance fees, the owners' association could record a charge on your unit's registry file (article 30.1) and sue using the unpaid receipts, which would be enforceable titles (article 30.2). There would also be a Registry of Debtors reported to the SBS credit bureau (Third Final Complementary Provision). Every building would need an administrator (article 28.1).
How it would take effect: First, the Ministry of Housing must approve the regulation by supreme decree. Then the period set by the decree itself runs: «El presente Decreto Legislativo entra en vigencia a los ciento ochenta días calendario siguientes a la publicación de su Reglamento» (it takes effect 180 calendar days after its regulation is published). On that day Title III of Ley 27157, which governs private and common property in buildings today, is repealed.
When: No date. It takes effect 180 calendar days after a regulation that does not exist yet is published. The decree gave the government 180 calendar days from its publication to approve that regulation; by our count, that deadline passed on 24 November 2023.

«El presente Decreto Legislativo entra en vigencia a los ciento ochenta días calendario siguientes a la publicación de su Reglamento.»

Status checked on 30 September 2026 · See the official source

What people fail to ask in time

Did you know there are also specific rules on how and when a rental deposit must be returned to you?

Find out before it matters →

What most people believe — and what the law says

The belief

If I don't use the common areas (pool, gym, elevator), I don't have to pay common expenses.

The law

Article 144 is explicit: a section remaining unoccupied, regardless of how long, does not exempt its owner from paying common expenses, unless there's an agreement to the contrary. Payment doesn't depend on actual use — it depends on owning a section subject to the regime.

The belief

Common expenses are always split equally among all owners.

The law

Article 138 establishes that payment is made according to the percentages set in the Internal Regulations, which can factor in use, occupied space, demand for services, or the number of people per section — and these percentages aren't necessarily the same as the percentages of ownership in the common property.

The belief

If I don't pay my dues, they can only collect the debt from me, but I can keep voting normally in the Association.

The law

Article 143 says the opposite: anyone who falls behind on three or more ordinary fees, or one extraordinary fee, loses the right to vote, though they may still attend meetings with voice but no vote, and aren't counted toward quorum.

The belief

Any decision of the Owners' Association is approved with a simple majority of those attending.

The law

For decisions about selling, encumbering, granting use of, or permanently affecting common property, areas, or services, Article 148 requires a qualified majority: the concurring vote of owners representing at least two-thirds of the participation in the common property, unless the Internal Regulations set a different rule.

Frequently asked questions

How much notice do I have to get before an owners' association meeting?

At least 5 calendar days, unless your building's Reglamento Interno sets a different period — article 146 requires notice by letter, email, or any method that leaves a record, plus a notice posted in the building. If the convened meeting doesn't actually happen, it must be called again the same way within the following 3 calendar days.

I'm behind on my dues. Can I still attend and speak at the meeting?

Yes, you can attend with voice but no vote, and you don't count toward quorum — that's article 143. You lose your voting rights once you owe three or more ordinary dues, or one extraordinary due, and you're automatically reinstated as soon as you pay what you owe.

What vote is needed to approve selling a common asset, like a storage room or the rooftop?

A qualified majority: owners representing at least two thirds of the participation shares in the common areas must vote in favor, under article 148. For decisions to sell, encumber, or grant use of common assets, only owners current on their payments can vote — even if they're not formally part of the association's board.

Which common services do I have to pay for even if the owners' association never voted on them?

Only cleaning, upkeep and maintenance of common areas (item a of article 137) is mandatory by default for any building under this regime. Other listed services — security, gardening, surveillance, trash removal, and so on — only become mandatory once the owners' association agrees to them.

The exact law

Consolidated Text of the Regulations of Law N.° 27157, approved by Supreme Decree N.° 035-2006-VIVIENDAArticle 129read

Concept of the exclusive-and-common-property regime

«Es el régimen jurídico que supone la existencia de una edificación o conjunto de edificaciones integradas por secciones inmobiliarias de dominio exclusivo, pertenecientes a distintos propietarios, y bienes y servicios de dominio común. Cuentan con un Reglamento Interno y una Junta de Propietarios.»