Code of Conduct in Horizontal Property: What It Can Say and How Far the Fine Under Law 675 Goes

Quick answer: The house rules manual serves to organize daily life (noise, parking, common areas, pets), but a fine does not arise from a notice posted at the front desk. According to Law 675 of 2001, only what the bylaws describe can be sanctioned, with written notice, a right of defense, and a legal cap.

If you manage, rent out, or co-own a property, you have probably seen the scene: someone posts a notice reading "fine for noise" and nobody knows whether that holds up. Let's take it step by step, without making up peso amounts, because the law does not set them.

Manual and bylaws: they are not the same

Law 675 does not define the "house rules manual" (manual de convivencia). According to the MinVivienda condominium guide and opinion 2024EE0039015, it is an internal regulation approved by the assembly for everyday details, and it does not replace the condominium bylaws (reglamento de propiedad horizontal).

Those bylaws do go in the registered public deed (arts. 4 and 5 of Law 675 of 2001). And anything that contradicts mandatory rules of the law is considered unwritten, even if everyone voted for it.

The 2024 MinVivienda opinion concludes that the internal manual does not have to be elevated to a public deed. Heads up: that opinion is not binding and does not resolve your specific case; it is guidance.

Who approves it and by what majority

This is where many buildings get tangled. The general rule of art. 45 is to meet with owners representing more than half of the coefficients and decide by half plus one of the coefficients represented at the meeting. What is counted is coefficients, not heads or "attendees."

If what changes is the bylaws or the statutes, the majority is different: 70% of the coefficients of the whole building or complex (art. 46, numeral 5). Those decisions cannot be taken in a non-face-to-face meeting or in a second call, unless that majority is reached in the second call.

What to put in writing

Art. 60 requires the bylaws to indicate the sanctionable conduct, the sanction for each one, and a reasonable duration for the publication and for the fines. My practical advice: anchor the catalog of sanctions in the bylaws, or in a manual that the bylaws expressly incorporate, and keep in the manual the schedules and uses specific to the complex that do not create new sanctions.

• A manual with fines that the bylaws never foresaw stands on weak ground.
• Quiet hours or rules for moving furniture are rules of each complex, not national law; do not copy figures from another building.
• Be careful with parking: you cannot restrict an exclusive-use asset as a sanction.

An honest note

Drafting this well is tedious and takes long assembly meetings. But it is the difference between a fine that holds up and one that falls at the first challenge.

Pets: rules yes, absolute ban no

Keeping a domestic animal in the home, without harming neighbors, has been linked to the free development of personality and to privacy (Ruling T-035 of 1997, which predates Law 675). After the law, ruling T-595 of 2003 said that keeping pets is allowed subject to the limit of others' rights, and that the assembly regulates the measures in the condominium bylaws.

That is why the manual can regulate walking, cleaning up waste, and noise, but should not absolutely prohibit a domestic animal inside the apartment. The same ruling describes leashes in common areas and muzzles for potentially dangerous dogs, under Law 746 of 2002.

On removing a potentially dangerous dog, ruling T-155 of 2012 treats it as a last resort: it must be provided for in the bylaws for a specific breach, with a hearing, evaluation of the defense, and an impartial body. Breed alone was not enough in that case. For registering these animals, see the special-handling dog guide.

Sanctions and caps: what art. 59 allows

The legal catalog is short:

• Publishing the list of violators in places of wide circulation in the building, along with the act that caused it (the Court declared that numeral constitutional in C-328 of 2019). It is not permission for social media or for publishing before the procedure is completed.
• Successive fines, for as long as the breach persists: each cannot exceed twice the necessary monthly administration expenses charged to the violator at the date of imposition, and combined they cannot exceed ten times those expenses.
• Restriction on the use of non-essential common property, such as community halls and recreation and sports areas. Essential common property or exclusive-use property cannot be restricted.

It is not a cap "per year" or a peso value, and it is not the ordinary administration fee. If the bylaws set more, that part is considered unwritten. Also, a fine is not the same as late payment: for collecting expenses, read the administration fee guide.

Who sanctions and how

The assembly or the administration council sanctions, the latter only if the bylaws granted it that power (art. 60). The administrator enforces the sanctions (art. 61). The coexistence committee mediates, but cannot impose them (art. 58, paragraph 2).

First, if there is conduct to correct, there must be a written notice with a deadline (art. 59). Then come defense, contradiction, and appeal, and the sanction is graded according to intent, recklessness or negligence, mitigating factors, severity, damage, and repeat offenses. The law does not set a number of business days for responses: the bylaws define it, reasonably. The violator can be the owner, the holder, or a third party for whom they are responsible, so do not assume the fine is "always" paid by one or the other.

How to challenge a fine

The owner of the sanctioned private property can challenge the sanction for a non-monetary obligation within the month following notification of the sanction (art. 62 of Law 675 of 2001). Law 1564 of 2012 (art. 626, literal c) repealed only the phrase referring to art. 194 of the Commercial Code; the month remains. Confirm the current judicial procedure with a lawyer.

Separately, challenging an assembly decision is a different action with a different deadline. The guide to challenging assembly minutesexplains that; do not confuse the two terms.

If you rent out the apartment

If you are a landlord, tell the tenant from the listing which complex rules affect them: whether there is a manual, what happens with pets and parking, and that the administration fee is one thing and a fine is another. Sanctionable conduct must be in the bylaws, and the occupant is responsible for what they do in the condominium. To understand who owes what to the complex, see the guide to renting in complexes. You can also compare how others present their listings in the housing section.

This is general information, not an opinion on a specific case: MinVivienda clarifies that its opinions are not binding.

Frequently asked questions

❓ Does the house rules manual replace the condominium bylaws?

No. The bylaws go in the public deed (arts. 4 and 5, Law 675 of 2001), and anything contrary to mandatory rules is considered unwritten. The manual is an internal regulation approved by the assembly, according to MinVivienda opinion 2024EE0039015, which is not binding (verify at the official source).

❓ Does the manual have to go through a notary?

According to the 2024 MinVivienda opinion, the law does not require elevating the internal manual to a public deed. Reforming the bylaws does require the majority of art. 46 and a deed. Remember that this opinion guides but does not oblige (verify at the official source).

❓ How large can a fine be?

Each fine cannot exceed two necessary monthly administration expenses charged to the violator, and the total cannot exceed ten (art. 59, Law 675 of 2001). It is not an annual cap or a peso value; if the bylaws set more, that part is considered unwritten (verify at the official source).

❓ Can the administrator or the coexistence committee issue fines?

No. The assembly or the administration council sanctions, the latter only if the bylaws gave it that power (art. 60). The administrator executes the sanction (art. 61), and the coexistence committee cannot impose it (art. 58) (verify at the official source).

❓ Can pets be banned in the complex?

The manual must not absolutely prohibit a domestic animal inside the home. Ruling T-595 of 2003 allows regulating coexistence measures, and ruling T-155 of 2012 treats removing a potentially dangerous dog as a last resort, provided it is written beforehand in the bylaws and there is a hearing (verify at the official source).

❓ How much time is there to challenge a fine?

The sanctioned owner has the month following notification of the sanction (art. 62, Law 675 of 2001). Law 1564 of 2012 repealed the reference to the Commercial Code, not that month; challenging assembly minutes is a different action (verify at the official source).

❓ Is a fine the same as the administration fee?

No. The fee consists of expenses; the fine under art. 59 sanctions a non-monetary breach and uses the necessary expenses only as a unit to set the cap. Late-payment collection is explained in the administration fee guide (verify at the official source).