Horizontal property in Uruguay 2026: rights, expenses and law

INGAR · 2026-07-08 · Legal

What nobody explains before you buy in a building

When you buy an apartment in a building, you are not just buying your unit. You are entering a legal regime — horizontal property — where you share ownership of everything that is not your apartment: the structure, the rooftop, the stairways, the elevator, the hallways, the main pipes, the land. All of that belongs to all co-owners, in proportion to the value of each unit.

That means that decisions about the building are made collectively (in assembly), expenses are shared by everyone (common charges), and if one co-owner doesn't pay, it becomes everyone's problem. It sounds reasonable in theory. In practice, it is where most conflicts in a property owner's life arise.

At INGAR we see purchase transactions where the unit is in perfect condition but the building has serious problems the buyer never investigated. This guide explains what you really need to know before buying a PH unit in Uruguay.

Horizontal property in Uruguay: the essentials at a glance

Topic	What you need to know
Current law	Law 10,751 (1946), amended by Decree-Law 14,560 (1976), Law 19,604 (2018) and Law 20,058 (2022).
What is yours	Your unit is exclusively owned. The land, structure, roof, stairs and elevator are common property of all co-owners.
Coefficient	A fixed percentage for your unit. It sets how much you pay in common charges and how much your vote weighs in the assembly.
Common charges	Ordinary (monthly), extraordinary (one-off works) and reserve fund (savings for contingencies).
If a neighbor doesn't pay	The approved statement is an enforceable title and there is a reciprocal mortgage: ultimately the unit can be auctioned. Late-payment interest is 12% annually, non-compounding; the debt has a 4-year statute of limitations.
Assemblies	In person, virtual or hybrid (Law 20,058). On second call, the majority of those present decides.
Before buying	Ask for the regulations, the last 6 charge statements, the unit's debt certificate and the building's arrears level.

What the law says (the important parts, without the jargon)

Horizontal property in Uruguay is governed by Law 10,751 of 1946, one of the first in Latin America to regulate this matter. It has been amended several times (Decree-Law 14,560 of 1976, Law 19,604 of 2018, Law 20,058 of 2022). The essentials:

You are the exclusive owner of your unit (the apartment, with its boundaries defined in the regulations).
You are co-owner of the common areas: land, foundations, load-bearing walls, rooftop, stairways, elevator, general installations (water, electricity, sewage), hallways, concierge area. These areas can never cease to be common — the law states this explicitly.
Your share is measured by the "coefficient" of your unit. It is a fixed percentage established when the building enters horizontal property and determines how much you pay in common charges and how much weight your vote carries in assemblies.

The coefficient: the number that defines your life in the building

Each unit has a coefficient expressed as a percentage of the total value of the building. For example: in a 20-unit building, a 3-bedroom on the 8th floor might have a coefficient of 7.2% while a studio on the ground floor has 2.1%.

That number determines two fundamental things:

How much you pay in common charges. If the building's total expenses are $200,000 per month and your coefficient is 5%, you pay $10,000.
How much your vote counts in assembly. Your voting power is proportional to your coefficient, not "one vote per unit."

Who sets the coefficient? Generally it is established by the developer when the building enters horizontal property, based on the floor area, location within the building, and characteristics of each unit. Once set in the co-ownership regulations, it is practically permanent — changing it requires unanimous consent of all co-owners, which in practice almost never happens.

Important note: if you feel your coefficient is unfair (and this happens more than you might think), the law states that in case of disagreement, the valuation of the Dirección Nacional de Catastro is used as a reference. But making a claim is a long and costly process.

Common charges: the cost that never ends

Common charges are your monthly contribution to building maintenance. They are divided into:

Ordinary: what is spent every month — concierge, cleaning, lighting in common areas, water (if centralized), elevator maintenance, building insurance, administration. These are recurring and predictable.
Extraordinary: specific works or repairs — rooftop repair, facade painting, elevator replacement. These are approved at assembly and billed as an extra charge or funded from the reserve fund.
Reserve fund: monthly savings to cover unforeseen events and future works. The assembly decides the amount. In older buildings it should be high; in many it does not exist or is negligible.

Legal exemption: ground-floor owners are exempt from contributing to stairways and elevator costs. This comes directly from Article 5 of Law 10,751.

What you need to know as a buyer: ask for the last 6 common charge statements, not 1 or 2. A single statement tells you nothing. You need to see the trend and whether there are approved or pending extraordinary charges. More detail at common charges: what they include and how they are calculated.

What happens if a neighbor doesn't pay?

This is probably the most real concern about living in a PH building and the one least talked about before buying.

When a co-owner stops paying common charges, money is missing to maintain the building. If several stop paying, the building deteriorates quickly: repairs are postponed, preventive maintenance stops, and those who do pay end up covering the difference (or the building falls apart).

The law gives the building tools to collect:

Reciprocal mortgage: each unit carries a legal mortgage in favor of all other co-owners as a payment guarantee. This means that ultimately, your apartment can be auctioned off for common charge debt. This is not theoretical — it happens.
Enforceable title: the common charge statement approved by the assembly functions as an enforceable title. The administrator can go directly to court to collect, without a prior ordinary lawsuit.
Late-payment interest: Law 19,604 of 2018 set late-payment interest at 12% annually, non-compounding, and the debt is adjusted under Decree-Law 14,500. Before this law each building applied whatever it wanted and debts became unpayable. The rule is of public order: no agreement to the contrary is valid.
Statute of limitations: common charge debt lapses after 4 years (article 1222 of the Civil Code). After that period, the building loses the right to claim it in court.

How enforcement works in practice: with the approved statement as an enforceable title (article 7 of Decree-Law 14,560), the administrator can start an executory proceeding, faster than an ordinary lawsuit. If the debt is not paid, the unit can be attached and, in the extreme, auctioned. The reciprocal mortgage makes that guarantee weigh on the debtor’s own apartment.

What this means for you as a buyer: before purchasing, ask for a certificate confirming the unit is current on common charges. And find out the overall delinquency rate in the building. If 30% of units are in arrears, the building has a serious problem that will affect your quality of life and the value of your property.

The reserve fund: the savings that separate a healthy building from a crumbling one

It’s easy to confuse the reserve fund with common charges, but they serve different purposes. Ordinary common charges pay for the month; the reserve fund is accumulated savings for what sooner or later arrives: replacing the elevator, waterproofing the roof, painting the façade, fixing a main pipe.

The assembly decides how much is contributed and how it is kept. A building with a solid fund can face a major work without asking each owner for a large extraordinary payment all at once — which is exactly when conflicts and arrears appear. A building with no fund, or a token one, eventually hands you the bill.

Before buying, ask how much the reserve fund holds and which work it is earmarked for. An old building with a near-zero fund and a 30-year-old elevator is an extraordinary charge waiting to happen.

Renting out your unit in a PH (including short-term rentals)

Your unit is exclusively owned, so in principle you can rent it out. But the co-ownership regulations can set limits, and those limits bind you just like any other co-owner.

The most sensitive issue today is short-term rental (Airbnb and similar). Many regulations define the units’ use as permanent housing or ban commercial or hotel use, and on that basis some buildings block rentals by the day. Others allow it without issue. There is no single answer: it depends on your building’s regulations.

If you buy planning to rent — long-term or short-term — read the regulations before signing. It is one of the most expensive mistakes we see: buying for short-term rental and finding out afterward that the building forbids it. If you plan to rent traditionally, review the requirements to rent in Montevideo and the rental guarantees.

The assembly: how decisions are made

In a PH building, important decisions are made at co-owners' assemblies. In practice, the assembly is where the budget is approved, administrators are elected, works are authorized, and conflicts are resolved.

How quorum works

Convocation	Required quorum	Majority to decide
First	Majority representing at least 3/4 of the building's value	Simple majority of those present
Second (1 hour later)	No minimum — whoever shows up	Simple majority of those present

This means that on second convocation, 3 people can make decisions that affect the entire building. And this happens constantly. Participation in assemblies in Uruguay is historically low — in many buildings it doesn't reach 10% of co-owners. If you don't attend, others decide for you. Including how much you'll pay in extraordinary charges.

Decisions requiring special majorities

Not everything is resolved by simple majority. For certain decisions, the law requires 2/3 of co-owners representing at least 3/4 of the building's value:

Improvements to enhance the use of common areas.
Modifications that alter the architectural appearance of the building.
Changes in the purpose or surface area of common areas.

These majorities are matters of public policy — they cannot be reduced even by agreement among co-owners. It's the law.

Virtual assemblies (since 2022)

Since Law 20,058 of 2022, assemblies can be in-person, virtual, or hybrid. They must be conducted with real-time audio and video. This helped improve participation, especially in large buildings where many owners don't live in the unit (investors, rentals).

The co-ownership regulations: read them before buying

The regulations are the building's "social contract." They define the rules of the game and are binding on all co-owners and their successors (meaning you, if you buy).

Before closing the purchase, your notary should review them. But read them yourself too, paying attention to:

Permitted use of units: can they be used as offices? Can short-term rentals (Airbnb) be done? Some buildings expressly prohibit this.
Pets: each building has its rules. Some prohibit them, others set conditions. Verify before, not after.
Internal works: what you can modify in your unit and what requires assembly approval.
Noise and cohabitation hours: these vary considerably from building to building.
Parking and storage: how they are assigned, whether they are private or common use.

A real case we often see: someone buys an apartment planning to rent it on Airbnb and then discovers the regulations prohibit it. Or they buy with pets and the regulations don't allow them. Reading the regulations beforehand saves you those problems.

Works: what you can and cannot do

Within your apartment you have quite a bit of freedom. Painting, changing floors, renovating kitchen or bathroom, changing internal doors and windows — all of that you can do without asking anyone's permission (as long as you don't affect the structure).

You need assembly authorization for:

Any work that touches common areas (main pipes, facade, rooftop).
Modifications that alter the appearance of the building (enclosing a balcony, for example).
Joining two adjacent units (involves opening dividing walls or slabs).
Building upward (raising the structure) — requires authorization from all co-owners.

For any work that could affect the structure, the law requires a prior technical report certifying that the solidity, stability, safety, and hygiene of the building are not compromised. Carrying out works without this is illegal and can have serious consequences.

The administrator: who manages the building's money

The administrator is the one who executes assembly decisions, collects common charges, pays for services, hires and dismisses staff (concierge, cleaning), and legally represents the building.

They can be a co-owner acting on an honorary basis or a professional firm. In either case:

They must be registered with the Ministry of Labor (MTSS).
They are appointed by the assembly, generally for a renewable one-year term.
They must render accounts — if they don't show clear numbers, it's a red flag.
They have civil (and potentially criminal) liability for mismanagement.

Before buying, ask who manages the building and for how long. A building with a good administrator is noticeable: clear expenses, up-to-date maintenance, established reserve funds. A building with a bad administrator is equally noticeable: expenses that rise without explanation, postponed repairs, assemblies that are never convened.

PH Checklist before buying

This is what we recommend requesting and verifying before closing the purchase of any unit in horizontal property:

Co-ownership regulations: read them in full. Verify permitted use, pets, works, short-term rental.
Last 6 common charge statements: review amounts, trends, and whether there are extraordinary charges.
Unit debt certificate: confirm it is current on common charges.
Building delinquency rate: ask the administrator what percentage of units are in arrears.
Reserve fund: how much it holds and what it is projected to cover.
Minutes of the last 2 assemblies: see what works were approved, what conflicts exist, what participation is like.
Elevator status: last inspection, age, replacement plan.
Rooftop and facade condition: whether there are planned or pending works.
Administrator: who they are, how long they have managed the building, whether they are registered.
Your coefficient: what it is and how it compares to similar units in the building.

Frequently asked questions

Which horizontal property law is currently in force in Uruguay?

The base rule is Law 10,751 of 1946, still in force and amended by Decree-Law 14,560 (1976), Law 19,604 (2018, common charge debt) and Law 20,058 (2022, virtual assemblies). There is no single "horizontal property code": this set of laws is what governs.

What is the coefficient in horizontal property?

It is the percentage your unit represents of the building's total value. It determines how much you pay in common charges and how much your vote weighs in the assembly. It is set when the building enters the PH regime and appears in the co-ownership regulations.

Who pays for repairs in a PH building?

Repairs to common property (roof, façade, elevator, main pipes) are paid by all co-owners in proportion to their coefficient, through common charges or the reserve fund. Whatever is inside your unit, you pay for.

Can an apartment be auctioned over common charge debt?

Yes. The statement approved by the assembly is an enforceable title, and each unit carries a reciprocal mortgage in favor of the other co-owners. If the debt is not paid, the process can reach the attachment and auction of the unit.

How much is the interest on late common charges?

Since Law 19,604 (2018), late-payment interest is 12% annually, non-compounding, and it is of public order (no other rate can be agreed). The debt has a 4-year statute of limitations.

Can I list my apartment on Airbnb if it is in horizontal property?

It depends on your building's co-ownership regulations. Some regulations limit use to permanent housing or ban hotel use, and on that basis short-term rental is blocked; others allow it. Read the regulations before buying if that is your plan.

Can I carry out works inside my apartment without permission?

Inside your unit you are free to paint, change floors or renovate the kitchen and bathroom, as long as you do not affect the structure or common property. Any work touching main pipes, the façade, the roof or the structure needs assembly authorization and a prior technical report.

Sources

Law 10,751 (1946) — Horizontal property regime.
Decree-Law 14,560 (1976) — Reciprocal mortgage and assembly quorum.
Law 19,604 (2018) — Reform of common charge debt.
Law 20,058 (2022) — Virtual assemblies.
Dirección Nacional de Catastro — PH certificates and cadastral values.

About to buy in a building and have doubts about the PH? At INGAR we guide you through the whole transaction: message us on WhatsApp or browse the available properties.