Certified SMS for homeowners' associations: when it helps and when it does not
· 3 min read
A property manager spends the year communicating things they later have to be able to prove: the demand to the owner who does not pay, the notice of urgent works, the claim against the defaulter before taking them to the general meeting. The problem is never sending the message: it is proving that it was sent, when, and that it arrived.
What a certified SMS adds
Each sending generates an evidence file: the exact content, the time of sending to the millisecond, the operator's delivery receipt and, if the recipient opens the link, a record of reading on our portal. All of it chained with cryptographic fingerprints and sealed daily with a qualified Camerfirma timestamp.
In Spain the operator's receipt confirms delivery to the handset — it is not like that in every country, and we say so up front.
The uses where it fits
- Payment demands to owners in arrears. An out-of-court claim interrupts the limitation period (art. 1973 of the Spanish Civil Code), but it only works if you can prove that you made it and that it arrived. The file does exactly that.
- Notices of works, supply cuts and urgent incidents, when someone later claims that “nobody told them”.
- Prior notice before the certificate of debt that will be taken to the general meeting: the owner will not be able to claim surprise.
What a certified SMS does NOT do
We say it up front, because this is where others sell smoke:
- It does not replace the rules for calling the general meeting. The notice under the Spanish Horizontal Property Act has its own procedure (arts. 9 and 16 of the Act): the certified SMS reinforces it — proof that notice was also given — but does not replace it on its own.
- It is not a qualified service under the eIDAS Regulation, and we do not pretend it is: faking that status is penalised by Law 6/2020. What the law does guarantee (art. 43.1 eIDAS) is that this evidence cannot be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence for being electronic.
- If the other party challenges the certificate, authenticity is proven with the file and, where appropriate, an expert report (art. 326.3 of the Civil Procedure Act). The file is designed for exactly that moment.
How it is used
From the dashboard — no integration — or through the API if your property management software can call a web service. The cost is that of the SMS plus a fixed supplement per certificate; it is on the prices page, with no surprises.
Questions about your particular case? Write to us and we will tell you just as frankly whether it fits or not.
Quick questions from property managers
Can I send it to the whole association at once? Yes: from the dashboard with a contact list or through the API from your management software. Each owner generates their own individual file — the proof is per recipient, not per batch.
What happens if the owner does not open the link? The file keeps what did happen: the sending, the full text and the operator's delivery receipt. Opening and reading are additional evidence when they occur, not requirements for the sending to be on record.
Does it work for second homes with a foreign owner? The SMS reaches numbers in other countries, but the value of the receipt changes with the destination — in many countries it only confirms that the network accepted it. You will see that warning before sending, not after.
And the cost compared with a burofax? A fraction, and that is why it changes the practice: instead of certifying only the final demand, the first notice is certified too — which is the one that usually gets paid without going any further.