About ACSR

How ACSR Was Formed

From the time that the first apartments were sold at São Rafael in the 1980s until 2002, the urbanisation at São Rafael was managed by the company that developed it, namely São Rafael Urbanizações Lda. (SRUL). It was, for example, SRUL that negotiated with tour operators to bring tourists to São Rafael for holidays, and many owners at São Rafael rented out their properties to tourists through SRUL.

The relationship between owners and SRUL was not always a happy one, and in 1990 an owners' association was formed (São Rafael Owners' Association) so that owners could be represented in negotiations with SRUL.

In 2002, the undeveloped parts of São Rafael (comprising the unsold villa plots and other assets of São Rafael) were sold off to a commercial company, and a year later these were acquired by the present company, Carlos Saraiva IV (CSIV).

A 5-star 100-bedroom apartment-hotel, originally planned by SRUL, was completed by CSIV in 2004, on the edge of São Rafael, close to Phase 1 apartments. A second 5-star hotel is planned to be built in the centre of São Rafael.

CSIV intended to continue managing the tourist development of São Rafael, but wanted the urbanisation to become formally and legally an aldeamento touristico [tourist village] and be recognised by the Portuguese Dirrecção Geral de Tourismo [National Tourist Board] as such. To this end, a meeting of all owners was called by CSIV on October 25, 2003. The meeting was long but inconsequential; a second meeting was called for December 13, 2003. At the second meeting, the owners voted overwhelmingly against becoming an aldeamento touristico. At that point, the CSIV party withdrew from the meeting. Subsequently, all owners were informed by CSIV that from the end of February 2004 the general management of São Rafael (garbage collection, public lighting, delivery of mail, maintenance of gardens, etc.) would be the responsibility of the owners. Also, owners who rented their apartments through CSIV received a letter saying that all contracts were terminated from the beginning of November 2004.

At the end of the December 13, 2003 meeting, the owners elected an Ad-Hoc Commission that would temporarily manage the São Rafael urbanisation, and investigate the possibility of forming São Rafael into a condominium. The Ad-Hoc Commission called a meeting for January 17, 2004, and a number of issues were resolved, including the election of a proper Commission.

Originally, it was hoped that the whole of São Rafael could be incorporated into one condominium, and steps were taken to establish this. It was subsequently discovered that this was not possible under Portuguese law. The alternative — allowable under Portuguese law — was for each plot (lote) to form a condominium, and for each condominium to elect to be managed by an overall body. This is how the ACSR [Associação de Condóminos de São Rafael] was born — as the association of the joint-owners from the condominiums in São Rafael. Happily, the vast majority of joint-owners agreed to be managed by ACSR.

What ACSR Does

ACSR is responsible for the management of the common parts and common services of São Rafael. This includes such things as managing the collection of rubbish, distribution of mail, maintaining the gardens, arranging security, and organising the cleaning and painting of the common areas. All this is done on behalf of the joint-owners.

The owners who are members of ACSR pay an annual condominium fee to ACSR (in 2 instalments) to pay for the services provided.

ACSR keeps an office in São Rafael (Apartment 77), through which all these activities are organised. The office is staffed by a secretary and an assistant.

The Structure of ACSR

The ACSR holds an AGM each January and much of the business of the ACSR is decided here. For example, the budgets for previous and future years are approved. Also, officers are elected to run the ACSR on a day to day basis: a chairman, a secretary and a treasurer. It was agreed at the 2006 AGM that the officers would be paid by ACSR in future.