Living in a Spanish urbanisation or community of owners can be enormously rewarding. It can also become a source of sustained conflict that affects daily life, property values and mental wellbeing.

Disputes between residents and community presidents, disagreements over gestoria decisions, shared facility conflicts, noise complaints, unauthorised works and unpaid community fees — these situations are common, often escalate quickly, and are poorly served by the formal legal processes available under Spanish property law.

Going to court in Spain is slow, expensive and uncertain. Many disputes sit unresolved for years — not because there is no solution, but because no one has created the conditions for one.

Mediation provides a structured, neutral space in which all parties can communicate clearly, understand each other's positions and reach agreements that are practical and durable.

As a psychologist and WTA mediator based in Málaga, I bring an understanding of the specific dynamics of expatriate community life in Spain — the cultural complexity, the language barriers, the power imbalances that can develop within small communities, and the psychological toll of sustained neighbour conflict.

I work with disputes involving:

Community president and resident conflicts Where decisions are perceived as arbitrary, unfair or discriminatory, or where communication has broken down entirely.

Gestoria and management disputes Where residents feel that community funds, decisions or administration are not being handled transparently or fairly.

Neighbour conflicts Noise, boundaries, shared spaces, pets, parking and the daily friction of communal living.

Unpaid fees and shared cost disputes Reaching workable agreements without escalating to legal proceedings under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal.

Sessions are conducted in English and Spanish.

Community disputes in Spanish urbanisations have a specific character. They often involve a significant power imbalance — a community president or gestoria with considerable authority over residents who may not fully understand their rights under Spanish law.

They also frequently involve language and cultural barriers that make direct communication difficult, particularly for British and international residents navigating a Spanish legal and administrative framework.

I understand both sides of this. I have lived in Málaga for seven years, work across English and Spanish, and have direct clinical and personal experience of how these disputes develop and what is needed to resolve them.

This is not generic mediation applied to a Spanish context. It is mediation informed by the specific realities of community life on the Costa del Sol and beyond.

Currently offering community mediation services as a WTA (Working Towards Accreditation) mediator under professional supervision.

We begin with a confidential initial conversation to understand the nature of the dispute and assess whether mediation is appropriate.

If both parties agree to proceed, we start with a MIAM (Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting) — a confidential individual session with each party separately.

Joint sessions are then conducted online or in person in the Málaga area. Where language differences between parties require it, I can facilitate across English and Spanish within the same session.

Sessions can be conducted jointly or as shuttle mediation — where parties remain in separate virtual rooms and the mediator moves between them.

MIAM — £175 per person

Joint Session fees on enquiry.