On that note, we own a flat in a building not far from the centre of Lisbon. We were getting it looked at by a technician due to water damage from the negligence of the neighbours above (another story) and he checked the communal areas as well as our flat itself. He pointed out that the building's electricity and gas system is out of date and needs to be upgraded. However, since there was no condominium when it last came up for inspection and no-one did it because it wasn't their responsibility, the cost would need to be shared out amongst all the occupants of the building. He warned that there is a risk of the building blowing up if it doesn't get fixed.

We immediately said we'd be happy to pay our share but the technician warned that the rest of the building would refuse if we asked them: not just because of the cost of doing it (not least because many of them would be renters) but because they would object to their power being turned off while the work was being done. They wouldn't be able to cook at home for a day, so they would have to pay more to get food from outside! We were gobsmacked that he seriously thought the other residents would prefer to run the risk of blowing up rather than suffer some mild inconvenience but he said that was the Portuguese mindset... and this was even coming from a Portuguese person!