Part of the financial planning ahead of buying a property in Spain, should be to budget for your ongoing costs after you have taken possession of your home.
Naturally exact costs will vary from property to property, area to area and in the case of utilities will vary according to usage.
Here’s a brief outline of the main areas of expenditure you will encounter.
Community Fee
Owners of properties that are part of developments that share communal areas are obliged by law to form a Community of Owners or Comunidad de Propietarios to give it the correct title.
Being part of a ‘community’ will mean paying community fees for the upkeep of the communal areas such as pools, green areas,lighting, and any other services that the community has voted for. The amount your community fee will be will depend on how much common area and facilities there are to look after.
Each year a budget for the communities expenses is approved by a vote from all owners (or chosen representatives) who attend the annual general meeting of the Comunidad de Propietarios. Expect to pay 30-60 Euros per month. Your agent or Property Advisor will be able to give you an accurate figure when you start your property viewings.
Electricity
An average family would pay somewhere in the region of €20-30 per month. This amount could rise by 30-40% for the summer months if you use air conditioning.
Gas
Again, this is charged completely on usage. Some properties are 100% electric so no gas required. A family of four would use somewhere in the region €20-25 a month. Naturally, you won’t pay anything if you’re not using gas while the house is empty.
Water
There is a standing charge for water bills, although the amount you pay is directly linked to the amount of water you use. Expect to pay around €20 per month and that would be full time living.
Buildings and Contents Insurance
Of course this very much depends on what you need to insure. Allow around €150 euros per year for an average 2 bedroom property with no original Picasso art on walls.
Local Rates
Similar to UK’s council tax in that it’s for refuse collection, street lights, street cleaning etc. Not similar to the UK in that you probably won’t pay more than €100 per YEAR.
So there you have it, not so expensive to run a house in Spain is it? Maybe you’re thinking about moving here lock, stock & barrel now?!
