What owning a home in Spain costs every year

Terms used

• IBI — IBI is the yearly property tax you pay to the town hall as owner of a home.
• Tasa de basuras — The tasa de basuras is the yearly municipal charge for household waste collection.
• Ordenanza fiscal — The ordenanza fiscal is the town hall's local rulebook setting its taxes and charges.
• Comunidad de propietarios — The comunidad de propietarios is the owners' association of a building or urbanisation, which charges regular fees for shared costs.
• Coeficiente de participación — The coeficiente de participación is your percentage share of the community's shared costs.
• Derrama — A derrama is an extra levy the owners approve to pay for repairs or improvements.

Key rules

• Budget: Treat every figure here as a rough range and confirm the real amounts for the specific home before you buy.
• Biggest lines: Community fees, upkeep and IBI are usually the largest yearly costs.
• Maintenance: Set aside about 1% of the property's value each year for repairs.
• Empty home: A town hall can add an IBI surcharge on a home left empty, but only if it has approved one.
• Extra levies: Community levies can arrive on top of regular fees, so check the building's accounts first.

All figures are rough estimates; confirm IBI and the waste charge with your town hall, and community fees with the administrator.

The short version

Plan for the running costs of a Spanish home to add up to a few thousand euros a year for an ordinary apartment. Community fees, upkeep and IBI are usually the biggest lines. All figures below are rough ranges. Your own bills depend on the town, the building and the age of the home.

IBI, the yearly property tax

IBI is paid once a year to the town hall. For an ordinary home it runs from a few hundred euros in small towns or low-value areas to over a thousand in large cities or high-value areas.

Three things drive it:

• The cadastral value, which is usually well below market value.
• The local rate, which the town hall sets.
• The date of the last cadastral revaluation.

Large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Málaga differ widely. Towns in Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and Andalusia often have higher rates than some coastal or Madrid municipalities. The Basque Country and Navarra work differently.

Before you buy, ask for the current owner's IBI receipt. It shows the real figure.

Empty homes can cost more

Some town halls add a surcharge to IBI for homes that stay empty without a justified reason. It is only charged where the town hall has approved it, and the town hall declares the home empty.

• The surcharge can be up to 50% of the IBI bill.
• Since 2023 it can rise to 150% for homes empty for more than two years.
• Owners with two or more empty homes in the same municipality can also face a higher rate, up to 150% in total.

Ask your town hall whether it applies this surcharge and at what rate.

Waste charge

The tasa de basuras usually runs from a few tens of euros in small towns to a couple of hundred in large cities. Towns base it on different things: a flat rate per home, property value, water use or street category. Many towns have raised it or introduced it recently. Look up the current figure in your town hall's ordenanza fiscal.

Community fees

If you buy a flat or a home in an urbanisation, you pay the comunidad de propietarios. Your share depends on your coeficiente de participación.

• Flats without extras are usually the cheapest. Small older blocks can cost a few tens of euros a month.
• A lift, concierge, pool, gardens or garage push the fee up.
• Urbanisations and resorts with shared pools and security cost the most, up to a few hundred euros a month.
• Madrid, Barcelona and coastal resort areas tend to be higher.

As a yearly guide, an apartment is about 300 to 1,500 euros, more with a pool, lift or concierge. Ask the community administrator for the exact figure.

Extra charges on top

The regular fee is not always the whole bill. The owners' meeting can approve a derrama, an extra levy for repairs or improvements. You pay your share by coeficiente. Typical causes are pool opening costs, lift maintenance or replacement, façade or roof works, and energy-efficiency or accessibility works. Accessibility works are mandatory when residents request them, with legal cost limits.

The community must also keep a reserve fund of at least 10% of its last ordinary budget. A healthy fund makes surprise levies less likely, so ask to see the accounts before you buy.

Maintenance and repairs

Budget about 1% of the property's value per year. Another rule of thumb is 10 to 20 euros per m² per year. Use the higher end for older homes, houses with gardens or pools, and homes in coastal or humid areas. These are guidelines, not official figures. Community fees, taxes and insurance are not included.

Insurance and utilities

Typical yearly ranges:

• Home insurance, contents and building: 150 to 400 euros.
• Electricity: 100 to 250 euros even if the home is empty, because of the standing charge.
• Water: 50 to 150 euros when empty, with a small fixed charge plus use.
• Gas, if connected: 60 to 120 euros in fixed charges.
• Internet and phone, if you keep them: 300 to 600 euros.

Optional extras

If you live abroad or use the home only part of the year, you may add:

• Alarm monitoring.
• A key holder or home-checking service.
• A gardener or pool service.

Home-checking is usually a monthly or fortnightly visit with a report and photos. It costs less than full management, which adds bill payment, repairs coordination and key holding. Management is priced as a monthly fee or a percentage of any rental income. Prices are higher on the costa and in the islands. Get several quotes from local providers, and compare visit frequency, property size and whether cleaning and pool care are included.

Put it in a calendar

IBI, insurance and community instalments fall on different dates. The yearly calendar below helps you plan when each payment is due. The questions below answer common worries about empty-home surcharges, upkeep and extra levies.

Your yearly calendar of owner payments

Build your calendar in three steps

Your payment dates depend on your town and your community, so build the calendar from your own. It takes about half an hour.

1. Find the town's dates. Search for "calendario fiscal" or "calendario del contribuyente" plus your town's name. It is published on the town hall (ayuntamiento) website. In many areas, collection is handled by the provincial tax service, such as the Diputación's collection office, so the calendar may be on its site instead.
2. Find the community's dates. Ask the community president or the administrador de fincas (the professional who manages the building). The dates are in the community statutes and in the yearly budget approved at the owners' meeting (junta).
3. Fill in the table below and put every date in your phone calendar, with a reminder one week before.

Your payment table

What to expect

• IBI and waste charge: the voluntary payment period often falls between September and November. It varies, and some towns split the payment into instalments, so enter every instalment as its own line.
• Community quotas: these are usually monthly or quarterly. Enter each due date, not only the first.
• Direct debit (domiciliación): if you set it up, the bank usually charges at the end of the payment period or on a set date. Enter that charging date and keep enough money in the account.

Keep it current

Dates change every year and differ between towns. Each autumn, check the new fiscal calendar and the junta's approved budget, then update your table. Missing a voluntary period can add surcharges, so a reminder is worth setting.

Frequently asked questions

Can the town hall charge extra IBI if my home is empty?

Yes, some town halls add a surcharge of up to 50% of the IBI bill on permanently empty homes, but only if they have approved an ordinance for it. The home must be in an area with demand for rental housing and be empty without justified cause. For homes empty more than two years the surcharge can reach 150%, and owners of two or more empty homes in the same town can also face up to 150% where the ordinance says so.

How much should I set aside each year for maintenance?

A common rule of thumb is about 1% of the home's value per year, or roughly 10 to 20 euros per m2. Use the higher end for older homes, houses with a garden or pool, and coastal or humid areas. This is a practical guide, not an official figure, and it leaves out community fees, taxes and insurance.

Can the community charge me more than the regular monthly fee?

Yes, the owners' meeting can approve a derrama, an extra levy for repairs or improvements, and you pay your share based on your coeficiente (your percentage share of the building).

How much does a home-checking service cost if I live abroad?

Prices vary a lot by region and provider, and they are higher on the coast and islands.