- What is a comunidad de propietarios (community of owners)?
- What do community fees cover on a Spanish property?
- What community fees do not cover
- How are community fees calculated?
- What does Spanish law say about communities of owners?
- Community rôles and task allocation
- How votes are defined in the Horizontal Property Law
- What are extraordinary expenses (derramas)?
- Most common community of Owners concerns and questions
- Your legal rights and duties as part of a community of owners
14 min read
Who cleans the stairs in your apartment block or maintains the communal pool on an urbanisation in Spain? Who pays for it, and how much? It might not have occurred to you that someone has to do these things. Or maybe you've heard of the concept of a comunidad de propietarios ('community of owners') and how it's responsible for these and other maintenance issues, but are not sure how it works.
Briefly, anyone who owns a property that involves space or facilities shared with other owners will need to take into account 'community fees', or gastos de comunidad, when budgeting for household expenses. Only the owner, never the tenant, pays these – although a landlord may factor in the cost when setting rent charges.
It's in your best interests to know how these fees are calculated, what they cover, who gets to decide everything, and the legal framework covering it all – including your own rights and duties.

What is a comunidad de propietarios (community of owners)?
A comunidad is run by, and for, owners of homes or businesses, to cover the costs of maintaining and repairing any communal (shared) features, and the addition of new features.
A community of owners is a legal entity and has legal personality, its actions are covered by legislation, and the percentage of costs you pay as regular and extraordinary fees are stated in the deeds to your property.
Depending upon your country of origin, you may have a similar system in place: A copropriété, in France; condomínio in Portugal; a condominium or homeowners' association (HOA) in the USA or Canada, and a freehold or a commonhold in the UK.
A comunidad de propietarios is not quite the same as a freehold, though, as we'll explain below.
Creating a comunidad de propietarios is required by law on urbanisations or in apartment blocks with five or more owners and five or more properties. Multiple owners of a single property, or an individual owner of several properties, count as one owner.
Blocks or urbanisations with fewer than five owners of fewer than five properties can still set up a community if they wish, but in most cases, there will merely be informal agreements between neighbours.
What do community fees cover on a Spanish property?
In an apartment block, your fees will cover regular cleaning of and any repairs needed to the stairs and cand the corridors, front entrance including the door and its locks, doorbells, and entry-phone systems, electricity bills for hallway lights, and, if applicable, any necessary work on shared roof terraces, lifts, garages with parking spaces, intruder alarm systems, the communal swimming pool and gardens.
For a villa complex or urbanización, fees might also cover golf courses, tennis courts, and private roads, if these are shared features. In both cases, fees cover buildings insurance for damage to communal areas – which automatically includes property owners' liability insurance and legal expenses for the Community as a whole.
If the community affairs are handled by a separate property management company, your contribution will fund their fees for the service. On larger urbanisations, you might have to pay for security guards' wages. Depending upon the urbanisation size, which region your property is based in and its specific laws, communal swimming pools might require lifeguards, and your community fees will cover their wages, too.
Note that, if you let your property, you cannot use non-essential communal facilities, even though you are paying for them. It is your tenants who get the right of use as part of their rent payments to you.
What community fees do not cover
The following list is not exhaustive, but, broadly speaking:
- You will not have to pay for any repairs, maintenance or services in public areas of your urbanisation – for example, roads that are accessible to non-residents, their pavements or street lights. These are the responsibility of your local town council, and are funded through your IBI, or property owners' council tax.
- Community fees do not cover repairs or maintenance to any part of your private property – they are not a subscription to fund for your own gardening or pool-cleaning, nor for repairs to your fence or boundary wall, for example.
- You do not have to pay for any commercially-run facilities on your urbanisation, even if you use them. For example, you will not be charged for repairing the roof of the on-site restaurant or repainting the shop front, as you are not the co-owner of these. Likewise, if your urbanisation's golf course or tennis court is a separate business based on your estate rather than a co-owned feature, these will not be supported by your Community fees.
- Importantly, the community buildings insurance policy does not protect your own, individual property, nor provide for private legal expenses or property owners' liability. Whether your property is a detached villa or a flat in a block, you must take out your own buildings insurance cover on it – the community policy is for the shared parts only.
How are community fees calculated?
Fees payable, and fee increases, will be according to the percentage stated on your property deeds, and no community member or management figure is permitted to change this percentage. It will have been calculated according to your property type – its size and market value – meaning that, if you own a one-bedroom flat, you cannot be asked to pay the same amount as the person who owns the six-bedroom penthouse.
Owners who default on their fees place extra financial strain on everyone else. For this reason, you should not neglect to pay what you owe. Otherwise,you could face interest charges, embargoes on your bank accounts or even your property, find yourself in court, and be denied votes.You may possibly even be denied use of non-essential communal facilities, although at present the legal position on this is unclear, so could, in theory, be challenged.
If you are a landlord, the community cannot refuse or restrict use or access for your tenants due to your own non-payment, and any legal action or payment reminders will target you, not them.

What does Spanish law say about communities of owners?
The figure of a comunidad de propietarios was created by the 'Law of Horizontal Property' (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, or LPH). Properties within a'horizontal régime' share land or structure with other properties owned by other parties. In addition:
- The law states that such owners are obliged to 'contribute to general expenses' necessary to 'appropriately sustain the building, its services, charges, and liabilities' where these cannot be deemed part of anyone's private property or 'susceptible to individual liability'.
- The LPH requires that each community of owners have its own statutes that clearly define rules for using shared areas, fee payment, and everyone's rights and obligations.
- The LPH clarifies what each party actually owns. In an apartment block, you own your individual flat and the corresponding portion of land it sits on, as well as the stated percentage of the stairs, terrace, corridor, lift and other shared elements.
This is one crucial way in which a Community differs from a UK freehold. With the British system, the freeholder, rather than you, owns the block and the land it stands on, meaning part of your maintenance fees cover 'ground rent', and you are only buying the lease on your flat, not the bricks and mortar. In practice, if not on paper, you still own a private property in exactly the same way as if it was a house with a garden, and the lease – which will typically run for centuries – will automatically be renewed if it expires in your lifetime. But this is where the Spanish system is legally different: You co-own the freehold, do not rent the ground, and are the owner, not the leaseholder, of your individual flat.
Community rôles and task allocation
Certain key tasks need to be carried out within the community, such as preparing accounts, invoicing for extraordinary expenses, sending out circulars and meeting invitations, and organising repairs and maintenance. The LPH provides for how these are divided, and the legal duties and responsibilities of those who execute them, as follows:
- A chairman or chairwoman (presidente or presidenta) is required by law.
- A manager (administrador/a), and secretary (secretario/a), one or both of whom will act as treasurer. The most common scenario is where therôles of manager and secretary are carried out by a licensed property management company (Administración de Fincas colegiada), but the chairperson must be one of the homeowners.
- A deputy chair (vicepresidente or vicepresidenta) may, optionally, be appointed in case of future absence or incapacity of the chairperson.
- All other proprietors make up the Board of Property Owners (Junta de Propietarios), which functions like a company board of directors.
Non-standard elements relating to how rôles are allocated and term of office must be included in the statutes, but the LPH sets an obligatory one-year term. Anyone holding one of the key positions can be re-elected unlimited times, though, as long as they agree to remain in it beyond the first year.
When the Community chairperson's position comes up for renewal, each owner must nominate a new candidate unless an alternative system is contained in the statutes, such as scheduled rotation by door numbers.
Anyone who does not want to be chairperson but has been nominated by a majority can do little to avoid it – a scheduled or elected chairperson is required by law to do the job. Valid legal reasons to not hold the position are normally limited to serious health conditions or major disability that render exercising the rôle impossible.
Voting is required for every decision not already enforced by law or the statutes.No individual nor any group of individuals can impose unilateral decisions on the other owners. How to spend the fees contributed, extra expense for essential or non-essential works, fee increases, rule changes, and meeting dates and times must be voted on by all owners.
Again, Spain's Comunidad framework differs from the UK freehold system, where the freeholder may be a profit-making business or an individual investor who has the right to charge whatever fees they wish, and make unilateral decisions with or without justification. In Spain, owners are considered joint freeholders who are spending their own money on the upkeep of their share of the freehold.
How votes are defined in the Horizontal Property Law
Votes in favour necessary for a proposal to be approved by the Junta or Board of Property Owners are set out in the LPH. They might be unanimous, a majority, or a simple majority:
- A 'majority' is defined as a 'yes' from at least 60% of the owners and from owners whose fees make up at least 60% of the annual contributions. If 80% vote in favour but collectively only pay 50% of the fees, they are not a majority; likewise, if one or two owners pay 95% of the fees but the other 20 vote against, the move will not go through. This is sometimes referred to as a '3/5 majority', based upon three in every five owners contributing €3 in every €5 as a minimum.
- A 'simple majority' means more 'yes' votes than 'no' votes. Fee payments are not taken into account, and no specific proportion of owners' votes is needed. This means if, for example, two owners vote 'yes' and one votes 'no', but the other 30 abstain, the proposal will still be approved.
- A 'unanimous' vote means every single owner has to say 'yes'. Not just every owner who votes, but everyone who is eligible to. If, out of 15 owners, 14 vote in favour and one abstains, the proposal will be rejected.
In some cases, a minority vote is enough. In others, a 'majority' may be taken as 50% of homeowners plus one extra person. The above-defined three scenarios are, however, the most commonly required.
What are extraordinary expenses (derramas)?
Additional expenses that constitute a derrama obligatoria ('mandatory extra cost') are those necessary for maintenance or reinstatement of pre-existing conditions, ranging from purely cosmetic to a time-critical emergency.
They require a meeting to be called and a vote in favour, if there is time to do so. If not, a meeting and vote must be convened as soon as reasonably possible for the expense to be approved retroactively. In all cases, a majority vote is binding on everyone and payment is mandatory.
Extraordinary costs that do not qualify as a derrama obligatoria include works or services that involve upgrades or updates rather than returning a structure or facility to its normal condition. They would typically be considered a derrama de mejoras ('improvement'). Here, if the payment requested exceeds three months of an owner's usual fees, it cannot be enforced on them if they voted against it.
In general, although not always, a unanimous 'yes' vote, with nobody abstaining, is legally required for any extraordinary expenses covering non-essential works or services. This applies when:
- The works would only benefit some owners rather than potentially everyone, even if the majority would benefit (e.g, installing a children's play area when many owners do not have children)
- The works do not involve essential repairs needed to maintain existing structures (e.g., fixing apparatus on a children's park that was already there would be considered as essential)
- The works involving new facilities that not everyone is able, or wishes to, use
- The works do not address an owner's specific needs, such as disability adaptations.
If you vote against an additional expense and are overruled by a majority in favour, you cannot refuse to pay on principle. If you believe you have good grounds to do so, though, you can appeal in writing, giving your reasons, within 30 days of the vote. If this does not bear fruit, you could apply to the court to review the situation and make a decision.
Most common community of Owners concerns and questions
Despite there being an estimated 1.2 million Communities of Owners in Spain, the legal framework is so broad and complex that it's not just foreign homebuyers who get confused. Here are some of the most common questions.
Communal swimming-pool rules: How do they work?
Rules covering pool use – or use of any communal facilities or spaces – are set out in the Community statutes. Typical rules cover not swimming fully-clothed, how many people are allowed in the pool at once, and during what hours – if restricted – the pool cannot be used.
A simplified, but clear, list of rules must be displayed prominently in the pool area, and a first-aid kit must be immediately available when needed, with its location expressly stated.
Community statutes cannot ban any action that is permitted – or not specifically prohibited – by law, nor can it allow any behaviour expressly forbidden by law. This means the community cannot 'vote away' its legal obligations, such as proper daily pool-cleaning and disinfection, or lifeguard presence where regional law specifies it. However, the Community can introduce greater restrictions than legislation allows, as long as a majority of owners vote in favour of doing so.
Frequently-asked questions include topless swimming and sunbathing, and smoking in open-air communal areas, such as by the pool. Spanish law does not forbid either, so the community cannot do so by statute. A ban can only be introduced if a majority of homeowners vote for it. Smoking is, however, against the law in indoor public places and in areas specifically designed for children, such as play-parks, or in or around children's pools, so even a unanimous vote to allow it holds no value.

Disability access for communal areas: Is it required, and does everyone pay?
The community cannot 'vote away' the obligation to fund disability access features where required. Any owner aged over 70 or who is physically impaired can request adaptations to the building, the pool and pool area, or other shared facilities to enable them to use and access them. The community is not allowed to refuse.
Where accessibility relates to essential communal areas, even certain non-owners can require it – over-70s or physically disabled persons who are tenants, or who work or carry out volunteer work, in the block or on the urbanisation.
The community is, however, permitted to cap the cost of these works for each owner at 12 months of their standard payments. Any additional expenses would need to be covered by the party requesting the adaptations, unless every single other owner votes in favour of paying more. Effectively, disability access is compulsory if even just one person needs it, but enforced Community fee increases to fund it cannot exceed 100%.
Can I refuse to pay for a lift being installed?
Installing a lift (elevator) is a particularly contentious subject for homeowners, even though doing so could significantly increase the value of your property. Ground-floor owners are often reluctant to pay as they'll never actually use it. But a decision either way only needs a majority, not a unanimous, vote.
If the installation is requested for disability access as detailed above, owners are not obliged to pay more than 100% of their usual fees towards it. But if it is a 'convenience' issue and a majority vote in favour, then everyone must pay their share of the full costs.
Irrespective of vote share, any apartment block of six or more storeys is required by law to have a lift installed.
Can I refuse to pay for solar panels to be fitted?
Solar panel installation to power either communal areas, or the whole block, requires a 3/5 majority vote to go ahead. Owners who vote against are required to pay, but nobody can be obliged to contribute more than an additional 75%, or nine months' worth, of their standard annual fees. The obligatory nature of a capped contribution works on the basis that everyone will benefit from it, so everyone should pay.
If an individual owner wants to install solar panels at their own expense on communal land, they need a one-third minority to vote in favour (at least 33% of owners whose collective fees make up at least 33% of the total). Where an individual wishes to set up solar panels on a private part of their property not on view or used by anyone else, they do not need a favourable vote, but must present the plans to the community at least 30 days before the work starts, to give time for any objections in writing. A vote would be needed, however, if the installation process could cause damage or risk to the structure or appearance of a communal area or the apartment block.
Can a community ban tourist lets?
Communities of Owners have much greater powers to prevent holiday lets, due to recent amendments to the LPH. But, again, any proposals to ban homes in the block or on the urbanisation from being used as tourist accommodation must be approved by majority (3/5) vote.
If the prohibition is agreed, though, it can only legally apply going forward, not retroactively. It would preclude any properties from acquiring new holiday-let permits, but would not affect existing tourist rentals – doing so could potentially strip their owners of their livelihood.
Instead of voting against holiday lets, Communities often decide to permit them, but apply a surcharge to their owners' standard fees in recognition of the heavier use of and potential wear and tear on communal facilities.
Can I refuse to pay for garage repairs if I don't own a car?
If you buy a property with existing communal facilities such as a lift, car park, children's play-park or swimming pool,you cannot refuse to pay ordinary maintenance or necessary repairs on these just because you don't use them. Youcan only make a formal objection if the expenses are derramas de mejoras, for upgrades rather than reinstatement, and will cost you more than 25% of or three months' worth of your usual annual fees.
Your legal rights and duties as part of a community of owners
The LPH also covers transparency, fee calculation, payment, and non-payment, as follows:
- Annual budget obligations
A budget for the year ahead must be drawn up and presented at each annual general meeting (AGM), detailing the full sum needed for the block or urbanisation and what it will be spent on. Increases to fees must be justified, and the amount of the increase broken down and explained.
In addition to covering known and anticipated costs, community fees charged must include a contingency of 10% on top of the full budget figure. Each owner will, therefore, pay their own set portion of communal expenses plus a 10% surcharge for possible unforeseen costs.
Note that the community is not permitted to make a profit from fees. Any surplus once expenses are covered can be retained as emergency funds or savingstowards future renovations, or refunded to paying owners – either directly, or through a reduction in the following year's fees. Whatever is done with the surplus, though, must be voted on by everyone who pays.
A majority vote is required for the budget, and any non-standard fee increases, to be signed off. If an owner is absent at the meeting, they cannot be considered to have abstained or relinquished their right to vote – some provision must be made for them to register their decision.
- Right to information
All owners are permitted to see and be given copies of financial details such as balance sheets; estimates and receipts; budgets proposed (whether approved or not); invoices, and reports. The same applies for works and Community employee contracts, and minutes of meetings, whether they attended or not.
The community must retain these documents for at least five years; owners have a right to access any paperwork from within that period, even from before they owned the property.
It is strongly recommended you do this before buying a property or making an offer on a homewith shared spaces and facilities. That way, you can check patterns of previous fee rises, recurring extraordinary expenses (derramas) reflecting an ongoing maintenance or structural issue, or whether any extra repairs or renovations are likely to be in the pipeline.
As an owner, you have the right to view the agenda, proposed budget, and any other supporting documents ahead of and following any meeting, and to submit proposals or changes.
- Right to participation
You have the right to attend and participate fully in meetings. This means you can vote for or against any proposals, query or challenge these and receive a satisfactory answer, and submit proposals of your own to be voted on. If you are not happy with certain rules – other than those in the statutes, which are ring-fenced - you can propose changes and call for a vote. Everyone has the right to express their views.
Community fees are one key expense you should factor in when buying a Spanish home, but to find out about others you will need to take into account, have a look at Fixed costs that you will pay as a property owner in Spain.
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