Community fees are one of the costs that catch out expat buyers most often on the South Costa Blanca. Almost every apartment, townhouse and villa on an urbanisation around Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Pilar de la Horadada, Villamartin and La Zenia belongs to a comunidad de propietarios, and the monthly charge that comes with it is a permanent part of the running cost. This guide sets out what that charge buys, who actually runs the community and what a relocating family should read before committing in 2026.

The whole system sits under the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, the national law that governs shared buildings and gated developments across Spain. Getting to grips with it before you view property for sale on the Costa Blanca is the difference between a smooth purchase and an unwelcome surprise once you collect the keys. The fee is not optional, and it does not disappear when the sale completes.

What a Comunidad de Propietarios Is

A comunidad de propietarios is the legal body made up of every owner in a building or development that shares common elements. On the South Costa Blanca that usually means a communal pool, gardens, parking, lifts, stairwells and often a gated perimeter. If a property shares any of those with its neighbours, it belongs to a community, and membership is compulsory from the day you buy.

Key point

• Membership comes with the property, not the person, so you inherit the community the moment you complete
• Each owner holds a cuota de participacion, a percentage share that sets how much they pay and how their vote counts
• Detached villas with no shared elements sometimes sit outside any community, though many still belong to an urbanisation body
• The fee is separate from your council tax, or IBI, and from your own utility bills

What Your Monthly Fees Pay For

The community fee funds the ordinary running budget for everything the owners share. On the coastal urbanisations around Orihuela Costa and La Zenia the pool and gardens tend to be the largest lines, which is why a complex with several pools costs far more per month than a plain block with none.

• Cleaning and upkeep of stairwells, lifts, corridors and other common areas
• Gardening and the maintenance and treatment of communal swimming pools
• Lift servicing and the periodic safety inspections it requires
• Buildings insurance for the shared structure and public liability cover
• Electricity for communal lighting, gates, pumps and lifts
• Security or concierge on the developments that have it
• The fee paid to the administrator who runs the community day to day

Reality check

• A small block with no pool can run from roughly €30 to €80 a month, which is our reading rather than a fixed rate
• A larger resort style complex with pools, gardens and gated security can reach several hundred Euros a month

How the Community Is Governed

A community is run by its own owners through a small set of roles defined in law. This matters to a buyer because these roles decide the budget, the fees and any major works, and their decisions bind every owner including the newest one.

Who does what

• The president is an owner elected by the others, represents the community legally and chairs its meetings
• The administrator, often a professional firm known as an administrador de fincas, handles the accounts, the budget, contractors and the paperwork
• The secretary role keeps the records and the minutes, and is frequently combined with the administrator on smaller communities
• The junta de propietarios, the assembly of all owners, is the body that actually votes and takes the decisions

What this means for buyers

• As a new owner you can attend the junta, vote and stand for president yourself
• A well run community with a competent administrator is worth paying a slightly higher fee for

The Annual General Meeting and Why the Minutes Matter

The junta must meet at least once a year at the annual general meeting, or junta ordinaria, to approve the coming budget, set the fees and vote on repairs and improvements. Decisions are recorded in the actas, the official minutes, and these are the single most useful document a buyer can read before signing. They show how the community really behaves rather than how the seller describes it, so treat them as core reading rather than an afterthought.

• The minutes reveal works already voted through and any planned for the year ahead
• They flag recurring problems such as a tired lift, a leaking roof or a pool that keeps failing
• They record disputes between neighbours and any owners who fall behind on their payments
• They confirm whether the fee has been rising year on year or holding steady

Key point

Ask your lawyer to obtain the minutes of the last two or three annual meetings and read them properly before you commit. Different votes need different majorities under the law, from a simple majority of those present for routine matters up to a three fifths majority of all owners for many improvements, so the minutes also show what the community has agreed and what it has blocked.

Derramas and One Off Costs

Beyond the regular monthly fee, a community can approve a derrama, a one off levy to fund something the ordinary budget does not cover. A new lift, a repainted facade or a major pool repair are the usual triggers. Every owner contributes in proportion to their cuota de participacion, and the charge lands whether or not you personally use the facility involved.

Reality check

• A derrama is voted at a junta and then split across all owners by their participation share
• You cannot opt out of a validly approved levy simply because the works do not affect your unit
• A big project already discussed in the recent minutes is a strong sign a derrama may be coming, and older buildings carry a higher chance of one off costs

Common Mistakes

• Budgeting for the mortgage and the IBI but forgetting the community fee entirely
• Assuming a low sale price means a low monthly fee, when the shared facilities decide that
• Signing without reading the minutes of the recent annual meetings
• Overlooking a works project already flagged in the minutes and the derrama that may follow
• Not obtaining the certificate confirming the seller is up to date on their community payments

A Practical Sequence

A calm purchase tends to follow a clear order on the community question. Deal with it early, because the fee and the health of the community affect the true cost of ownership just as much as the asking price does.

• Ask for the current monthly community fee in writing before you make an offer
• Have your lawyer request the minutes of the last two or three annual meetings
• Read those minutes for planned works, recurring faults and any levy on the horizon
• Confirm the seller is up to date on their payments through the community certificate

Movr Real Estate works with relocating families across Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Pilar de la Horadada, Villamartin and La Zenia, and can talk you through the community fee and how a development is run before you view. The legal due diligence sits with your own lawyer, though understanding the comunidad de propietarios early tends to make the rest of the purchase far calmer.