PROPERTY SEARCH
Community of owners: Why is the community asking me for extra money and do I need to pay it?
Sometimes in a Spanish community of owners you will be asked to pay mandatory fees on top of your monthly quota
No one likes the nasty shock of having to pay out unforeseen expenses, and one of those that can sometimes come up if you live in a community of neighbours in Spain is what is known as a ‘derrama’.
Translating literally to ‘spill’, a derrama is an extraordinary payment that is required by homeowners to be paid to their community of owners on top of their usual monthly community fees.
One of the obligations of the owners is to contribute to the “general expenses for the adequate maintenance of the property, its services, charges and responsibilities that are not susceptible to individualisation”, as established in article 9 of the Horizontal Property Law (LPH).
But what legal basis do additional payments have, and are you always obliged to pay them? As the community administration experts and legal professionals at Resortalia point out, these extraordinary payments are must be paid to maintain the basic functioning of the community and its good condition. They are expenses that were not foreseen in the annual accounts of the community and which serve to address specific improvement needs such as the repair of an elevator in an apartment building, for instance.
The LPH stipulates that these ‘derramas’ must always be consulted and approved at a meeting of owners and the amount must be agreed among them, although the law does not set a maximum cost. Each member of the community pays according to the type and size of the property they own, on the same basis that the usual monthly fees are worked out.
Although the payment of these agreed fees is mandatory to improve the safety and accessibility of the building, the owners may refuse to pay those extraordinary expenses that are only to improve the aesthetics of the building or that are not necessary.
Consequently, the owner in the neighbourhood meeting may vote against carrying out said work and refuse to pay it. Disagreements in neighbourhood communities are quite common, especially in those issues that involve financial expense. As a general rule, not everyone will agree to pay these extraordinary expenses and different amounts will also have to be paid.
Therefore, to solve any possible problems that may arise, many communities choose to turn to a community administrator such as Resortalia for such issues. They have experience in administrating the affairs of multilingual communities on the Costa Blanca and Costa Cálida. Contact them for advice and help with your community’s needs, management and conflict resolution:
