If you are planning to buy a property in Spain, it is useful to know more about average monthly expenses for utilities and communications. Regardless of whether you will live in a purchased villa or apartment yourself or rent it out, you should be aware of the approximate amount of expenses awaiting the owner in advance.
Content:
- What is important to know about the utility costs?
- Fixed costs
- Variable costs
- We can help you buy a property in Spain!
What is important to know about the utility costs?
Utility costs in Spain are conventionally divided into fixed and variable.
- Fixed costs are mandatory payments that must be covered even if no one lives in the room. These include insurance, taxes (0.5 to 2% per year of the cadastral value of the unit), charges for the maintenance of the territory, waste disposal and others.
- Variable costs are those that change depending on the number of services connected or the volume of consumption. They include water, gas and electricity bills, and cell phone and internet charges.
Fixed costs
Maintenance of the building and its surroundings
The cost of maintaining the building is affected by the size of the property, the presence of a garden, swimming pool and other amenities; the number of people living in the house, and other factors. The annual cost of maintenance fully depends on the amenities available in a housing unit.
Owners of apartments in Spain pay for the services of a management company, which in turn takes responsibility for:
- cleaning entrances;
- cleaning of the surrounding area;
- lighting;
- maintenance and repair of elevators;
- maintenance of the garden or lawn;
- waste disposal;
- security.
The cost of the management company depends on the characteristics of the particular housing estate, and varies from €200 to several thousand euros annually.
Owners of detached houses can hire gardeners and other professionals or maintain the site by themselves, thus saving money from the family budget. In this case, the largest item of expenditure will remain waste disposal, which is about €120 per year.
There is a fixed connection fee of €60 a year for the water supply, regardless of whether you live in your property or not.
The fixed connection fee for electricity also costs around €60 per year and is payable in any case.
Insurance
Real estate in Spain, bought with no mortgage, is not subject to compulsory insurance. However, for your own peace of mind, it is better to buy an insurance policy that covers all major risks (fire, theft and other damage). The price of basic insurance policies is about €75–100 per year. An all-risk insurance costs from €125 to about €450 per year if you also insure the contents of the apartment.
Taxes
IRNR (Impuesto Sobre la Renta de No Residentes) Income Tax
This type of tax applies to non-resident owners of immovable property in Spain. If you do not receive any rental income in the country, the tax will be calculated based on the value of your housing. The amount will be between 1 and 2% of the cadastral value of the home.
IBI tax on immovable property (Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles)
This tax applies to all homeowners in the country, including non-residents. As a basis, for calculating the tax is taken from the regional cadastral value of the property, which is usually lower than its market value. In practice, this most often means an annual payment of between €400 and €1000.
Variable costs
Utility payments
Water
Charges for water use are calculated according to the water consumption on the meter. Let’s take a look at this example: In the province of Valencia, the first 15 m³ are charged at 0.44 €/m³, the subsequent overrun for the first 15 m³ is charged at 0.66 €/m³, for over 15 and up to 20 m³ at 1.78 €/m³ and so on. Accordingly, the higher the overrun, the more expensive it is.
Electricity
The average electricity consumption rate in Spain is 0.24 €/kWh.
Gas
The average cost of gas in Spain for consumers is 0.09 €/kWh. In the northern parts of Spain, the main consumption of gas is for space heating and water heating, but not for cooking. With this consumption, just heating water alone costs about €200 per year for residents. Gas heating in winter can take up to € 250 out of the family budget in a month.
In the southern parts of the country, air conditioners are mainly used for heating, which is slightly more expensive than gas heating. Additionally, boilers are often used to heat water. Still, specifics of heating in general depends on the climate of a particular region. In the north, the premises are heated from November to March, in the south and the Canary Islands only a couple of months a year, not every day, and often air-conditioning heating is enough.
Take a look at this example: The basic services (electricity, heating, cooling, water, and waste disposal) for an apartment of 85 m2 in the Canary Islands will cost between €66 and €220 a month, depending on the season.
Telecommunications and the Internet
Payments for communications, including cell phone and internet, can also be classified as utility bills. Thus, Spanish providers often offer property owners a combined contract that includes a package of cell phone, internet and television. In this case, the user pays a fixed amount - about €500 per year.
Local mobile tariff (without discounts or special conditions) costs on average €0.12 per minute and the average monthly fee for broadband internet (60 Mbit/s or more, unlimited data) is €35.
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