DianaA

We are considering buying an apartment in a community of about 60 apartments in three separate buildings. We have always lived in detached residences before so are unsure about how 'community repairs' might be organised.

There is a monthly community charge of 100 euros which we are told covers at least the pool and the gardens and some maintenance - exterior painting for example.

We are concerned about what might happen if there is a problem with the roof or drains, something that clearly affects - though probably not equally - more than one apartment. Is it usual for buildings insurance to cover shared parts of the building and should these parts be included in a survey?

Should I be able to see some kind of written 'constitution' about how decisions are made?

missile

You are responsible for your share of repairs and maintenance to communal property, much as you would be in the UK.

Each community should have a written constitution and every resident should have access to minutes of meeting. You could ask to meet with the Community President. He has a lot more authority in Spain than the UK equivalent i.e. Resident's Committee Chairman.

Sausages

Within the community charge (and sorry but €100 a month seems excessive to me especially if 60 people are putting in...that's €6000 a month coming in, what are they spending that on?) there should be some kind of insurance. This might only be for legal fees, but might also cover some kind of unexpected repairs if it's not what you'd call wear and tear although I'm not sure.

agoreira

No expert but as I understand it, apart from the usual monthly payments, there is something known as Derrama comunidad. If your Spanish is up to it, you can read up about it here.
http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2959...errama/gastos/
Basically it is a charge to pay for the bigger things that crop up, like a new lift, new roof or whatever. Whatever the committee decide the amount each person must pay, that's what you have to pay. No choice, it would seem. I used to speak with a Spanish guy in that same situation (a new lift) and can't remember the figure, but it was quite a lot.

jonboy

Hi DianaA,

our experience of having a flat (piso) in Spain has been quite good so far. No swimming pool (can’t swim to save my life, so a good thing really). Service charge is about 500 euros a year. Anything exciting such as re-rendering and painting the outside or repairing the lift mechanism is extra. As the block is mainly working class people costs are kept to a minimum. We have an elected President (victim) who manages these issues and is up to the job.
I understand that flats in Spain are freehold not Leasehold and by electing your own President you do not fall in to the trap of having an expensive (bloodsucking) managing agent.
In our case the service charge includes buildings insurance, so you may not need to provide this separately.

As a general rule the more facilities you have, such as a concierge, the more interesting the service charge.

Best regards
jonboy

Fredbargate

I believe this in English this is a SINKING FUND, an amount over and above the service charge that is allowed to build up to cover non day to day expenses like:-

Painting the block of flats every 5 years or so.
Unforseen expenses like lift replacement or roof repairs.

The idea is to build up a reserve of funds to save the owners being hit with large unplanned bills by overcharging the normal service charge by a pre agreed amount.

http://www.luminus.org.uk/page_view.aspx?infoid=586