Mrs_Frisk

Hi all

Apologies that me & the fella only seem to post when we have problems but we've just received a substantial bill for cuota de conservacion dating back to 2014. It's the first time we've heard of it (as far as we are aware) as we set up all our other outgoings by DD at the outset.

I've searched for previous mentions of the tax on here and the last comments seem to be from 2012. I also found an article online from 2014 suggesting it was being challenged by a group of residents.

So I wondered if anyone on here knows the present position? is it one to grumble about but pay anyway? or one to challenge? and is there no limit on how far back they can go to ask for payment?

Any thoughts welcome. Thanks in advance

MikeJ

That is the EUC bill. There was a lot of argument about whether or not the EUC was legal and a class action was started by a lawyer from Valladolid and a few residents. I don't know what the status of that is as those who are party to the action seem reluctant to discuss on the forum.

However, due to some changes in the statutes the EUC has now got a much more representative executive board and a new management company. They have been chasing up unpaid EUC charges, they started with the big debtors and now, judging by your bill, seem to have moved on to the rest.

Most owners have been paying the charge (around 70% judging by the latest accounts). The proceeds go to the maintenance of Costa Esuri until such times as the urbanisation is adopted by the Town Hall. The upkeep of the estate obviously has a direct effect on the value of your investment.

Personally I have always paid the EUC and my personal advice would be to pay up before they start adding interest and taking you to court. Of course there are still a few who will say the opposite, but I personally don't think it is fair on the rest of us if they continue not to pay.

Mrs_Frisk

Thanks very much MikeJ - that's really helpful

EsuriJohn

To the best of my knowledge the court challenge has failed however as in any legal matter in Spain they do seem to continue beyond the bitter end. When we moved here in 2009 we were aware that the EUC had been formed in December 2008 and I researched it from a book “You and the Law in Spain” it is an absolutely legal tax following laws brought in to deal with the large no of mega developments in areas that had previously been un-urbanised. This provided for the maintenance of developments until they are adopted by the Ayuntamieno. What is so erksome is that you are still charged IBI for the upkeep of the municipality in general. However we suffer a double whammy in that our valuation for IBI is much more up to date than say an equivalent property in town. So we end up paying 2/3 more in IBI plus EUC charges.

It is the penalty we pay for living in paradise even though it has been a bit chilly today!

Mrs_Frisk

Thanks EsuriJohn. It's good to get the background and know it's legitimate - if a little irritating to have to pay 4 years in one go. We'll just get it paid

EsuriJohn

Your Lawyer should have told you about this. 4years is the max that can be charged back but if your lawyer had been smart you might have got away with three. We pay €135 twice a year so it doesn’t break the bank but it is a lot and last year they changed the due date from December to November for the second installment we did not know so they took an extra 10% just shows you have to be on the ball at all times!