How do Unpaid Bills and Taxes on a Property affect the New Owner

This is the discussion thread for the article How do Unpaid Bills and Taxes on a Property affect the New Owner

--

Our flat has a water bill charge outstanding from 1992, when my husband was in school there in Spain. The seller said that 'it doesn't matter as you'll never have to pay that part' but we worry that someone wanting to buy the flat will pick up on it. We don't want to pay 500 euros of water that we didn't use. The man whose name is on the debt died years ago as well.

Also, in our block lots of Moroccans have defaulted on their expensive mortgages. They are therefore not paying their community charges and the president says that she might have to stop the weekly cleaning of communal areas or the lift use due to lack of money. How does the community chase the ex owners or the banks who now technically own those unlived in flats?

Dear Madam,

A Community of Owners does not really chase debtors, they chase their properties. Any unpaid comunity debts will go against the property itself not against the debtor personally. So if there is a change in ownership the new owner "inherits" the debts as per art 9 of the Commonhold Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal).

Please read Mr Antonio Flores' useful blog on this matter: Putting up a Debtors List in The Community of Owners Public Areas is Illegal.

So if someone for example sells you a property which has outstanding community fees and utility charges they go against the property itself. When you buy this property it will become your problem now, as the property is now legally yours.

A lawyer on buying a property requests from the vendors' lawyer a certificate that all community fees are up-to-date as well as checking that all utilities have also been paid. If the solicitor acting on behalf of the purchaser discovers there are outstanding debts (e.g. comunity fees) which is fairly common then both lawyers can agree that the purchaser will practise a retention on the asking proce until the vendors lawyer proves this debt has been settled.

Regarding banks, if they have gone already through a full bank repossession procedure as they will have adjudicated themselves the properties they are now regarded as the owners and its up to them to comply paying the community fees.

You can read further on Community of Owners in my article:

Comunidad de Propietarios: Avoid Problems with Your Neighbours in Spain - 26th of June 2009


Regards,

Raymundo LarraÃ*n Nesbitt

Please advise me about the method of calculating Community co-efficient (share/percentage). What is the official method by Spanish Law of calculating/assessing the percentage due by each owner in a community of 25 individual villas.

Regards
W. Wilson

Dear Sir,


I refer you to the following forum threads:

http://www.marbella-lawyers.com/foru...read.php?t=176

Our buyers have agreed to assume the balance from the community debt for reforms (we all have some time to pay as the reforms were extensive) as part of the sale. They plan to pay it off after they have purchased the flat. Is this legal (as they have agreed to it) or do we need to pay the balance before signing arras and estricura?