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

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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?