Community fees in a tenancy: what must be written down

What it really means to agree community fees

In a residential tenancy, community fees cannot be taken for granted. If the landlord wants the tenant to cover those costs, the key rule is simple: **the agreement must be in writing and must state the annual amount of those fees at the date of the contract**. That is the basis that makes it possible to distinguish between a valid clause and an ambiguous wording that may later lead to a dispute.

The LAU allows the parties to agree that certain general expenses, services, charges and responsibilities of the property are to be borne by the tenant, but it does not allow this to be done in just any way. Article 20 of the Urban Leasing Act states that, for that agreement to be valid, it must appear in writing and set out the annual amount applicable at the time the contract is signed: Law 29/1994 on Urban Leases, article 20.

It is worth not confusing this idea with a simple generic mention such as “the tenant will pay the community fees”. If it is not specified which fees are included and what their annual amount is, the wording is much more open to dispute. In practice, what matters is not only who pays, but **what is paid, how much and from when**.

What must be written in the contract

If you are a landlord and want to transfer community fees to the tenancy, the contract should include, as a minimum, these points:

1. **Express identification of the item**: make it clear that these are general community fees, and not other different amounts.

2. **Annual amount at the date of the contract**: an approximate reference or saying that “the current fee will be paid” is not enough.

3. **Method of payment or passing on**: it is advisable to state whether it will be paid together with the rent, passed on monthly or through another agreed route.

4. **Scope of the agreement**: specify whether it includes only the ordinary community fee or also other items, always within what you actually want to agree.

5. **Documentary support**: it is very useful to keep the latest community bill or certificate in order to prove the initial amount.

In addition, the contract must distinguish between community fees and other items that are often wrongly mixed together, such as the IBI, utilities or possible special levies. Not everything belongs in the same clause, and not everything follows the same logic.

Beware of the IBI, special levies and utilities

The focus of this guide is specific: what must be written when you want to pass community fees on in a tenancy. Even so, there are three common mistakes worth separating out:

### 1. Mixing community fees and IBI

The owners’ community and the IBI are not the same thing. Article 20 of the LAU regulates general expenses and limits the passing on of taxes to specific cases. So, if you want to transfer the IBI in the contract as well, it is not enough to include a generic phrase about “property expenses”. It must be dealt with separately, with its own agreement and with care not to mix concepts.

### 2. Including special levies without precision

It is not good practice to draft an open-ended clause that makes the tenant pay “any current or future community expense” without further detail. Special levies are not a simple automatic extension of the ordinary fee. If there are extraordinary expenses or special levies, their contractual treatment should be reviewed specifically and cautiously.

### 3. Confusing community fees with individualised utilities

Article 20 also distinguishes services that can be individually measured by meters. In other words, if an expense can be measured individually, its treatment is not the same as that of common expenses. For that reason, the contract should separate community fees, utilities and other common expenses so that it does not later appear that everything is being passed on under a clause that is too broad.

How to draft it without leaving gaps

If you want the clause to be useful, there is no need to embellish it; what is needed is precision. A practical approach would be to follow these steps:

1. **Check the latest community bill** before signing.

2. **Decide which part you want to pass on**: only the ordinary community fee, or also other specific items.

3. **Write the exact annual amount** that applies on the date of the contract.

4. **State whether the amount will be updated** and how that will be done, avoiding vague wording.

5. **Clarify the method of payment** so there is no dispute about whether it is included in the rent or paid separately.

6. **Keep a signed copy** with the full clause and any annexes or supporting documents.

A contract that makes the division of expenses clear avoids unnecessary disputes at the first change in the fee. And if the building’s community fee changes later on, the contract should make it easy to understand what was agreed originally and what was not.

Common mistakes worth avoiding

These are the most common failings that later complicate the management of the tenancy:

- **Not putting the agreement in writing**.

- **Not including the annual amount** of the fees at the date of the contract.

- **Using generic expressions** such as “all property expenses”.

- **Mixing community fees, IBI and utilities** in a single sentence.

- **Assuming that every community expense can be passed on** without checking the real scope of the agreement.

- **Forgetting to provide documentary proof** of the initial amount.

If you want to let with confidence, do not leave these matters to be “sorted out later”. What is not written into the contract often becomes a dispute once the contractual relationship is already under way.

What to do if you already have the flat rented out

If the contract has already been signed and the community-fees clause is unclear, the most prudent course is to review the wording before charging anything. Do not assume that you can bill the tenant for a fee that has not been sufficiently agreed. The general guidance is that the contract must be clear, in writing and with an annual amount. If there are doubts about the scope of the clause, it is advisable to study the specific case.

For landlords who need to assess whether their property is well placed to be let and how the division of expenses may fit into a realistic rent, you can request an initial guide in /valoracion-vivienda-madrid. And if you would like us to review your contract or draft a more precise clause, you can do so via /contacto.

This guide offers general guidance based on the LAU and does not replace individual advice. In the case of older wordings, conflicting clauses or differences between what was signed and what has been charged, the correct approach is to review the full contract and the community documentation before taking action.

Key idea to remember

If you want to pass community fees on to the tenant, **it is not enough to mention it**: it must be **in writing**, with a **specific annual amount** and with wording that does not mix different concepts. That is the safest way to avoid disputes and to ensure the contract genuinely reflects what the parties intended to agree.