Reserve fund and special levies in a Spanish community of owners
The 10 % in Spain's Horizontal Property Law is a minimum balance, not a yearly fee; Catalonia has its own 5 % rule. And which special levies you pay even if you voted against.
Every Spanish community of owners must have a reserve fund. Under the Horizontal Property Law its balance can never fall below 10 % of the last ordinary budget; in Catalonia the budget must set aside at least 5 % of common expenses each year instead. A derrama is something else: a one-off levy the owners' meeting approves for a specific cost, usually building work.
Owners who bought on the coast and receive the minutes in Spanish often read that 10 % as an annual charge. It is not.
The 10 % is a floor, not a fee
Article 9.1.f of the Horizontal Property Law says the fund must hold an amount "in no case lower than 10 per cent of its last ordinary budget". It describes what the fund holds, not what owners pay in. A 24-flat block in Estepona with a 26,000-euro ordinary budget must always have at least 2,600 euros in the fund; if a roof repair takes 1,500, the community tops it back up, and when the budget rises the floor rises with it. The fund belongs to the community, so an owner who sells does not take a share with them.
The same article says what the fund is for: conservation, repair and refurbishment of the building, accessibility and energy-efficiency work, and paying for the building's insurance or a standing maintenance contract. Covering a year's running costs because some owners have not paid is not on that list.
Catalonia has a different rule
In Catalonia, article 553-6 of the Catalan Civil Code works the other way: each year's budget must include at least 5 % of common expenses for the fund, and whatever is left over carries forward into the next year. The money sits in a separate bank account in the community's name, and the administrator can only use it with the president's authorisation for urgent unforeseen costs, or with the owners' meeting's for extraordinary work.
| Rest of Spain (art. 9.1.f) | Catalonia (art. 553-6) | |
|---|---|---|
| What is required | A minimum balance | A yearly budget line |
| How much | 10 % of the last ordinary budget | 5 % of common expenses |
| If it is not spent | Keeping the balance is enough | It carries forward |
Valencia and the Balearic Islands follow the national law, not the Catalan one.
Which levies you pay even if you voted no
| Type of work | What the meeting decides | Does a no-voter pay? |
|---|---|---|
| Conservation, safety, habitability (art. 10.1.a) | Only how the levy is split and when | Yes |
| Accessibility up to 12 months of fees, after subsidies (art. 10.1.b) | Only the split | Yes |
| Accessibility or a lift agreed by majority (art. 17.2) | The work itself | Yes, even beyond 12 months of fees |
| Non-essential improvement agreed by three fifths (art. 17.4) | The work itself | No, if their share exceeds three months of fees |
For compulsory work, article 10 leaves the meeting only the split and the payment terms. Voting against repairing the façade does not get you out of paying for it.
Selling with a levy outstanding? The buyer answers with the flat for the seller's debts of the current year and the three before it (art. 9.1.e), which is why the notary asks for the community's debt certificate. Agree in the sale contract who pays instalments that fall due after completion.
How other European countries set the legal minimum is compared in reserve funds across Europe, country by country.
Check the fund against the budget you are about to approve, not last year's. And if the question is a neighbour who will not pay, the route is the one for claiming unpaid community fees.
Information updated September 2026. This article is for information only and does not constitute legal advice.
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