Passing on community fees, IBI and concierge costs to the tenant: who pays what in a rental agreement?

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Updated analysis of the Urban Leases Act and Law 12/2023, with special attention to the differences between large landlords and small property owners in stressed residential market areas.

What are recoverable expenses?

When a home is rented, there are a series of expenses linked to the property that the owner pays periodically and that, under certain legal conditions, may be passed on to the tenant. These expenses are known as non-individualisable general expenses, and Article 20 of the Urban Leases Act (LAU) regulates the conditions under which this transfer may take place.

The most common concepts are the following: the homeowners’ association fee (which includes cleaning, lift, gardens, maintenance of common areas and fees of the property administrator), concierge and porterage costs, IBI (Real Estate Tax), the municipal waste collection tax and, in some cases, building insurance when it forms part of the community expenses.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION The previous expenses are different from individual utilities (electricity, water, gas, internet), which are always borne by the tenant as they can be individualised by meter. Their passing on does not require a special agreement: they correspond to the tenant by nature (Art. 20.3 LAU).

The general rule: Article 20 of the LAU

The reference rule regarding the passing on of expenses is Article 20 of Law 29/1994, of 24 November, on Urban Leases, whose current wording incorporates the amendments introduced by Law 12/2023. Its first paragraph establishes the following:

“The parties may agree that the general expenses for the proper maintenance of the property, its services, taxes, charges and liabilities that are not capable of individualisation and that correspond to the leased dwelling or its accessories shall be borne by the tenant. […] For its validity, this agreement must be made in writing and determine the annual amount of such expenses as of the date of the contract.”

Art. 20.1 LAU — Law 29/1994, amended by Law 12/2023 (BOE-A-2023-12203)

The practical interpretation of this provision is clear: without a written agreement, the expenses are paid by the owner. The possibility of passing them on to the tenant is a faculty that the parties may exercise, not an automatic rule.

Validity requirements of the agreement

For a clause passing on general expenses to be legally enforceable, two conditions must be met simultaneously:

First, the agreement must be expressly recorded in writing in the lease agreement. A verbal agreement has no legal effect for these purposes. Second, the contract must determine the annual amount of the expenses as of the date of its signature. The absence of this figure is a common ground for the nullity of the clause in court when it concerns community expenses.

EXTRAORDINARY CHARGES Although the contract includes the passing on of ordinary community expenses, extraordinary charges for works are not covered unless there is an express and specific agreement in this regard. The courts have consistently interpreted that a generic community expenses agreement does not cover extraordinary expenses. (AP Asturias, Oviedo, Sec. 5th, Judgment 338/2011, of 5 October)

Limit on increases in expenses during the contract

Article 20.2 LAU establishes that, during the first five years of the contract (seven if the landlord is a legal entity), the increase in passed-on expenses (with the exception of taxes) may only be made by agreement of both parties and, in no case, by a percentage greater than twice the applicable rent update index. This limitation prevents the passing on of expenses from becoming a mechanism to increase the real cost of the lease outside the legal limits.

Golden rule Without a written agreement with an annual amount, community expenses, IBI and concierge costs are always paid by the owner. The tenant is only obliged to pay what they have signed.

IBI and the waste collection tax: the unification of criteria by the Supreme Court

For years, courts and provincial appeal courts maintained divergent positions as to whether IBI and the waste collection tax should be treated in the same way as community expenses —requiring the annual amount in the contract— or whether, being taxes perfectly individualisable by property, they could be passed on with a simple written agreement without the need to quantify them. The Supreme Court has given a definitive answer to this issue.

STS 1637/2025, of 17 November — Supreme Court, Civil Chamber The Supreme Court has established doctrine: IBI and the waste collection tax are taxes perfectly individualisable by dwelling, and therefore fall outside the scope of Article 20.1 LAU, which requires an annual amount. For their validity, an express and clear written agreement in the contract is sufficient. Although the taxable person for IBI before the municipal tax authority is the owner, nothing prevents that cost from being contractually transferred to the tenant by virtue of the principle of freedom of contract.

This judgment unifies the criterion and has a direct effect on current and future contracts. In practice, a clause stating “IBI and the waste collection tax shall be borne by the tenant” is sufficient, without the need to specify the exact amount.

Definition of large landlord and its implications

Law 12/2023, of 24 May, on the Right to Housing introduced the concept of large landlord as a legal category with direct consequences for lease agreements. Article 3.k) defines it in the following terms:

“The natural or legal person who owns more than ten urban properties for residential use or a constructed surface area of more than 1,500 m² for residential use, excluding in all cases garages and storage rooms. This definition may be particularised in the declaration of stressed residential market areas to include those owners of five or more urban properties for residential use located within that area, when so justified by the autonomous community in the corresponding supporting report.”

Art. 3.k) Law 12/2023, of 24 May, on the Right to Housing — BOE-A-2023-12203

Consequently, a person is considered a large landlord if they meet any of the following conditions: owning more than 10 dwellings anywhere in Spanish territory, regardless of whether they are leased or not; having a total residential-use surface area of more than 1,500 m² throughout Spain; or, in stressed areas where the autonomous community has reduced the threshold, owning 5 or more dwellings in that specific area, as in Catalonia.

Stressed areas: the prohibition on adding new expenses

The concept of a stressed residential market area is the main contribution of Law 12/2023 to the lease regime. An area may be declared stressed when one of these criteria is met: the cost of rent or mortgage exceeds 30% of the average income of households in the area, or the rental price has increased by more than 3% above the CPI over the last five years.

The declaration of stress has direct consequences on the expenses that the owner may pass on. Article 17.6 LAU, introduced by Law 12/2023, establishes the following restriction for all landlords, whether or not they are large landlords:

“In new residential lease agreements in which the property is located in a stressed residential market area, the agreed rent may not exceed the last rent of the previous contract in force during the last five years, and no new conditions may be established that provide for the passing on to the tenant of fees or expenses that were not included in the previous contract.”

Art. 17.6 LAU — wording in accordance with the first final provision of Law 12/2023

This means that, in stressed areas, if the previous tenant did not pay community fees, IBI or concierge costs, the new contract cannot include these concepts either. Adding them would amount to a concealed rent increase expressly prohibited by law.

Large landlord in a stressed area: additional restrictions

Large landlords who lease in a stressed area also have a limitation on the maximum rent. According to Article 17.7 LAU, the rent of the new contract may not exceed the limit of the reference price index, published by the Ministry of Housing through SERPAVI (State Reference Service for Housing Rental Prices). If there is a previous contract with rent in force, the lower price between that index and the previous rent updated in accordance with Art. 18 LAU must be applied.

This double limitation —on rent and on expenses— makes the passing on of expenses a critical regulatory compliance issue for large landlords. Using passed-on expenses to artificially exceed the index may be judicially classified as a contractual breach or an infringement of lease regulations.

Homes never previously rented

If the property has not been leased in the last five years, there is no previous contract as a reference. In that case, in a stressed area, the reference index applies directly as the rent limit. And within that framework, it is possible to agree on the passing on of community expenses and IBI in accordance with Article 20 LAU, provided that the formal requirements are met (written agreement and annual amount for the community expenses).

The case of Catalonia: the most restrictive framework in Spain

Catalonia is the pioneering autonomous community and the one with the highest number of municipalities declared as stressed residential market areas, with effects from 16 March 2024, although the Basque Country, Navarre and Galicia have also declared stressed areas in their respective territories. In Catalonia, the declaration affects 140 municipalities, which form a single stressed area pursuant to the Resolution approved under Law 12/2023.

In addition, the Generalitat de Catalunya has made use of the power granted to it by Law 12/2023 to reduce the large landlord threshold within this area:

“Large landlords in Catalonia are considered to be the natural or legal person who owns 5 or more urban properties for residential use located within the area of the declaration of a stressed residential market area. Natural or legal persons who own more than 10 urban properties for residential use throughout Spain or a surface area of more than 1,500 m² for residential use are also considered large landlords.”

Report TER/800/2024 — Generalitat de Catalunya.
Declaration of stressed residential market areas (140 municipalities)

Consequently, in Catalonia, an owner with only 5 flats in a stressed area in Catalonia is already considered a large landlord, with all the obligations that this entails regarding rent limits and restrictions on new expenses.

On the other hand, Catalan Law 11/2025, of 29 December, which entered into force on 1 January 2026, has introduced relevant changes in seasonal and room rentals, also subjecting these contracts —when the cause is work-related, academic, medical or provisional— to the rules of Article 20 LAU on general expenses and individual services. This means that in Catalan stressed areas, seasonal rentals may not include new expenses that were not in the previous contract either.

Comparative table: small property owner versus large landlord

Concept	Small property owner without stressed area	Small property owner in stressed area	Large landlord in stressed area
Community expenses	✓ If agreed + amount	Only if already included before	Only if already included before
IBI	✓ If agreed in writing	Only if already included before	Only if already included before
Porterage / Concierge	✓ If agreed + amount	Only if already included before	Only if already included before
Waste collection tax	✓ If agreed in writing	Only if already included before	Only if already included before
Adding new expenses	✓ Permitted	✗ Prohibited	✗ Prohibited
Rent limit	Free agreement	Previous rent updated	The lower of: index or previous rent
Annual amount in contract (community)	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Annual amount in contract (IBI / waste collection)	Not necessary (STS 2025)	Not necessary (STS 2025)	Not necessary (STS 2025)

What to review before signing a rental agreement

Whether you are a property owner or a tenant, these are the key points that must be checked before signing any lease agreement:

1. Is the property in a stressed area? This can be checked on the Ministry of Housing portal (SERPAVI) or, in Catalonia, through the Housing Agency of the Generalitat. If it is, Article 17.6 LAU restricts the expenses that may be added.
2. Is the landlord a large landlord? You have the right to request this information and the owner is obliged to declare it. In Catalonia, the threshold is 5 dwellings in a stressed area.
3. Was there a previous contract in the last 5 years? In a stressed area, the expenses of the new contract may not exceed those of the previous one. If the previous contract did not include community fees or IBI, the new one cannot either.
4. Do the community expenses appear with an annual amount? Without this figure, the clause is potentially null. IBI and the waste collection tax do not require a specific amount (STS 1637/2025), but the community fee does.
5. Are extraordinary charges excluded? If the contract passes on community expenses, it is advisable to expressly clarify whether or not it includes extraordinary charges for works.
6. Will an itemised receipt be issued? Article 17.4 LAU obliges the landlord to provide proof of payment with a breakdown by concepts (base rent + passed-on expenses).

Conclusions

The passing on of community expenses, IBI and concierge costs to the tenant is an issue that has become more complex with the entry into force of Law 12/2023 and, in the case of Catalonia, with the declaration of stressed areas and the subsequent Law 11/2025. The following ideas should be kept in mind:

Small property owner · without stressed area	Large landlord · stressed area
More flexible framework • May agree on community fees, IBI, concierge costs and waste collection tax. • Community expenses: annual amount required in the contract. • IBI and waste collection: a written agreement is sufficient (STS 2025). • Expenses may not be increased unilaterally.	Maximum restrictions • May only charge expenses that the previous tenant already paid. • Rent limited to the index published in SERPAVI or previous rent (the lower amount). • In Catalonia: large landlord from 5 dwellings in ZMRT. • Adding new expenses may constitute fraud of law.

Ultimately, determining who pays the expenses in a rental depends today on three combined variables: what the contract says, whether the dwelling is located in a stressed area and whether the landlord has the status of large landlord. The convergence of these three factors requires a careful review of each specific case before drafting or signing any contract.