What a derrama is and who pays it
A meeting notice arrives proposing a six-figure façade project. If you own a flat in a Spanish building, this is the document that decides your next few years of costs.
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Short answer
What exactly is a derrama?
A derrama is a one-off levy the owners association charges to fund work the monthly service charge does not cover, split by your coeficiente de participación — the percentage share written into your deeds, not an equal split. For scale: a full communal staircase refurbishment runs €15,000 to €35,000, repainting it from €6,000, and a light-well repair from €8,000. Your bill is that total times your percentage.
The comunidad de propietarios — the owners association that every Spanish block of flats has by law — is what raises it. It is not optional in the way many overseas owners assume: it is how buildings in Spain pay for anything substantial.
When one gets raised
- Façade repair or renovation, the most common and usually the largest
- Roof or terrace waterproofing, typically after leaks have appeared
- Lift installation, replacement or modernisation
- Repairs required by the ITE, the periodic inspection older buildings must pass
- Replacement of communal pipework, electrical risers or the entry system
- Legal costs, or a shortfall in the reserve fund
How it differs from the monthly charge
The monthly cuota covers running costs and a statutory contribution to the reserve fund. A derrama is a separate, extraordinary charge for capital work, paid in one instalment or spread over several months by agreement.
| Work that typically triggers a derrama | Indicative cost of the job | How it is split | Can you vote against and not pay? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full communal staircase refurbishment | €15,000–35,000 | By your coeficiente in the deeds | No, once a surveyor certifies it as necessary |
| Repainting the entrance hall and stairs | from €6,000 | By coeficiente | It is an improvement, so it depends on the majority reached |
| Light-well (patio de luces) repair | from €8,000 | By coeficiente unless the statutes say otherwise | No, if there is any risk of falling material |
| Communal wall and ceiling finishes | from €4,500 | By coeficiente | Depends on conservation versus improvement |
| LED lighting in communal areas | from €1,800 | By coeficiente | An improvement, usually approved on running-cost savings |
| Communal flooring | from €5,000 | By coeficiente | No, where safety is involved |
| Letterboxes and entry system | from €2,200 | By coeficiente | An improvement |
The vote
What majority is needed, and can I refuse?
The majority required depends on the type of work, and for some categories there is effectively no vote at all.
The general rules
- Necessary conservation and safety works: obligatory, and the meeting decides how, not whether
- Accessibility works such as installing a lift: a reduced majority, reflecting the legal priority given to accessibility
- Non-essential improvements: a qualified majority, and owners who vote against may be exempt above a defined cost threshold
- Altering communal elements or the building’s constitutive title: unanimity
The crucial distinction
If a technician certifies that the façade risks material falling into the street, the work is legally necessary and voting against it neither exempts you nor stops the project. Objecting is then a conversation about the contractor and the price, not about whether to do it.
If you genuinely cannot attend
You can vote by written proxy, and for overseas owners this is the normal route. Give it to someone who will actually read the papers, and ask for the quotes in advance rather than deciding on the day. An owner who is simply absent is, in most circumstances, counted as agreeing with the majority.
Buying and selling
Who pays if the flat changes hands?
The single most common source of post-completion disputes in Spanish property, and entirely avoidable with two documents read before signing.
What to obtain before you buy
- The certificate confirming the seller is up to date with community payments
- Minutes of the last two general meetings, where approved and pending works appear
- The current balance of the reserve fund
- Whether the building has a valid ITE and what the result was
- Confirmation of any approved works that have not yet started
The expensive mistake
Buying without reading the minutes. A façade project approved eight months ago and not yet started can mean a levy of several thousand euros arriving shortly after completion.
If you are buying from abroad
Ask your solicitor explicitly for the minutes and the ITE result rather than assuming they are in the standard pack, and have the contract state which party bears any levy approved before completion. One sentence prevents the entire dispute.
Frequently asked
Common questions
A one-off levy charged by the owners association to fund work the monthly service charge does not cover, typically façade repair, roof waterproofing, lift works or repairs required after a technical inspection.
By the participation coefficient recorded in your title deeds, as a percentage of the whole building. It is not split equally between owners and not strictly by floor area, so you can calculate your exposure before any vote.
Not if the work is necessary for the conservation or safety of the building. Those works are obligatory even for owners who voted against. For non-essential improvements there can be an exemption depending on the cost and on the building’s own rules.
As a general rule, whoever owns the flat when each instalment falls due. However, the meeting resolution and the sale contract can both say otherwise, so it should be stated explicitly in writing at the point of sale to avoid a dispute afterwards.
The minutes of the last two general meetings, the certificate that community payments are up to date, the reserve fund balance and the technical inspection result. Approved but unstarted works appear in the minutes and nowhere else.
Next step
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