If I buy a flat with service charge debts, do I have to pay them?
For the most recent ones, yes, because they go with the flat. In Catalonia, whoever owns it, the flat is liable for the service charges and special levies owed for the year in which you buy it and for the previous four years. If nobody pays them, the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) can ask the court to attach the flat and sell it at auction even though it is now yours, so in practice you will have to pay them and then claim them back from the seller. Older debts can only be claimed from the seller. That is why, before buying, you should ask the seller for the owners' association's statement of debts.
Alburquerque Abogados
José Manuel AlburquerqueWhich debts go with the flat
The flat is liable for the ordinary service charges and for special levies, which are extraordinary contributions. Also for whatever should have been paid into the reserve fund, the association's compulsory savings for works and unforeseen expenses. What counts is whatever fell due in the year of the purchase and in the four previous calendar years, from January to December. For example, if you buy on 15 June 2026:
- The flat is liable for what was owed for 2026 up to that date and for the years 2022 to 2025.
- Anything from 2021 and earlier years can only be claimed from the seller.
- Of all that, only what has not become time-barred. The owners' association has three years to claim each payment, unless it has interrupted that time limit.
The same applies if you buy the flat at auction or from a bank that took it over because of a debt. In the rest of Spain, the flat is liable for what fell due in the year of the purchase and the previous three years, not four.
The seller still owes the debt
The seller is liable for what they owed the owners' association on the day of the sale. If you pay to prevent the flat from being attached, you can claim it back from them afterwards. To avoid getting to that point:
- Ask the seller for the owners' association's statement of debts before signing the deposit agreement (“contrato de arras”), the one signed when the down payment is made. Before the deed is signed, check that nothing has changed.
- Agree in the contract that the seller will pay whatever they owe before the deed is signed or that it will be deducted from the price and paid to the owners' association at the signing.
- In the public deed, the seller must declare whether they are up to date with payments or what they owe. They must also provide the certificate. If you both waive it, you take on the risk of any debts that go with the flat.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.