Who pays the IBI and the waste collection charge on a rented flat?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The IBI, the local property tax, is owed by the landlord and, in residential tenancy agreements signed or renewed since 8 October 2026, it can no longer be agreed that the tenant will pay it. In those agreements, the law prohibits passing on to the tenant the taxes on the home, except those the tenant must pay under the rules governing each tax. With the waste collection charge, therefore, it depends on what the town council's tax ordinance says. If it makes the occupier of the flat liable for the charge, the tenant in principle falls within that exception and the charge can still be passed on to him or her. If it makes only the owner liable, it can no longer be passed on to the tenant. The IBI falls to the landlord The local property tax, the IBI, is owed to the town council by the owner. Before 8 October 2026, the “Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos” (LAU), Spain's urban tenancies act, allowed the parties to agree that the tenant would pay it if this was put in writing and its annual amount was set. Since that date it has provided that taxes relating to the home may “in no case” be imposed on the tenant, except those for which the tenant is the taxpayer, that is, the person whom the rules governing the tax require to pay it. The tenant is never the taxpayer for the IBI, because it is owed by the owner. That is why, in a residential tenancy agreement signed or renewed since that date, a clause passing the IBI on to the tenant is not valid, even if it has been signed. The rule applies to any residential tenancy, including temporary residential tenancies and lettings by rooms. In a commercial lease, on the other hand, the IBI can still be passed on by agreement. The waste collection charge depends on the ordinance The waste collection charge works differently. The “Ley de Haciendas Locales”, Spain's local government finance act, provides that these charges are owed by whoever benefits from the service, which is the person who occupies the home. The owner may have to pay them on the occupier's behalf, with the right to recover them from the occupier afterwards. Each town council specifies in its tax ordinance, the rule that governs the charge, who is liable for it: If the ordinance makes the occupier of the flat liable, the tenant is the taxpayer and falls within the exception in the LAU. The tenant can pay the charge directly, if the bill is issued in his or her name, or reimburse the landlord who has paid it. If the ordinance makes only the owner liable, in agreements signed or renewed since 8 October 2026 it can no longer be passed on to the tenant. The rule is recent and the courts have not yet applied it to the waste collection charge. The practical course is to check what the ordinance says and in whose name the bill is issued, so as to make this clear in the tenancy agreement. Earlier agreements and other expenses In agreements signed before 8 October 2026, a clause passing the IBI on to the tenant may still be valid if it was agreed in writing with its annual amount stated, although it cannot be ruled out that this will end up being disputed in the courts. In principle, that also applies during the extensions of those agreements, because an extension continues the same contract. Service charges (owners' association fees) can still be passed on to the tenant if this is agreed in writing, stating their annual amount, except in new agreements where the building is not divided into flats with their own owners' association. Metered utilities, such as water, electricity and gas, are always for the tenant.