Investment approach
Rental costs: what the tenant pays and what the landlord pays
The tenant pays the meters, comunidad fees only under a written clause with an annual sum, and from 8 October 2026 the IBI stays with the owner. A table, a worked example and a contract clause.
When renting a home in Spain, the tenant always pays for the services on individual meters: water, electricity, gas. The comunidad de propietarios (community of owners) fees pass to the tenant only under a written clause stating the annual sum, and their increase in the first five years is capped at twice the rent increase. From 8 October 2026, under Real Decreto-ley 29/2026 (RDL 29/2026), taxes linked to the flat, including the IBI (municipal property tax), cannot be imposed on the tenant (BOE). The Congreso has not yet validated the decree-law.
How the law divides costs between the owner and the tenant
Rental costs fall into two groups: services that the flat's meter measures and the building's general costs, which a meter cannot split between flats. The first are paid by whoever consumes. The second stay with the owner unless the contract expressly says otherwise.
The rules are collected in article 20 of the Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU, the Urban Leases Act). Below is its wording after RDL 29/2026, in force from 8 October 2026.
| Cost | Who pays | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Water, electricity, gas on the flat's meter | Tenant | Always, even without a clause in the contract (art. 20.4) |
| Comunidad fees in a building under propiedad horizontal (horizontal property regime) | Owner or tenant | The tenant only under a written clause with the annual sum, by the flat's share of participation |
| General costs in a building without horizontal property | Owner | Cannot be passed on |
| IBI and other taxes linked to the flat | Owner | Unless the taxpayer under the law is the tenant |
| Agency services, drawing up and renewing the contract | Owner | Neither directly nor indirectly |
| Optional additional services | Tenant | Only if the tenant asked for them in writing, knowing the price and that the service is optional |
| Insurance against non-payment of rent | Owner, if wanted | Cannot be demanded from the tenant (art. 36.5) |
What the tenant always pays
The tenant pays for everything that the flat's meter measures, and the law does not require a separate clause for it. The only question is the mechanism.
There are two options. The supply contracts are re-registered in the tenant's name for the term of the lease, or the bills stay in the owner's name and the tenant reimburses them by the readings. The first option removes risk from the owner: if the tenant stops paying, the debt for electricity and water does not pile up in the owner's name. The second is simpler to set up but requires monthly reconciliation.
Which costs can be passed on only by contract
Fees to the comunidad de propietarios can be passed to the tenant if the building is divided into flats under the horizontal property regime. The condition must be in writing and name the annual sum at the date of signing, and the flat's share is calculated by its share of participation.
The phrase "the tenant pays the comunidad costs" without a sum does not meet the law's requirement. In a building without horizontal property, for example a single-owner building, comunidad costs from 8 October 2026 cannot be passed to the tenant at all; before that they could be allocated by floor area.
The increase in the sum passed on is also capped. In the first five years of the contract, seven where the landlord is a legal entity, it may rise once a year, by agreement of the parties and by no more than twice the percentage by which the rent itself may rise under article 18.1 (art. 20.3 LAU).
What changed for the IBI from 8 October 2026
The IBI now stays with the owner. The new wording of article 20.1 LAU forbids imposing on the tenant taxes linked to the flat, unless the taxpayer under the law is the tenant. Until 8 October 2026 the IBI could be passed on on the same terms as comunidad fees.
Towards the tax authority the IBI taxpayer was the owner even before: an agreement with the tenant does not affect the authority. How the tax itself is calculated is covered in the article on the IBI. The Congreso has not yet validated the decree-law, and how the prohibition works for contracts signed before 8 October 2026 the decree-law does not state expressly: that is a question for the abogado (lawyer).
How this changes the owner's income
Worked example, not a forecast. Rent of 1,300 € a month, comunidad fees of 1,200 € a year passed to the tenant under a written clause, IBI of 720 € a year. The rent is indexed to the IRAV (the rental reference index), which in August 2026 was 2.47% (INE).
| Item | Year 1 | Year 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Comunidad fees by decision of the owners' meeting | 1,200 € | 1,320 € (+10%) |
| Cap for the tenant: twice the rent increase, 4.94% | 1,200 € | about 1,259 € |
| Difference borne by the owner | 0 € | about 61 € |
| IBI borne by the owner | 720 € | 720 € or more if the town hall raises the rate |
The faster the building's fees rise, the larger the share the owner pays out of pocket, and the IBI remains in the owner's costs in full. These lines should be built into the net yield from the start. How DF 6 (final provision 6) of the decree-law, which limits rent increases until the end of 2027, combines with the cap in article 20.3 is for the lawyer to clarify.
How to write the costs into the contract
The cost clause is best drafted before the first showing of the flat.
- List the services on meters and the way of payment: re-registration in the tenant's name or reimbursement by readings.
- If the building is under horizontal property and the fees pass to the tenant, state the annual sum at the date of signing and the share of participation.
- Set the procedure for the annual review of the fee within the limit of article 20.3.
- Do not include the IBI, agency services or mandatory insurance against non-payment.
- State how the tenant proves payment and how the owner accounts for the fees.
The other mandatory clauses of the contract are collected in the article what to include in a residential lease.
When this scheme does not work
It does not work for seasonal lets (contratos de temporada) signed before 8 October 2026: under the new LAU transitional rule they live by the earlier rules until the agreed term ends and then terminate without renewal. It does not work for renting premises for a business: a different part of the law applies there.
A separate case: a company rents the flat for its employees. Which LAU regime applies to such a contract after RDL 29/2026 is for the abogado to clarify; the general analysis is in the article a company renting a flat.
Questions and answers
Who pays for water and electricity when renting a flat in Spain?
The tenant, if the flat has its own meters. This is stated expressly in article 20.4 LAU and does not need a separate clause in the contract.
Can the IBI be passed to the tenant in 2026?
From 8 October 2026, under the new wording of article 20 LAU (RDL 29/2026), no, unless the taxpayer under the law is the tenant. The Congreso has not yet validated the decree-law; how it applies to older contracts is something to clarify with an abogado.
What should the contract say for the tenant to pay the comunidad fees?
A written clause with the annual sum of the fees at the date of signing, if the building is under the horizontal property regime. A general phrase without a sum does not meet the law's requirements.
Can the owner require the tenant to take out insurance against non-payment?
No. From 8 October 2026 article 36.5 LAU forbids requiring a tenant to take out non-payment insurance or similar cover. The owner may take it out at the owner's own expense.
Who pays the agency when a flat is let?
The owner. The costs of preparing, drawing up, amending and renewing the contract are not passed to the tenant, either directly or indirectly.
