Loads of people ask me during their search for properties for sale in Tenerife…”How much does it cost to run a property in Tenerife?” Of course the real answer is that it depends upon how big the property is, how often you or anyone else proposes to use it and even in which municipality the property is situated.
I thought that I would give a couple of examples of the average ongoing running costs for property in Tenerife. One for an average 1 bedroom apartment on a complex and one for a detached 3 bedroom house or villa not on a complex. I’ve also assumed that the owners live here permanently, so if you’re not going to be using it as a permanent residence, the figures could be less….so…what are the running costs of owning a property in Tenerife? How much does it cost to run a property in Tenerife?
A 1 bedroom apartment on a complex
Water: €30 per month
Electricity: €60 – €70 per month
Community Fees: €85 – €145 per month
Rubbish collection: €10 per month
Non-resident tax – €35 per month per registered owner
IBI: €35 per month – this varies – see below
Insurance: €30 per month
Total €355 per month making an average of €4,260 per year
A 3 bedroom villa or house not on a complex
Water: €50 per month – will be more with a private pool
Electricity: €80 – €150 per month – will be more with a private pool
Rubbish collection €10 per month
Non-resident tax – €45 per month per registered owner
IBI: €75 per month – this varies – see below
Insurance: €50
Total €370 per month making an average of €4,440 per year
Water & Electric
Water and electric are charged in the normal way as it is in your own country. They use the amount of KW for electricity or M3 of water you have used and add in a standing charge. As I said previously, it all depends upon how long you use the property during the year, so for the running costs in this example, I’ve used the example of 2 people living in the property permanently, obviously if it’s being used less than that, your annual running costs will be less. If you own a villa and you have a private swimming pool your electricity and water bills can be expected to be higher as well.
Water and Electric are usually billed every 2 months and are set up through your bank as a direct debit, although some complexes include electricity and water in your monthly community fees.
Community fees
Community fees or maintenance fees are charged when you own a property in a complex or in an apartment building. They vary greatly depending upon what’s on offer in the complex itself. If there are lifts, swimming pools and tennis courts you can expect your fees to be on the higher side but if you’re in a residential building with no pool or lift, you could even expect to pay something like €25 per month. As I mentioned earlier, some complexes include the water and electricity in their community fees, so these will appear to be higher.
Rubbish Collection
This is charged twice a year and again, depends upon where your property is situated. Some municipalities charge slightly more, but €90 per annum is about average.
Non-resident tax
Just like all countries, Spain like to charge taxes and on this occasion it is a tax for owning a property here in Spain but not being a resident. Have a word with your accountant or lawyer about this, but you really should keep up to date with it. As I write, for a 1 bed apartment it’s about €400 per year per registered property owner and maybe 540€ plus, per owner for the villa.
IBI – Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles
This is your annual property tax, so if you’re from the UK it’s like your rates…but cheaper…a LOT cheaper. Cost depends upon the size of the property and again, which municipality the property is located. As an average, I’ve used €420 for a 1 bedroom apartment and €900 per annum for the villa. The villa can vary a lot, but the apartment might go up to €450 – €500 a year maximum. This tax is charged once a year and the bill comes out in May and you have up to July to pay it directly at the bank.
Insurance
Insurance is pretty obvious but if you’re buying an apartment, the building should be insured by the community and will be included in your monthly maintenance fees, so you’re advised to buy insurance for your contents and damage to anyone’s apartment near to yours in case of water flooding or anything else that could be attributed to your apartment. If you’re buying a property that is not situated on a complex, then you’ll need buildings insurance as well as contents. There are plenty of insurance brokers about, so you can easily get a few quotes.
Telephone and internet
I haven’t mentioned Telephone or internet connections. There’s quite a bit of competition here now for phone and internet connections along with offers from various companies for TV being piped directly through the telephone line. Have a look around in the local papers so that you can see what’s available and maybe more importantly, what’s suitable for you.
Overall, as you can see, it’s not a massive cost to own a property here, and the annual running costs for a property in Tenerife are not overly expensive but again, as I mentioned earlier, these figures are just an example, things differ from municipality to municipality and sizes of property. If you’re looking to buy a property through Tenerife Property Group then you can ask us to find out what the ongoing costs of the current owners are and we’ll be happy to help you.
