Non-payment of community fees is a big problem in Spain these days, not least for those who continue to pay and carry the can for those who don’t, but who would have thought that the worst offenders for non-payment are the banks?

According to the latest data from the Observatory of Defaults on Community Payments, banks and savings banks owe 225 million Euros in unpaid community fees, making them by far the biggest group to pay late or not at all.

The problem is so bad that the General Council of the College of Property Administrators (CGCAFE) has written a letter to the Spanish Banking Association (AEB) urging them to adopt “all the measures they can” to get their members to pay their community fees in arrears.

Non-payment by banks and others drives up the costs for those who continue to pay their community fees on time, as the costs of the communal facilities are borne by fewer members of the homeowners’ association.

This is causing huge resentment as banks that don’t pay their community fees evict life-long neighbours for falling behind on their mortgage payments.