Maintaining a holiday-home in Spain costs €1,791 per year on average, according to research by a Spanish consumer organisation.

Community fees are the biggest chunk of holiday-home ownership expenses, costing between €200 and €1,140 per annum, reveals the Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU). That range applies to typical condominium expenses, so a big villa on a luxury gated development would cost considerably more than that to maintain.

Utilities are another big cost, which the OCU estimate at €600 per year on average.

Then there are local rates to consider, known in Spain as the Impuesto Sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI). OCU’s research reveals that the average IBI cost per year is €276, though the rate varies enormously by type of property and municipality. Some municipalities also charge homeowners a rubbish collection fee, with an average cost of €117 per annum.

If you own a second home in Spain you also have to pay income tax on the property, even if you don’t rent it out. This applies to residents and non-residents alike, in the latter case it assumed that any property in Spain owned by non-residents is a second-home. If you rent out your holiday-home you pay tax on the rental income. If you don’t rent it out, the Spanish authorities charge you tax on an implied income. I have never understood the logic of this tax, which is charged as 2% per annum of the Cadastral value, or 1.1% if the Cadastral Value was revised in 2015 or previous decade.

Many second-home owners rent out their properties when not using it themselves. This has been common practise since people started buying holiday-homes in Spain. The OCU point out that this is becoming more difficult as many regional Governments have introduced regulations to control the activity.