# Utilities in spain



## Mickeyfinch (Jun 29, 2014)

Hi I posted a thread about retiring in spain on a pension.I could do with more information please my wife and I intend to move to spain.we will have £250000 to buy our villa but have no idea about monthly living costs.could we have some information about the cost of utilities,is there the equivalent of council tax,what about electricity and water,are there any other ongoing cost to be considered. I'm going to assume that food is probably similar in costs.


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## Lynn R (Feb 21, 2014)

Mickeyfinch said:


> Hi I posted a thread about retiring in spain on a pension.I could do with more information please my wife and I intend to move to spain.we will have £250000 to buy our villa but have no idea about monthly living costs.could we have some information about the cost of utilities,is there the equivalent of council tax,what about electricity and water,are there any other ongoing cost to be considered. I'm going to assume that food is probably similar in costs.


Yes, there is the equivalent of Council Tax,it's called IBI. If your villa is on an urbanisation, there will also be community fees to pay, and depending on which area it is in there may be a separate rubbish collection charge (basura) too. 

Besides electricity and water, there will be telephone/internet costs and house insurance to budget for.

It's pretty much impossible to give typical figures for any of these costs as local taxes vary so much between areas, and people's consumption of utilities also varies widely.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Lynn R said:


> Yes, there is the equivalent of Council Tax,it's called IBI. If your villa is on an urbanisation, there will also be community fees to pay, and depending on which area it is in there may be a separate rubbish collection charge (basura) too.
> 
> Besides electricity and water, there will be telephone/internet costs and house insurance to budget for.
> 
> It's pretty much impossible to give typical figures for any of these costs as local taxes vary so much between areas, and people's consumption of utilities also varies widely.


In some areas there is also an ECO tax now as well.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

We find our bills are far cheaper than England, however I must point out that we live in the Canary Isles, with only 7% purchase tax, also because of the temperate climate, we don't have heating or air conditioning bills.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

People often reckon that what you would pay in the UK in pounds, you would pay here in euros. It's a fair ready reckoner although, of course, some things are cheaper in either place.

Electricity is considered higher here and your bill will depend on area - if very hot you might spend more on aircon in the summers, and then there are other variables such as swimming pool, heating and cooking. 

As Lynn says, charges vary between areas. Your house will vary in size and quality to others and climate will dictate running costs to a certain extent. I would recommend checking the energy certificate for any house you're interested in as insulation can make a big difference to your bills. The energy ratings are A - G and 85% of Spanish houses are rated E or lower. Winters can be cold in Spain. I've had -13ºC here, colder than anything I saw back in Blighty. I've also seen 42ºC in the summer in central Madrid. Didn't like either!


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

Madliz said:


> Winters can be cold in Spain. I've had -13ºC here, colder than anything I saw back in Blighty. I've also seen 42ºC in the summer in central Madrid. Didn't like either!



Blooming heck, that is colder than Huddersfield


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Sorry to bump and older thread but I figured I can tack a question on in here instead of starting a new one.

Is there a way to check online if a house has water or electricity connected or has it available to be connected?

Something like the "Comprueba tu cobertura" portal that movistar have on their site.
I have checked endesa and iberdrola but nothing jumps out at me as being the right page to go to.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pazcat said:


> Sorry to bump and older thread but I figured I can tack a question on in here instead of starting a new one.
> 
> Is there a way to check online if a house has water or electricity connected or has it available to be connected?
> 
> ...


I don't think so.

Why not simply ask the Estate Agent / Owner? More work, I know, but at least you get an answer.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

We did ask at the time and was told it was all connected etc but nearly always they are taking the mickey.


We have asked for the nota simple and copies of the bills but I was just thinking about double checking while we wait as who knows how long that will take.
I guess a bit of patience never hurt anybody.

Credit though where it's due, everything so far this guy said has checked out up to now.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pazcat said:


> We did ask at the time and was told it was all connected etc but nearly always they are taking the mickey.
> 
> 
> We have asked for the nota simple and copies of the bills but I was just thinking about double checking while we wait as who knows how long that will take.
> ...


You can get a nota simple on a property pretty much the same day if you go in person to the registro. However, the nota simple won't mention utilities (as far as I can remember).


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

That is why we have asked for a copy of the bills too.
To be honest it's nothing that if not connected can't/shouldn't be easily sorted but it's just nice to know these things.

We could also order the nota simple online but whether in person or online it will take some time and also we would be out of pocket. Albeit not much out of pocket but it all adds up.
They should have a recent copy on hand anyway to give to the agent.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Well the agent said they are under no obligation to give us the info we asked for due to privacy concerns and that it was normal to only provide any info after a written offer has been made.

Our response was basically "Bollocks", put nicely.

Sure I can understand any concerns regarding privacy but nothing a black marker wont fix, we just want to see whether or not the house is as they claim connected to the mains.
How can you possibly make a written offer on a property if you are not in knowledge of the full facts?

Anyway, that has got my BS meter up and running so I await the response or we walk away. Again.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

The agent still refuses to show us any utility bills or other paperwork until he has a signed offer on paper.
He has changed his tack from privacy concerns to you simply don't need to see any of these things as it's not important.

Whether or not he is hiding the fact the property is vastly illegal or he is just trying to get us to sign an offer in so when we pull out he can charge us a couple of grand for the privilege it doesn't really matter.
Nobody buying a house should sign or offer anything if you can't see the bills for the property.

I truly hope nobody here is using him to buy or sell a property.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pazcat said:


> The agent still refuses to show us any utility bills or other paperwork until he has a signed offer on paper.
> He has changed his tack from privacy concerns to you simply don't need to see any of these things as it's not important.
> 
> Whether or not he is hiding the fact the property is vastly illegal or he is just trying to get us to sign an offer in so when we pull out he can charge us a couple of grand for the privilege it doesn't really matter.
> ...


Why not sign an offer but add a clause about it all being null and void if the paperwork does not match your expectations.

Better still, use a gestor/abogado and get them to talk to him.


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## Dunpleecin (Dec 20, 2012)

I find utilities are cheaper here. Car tax, depending on your car are too. My car tax was £250, now it's 87€. Insurance and diesel cheaper too.

Generally cost of living I find cheaper but there are lots of unexpected costs when you move over. I'd say don't spend all your 250. You can get somewhere very nice much cheaper. Keep some aside for house improvements or services and also to live a little.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> Why not sign an offer but add a clause about it all being null and void if the paperwork does not match your expectations.
> 
> Better still, use a gestor/abogado and get them to talk to him.


I see the point in that but how can you make an informed offer without being informed. I wouldn't do it in Australia or anywhere else for that matter. Also how can I know what I am allowed to offer without running it past the bank first and the very first thing the bank needs to see is the nota simple, from there they work out just how much they can give you and they do this on a property by property basis.
Sure I can take a guess but I'm fed up of this crap, we could of had the info by now and an offer made if things checked out all right and then take it to our lawyer. 
I'm certainly not going to throw money at our lawyer without doing the basic checks ourselves like we are entitled to do.

Besides that the guy is bang out of order talking to us like we are idiots, we have fought with agents and their BS tactics for the last 6 months and know when they are bare faced lying to us.(which unsurprisingly seems to be whenever they open their mouth)

End of the day it doesn't matter a great deal as we have other houses on the list, all of which have supplied us with basic utility bills and any other paperwork we wish to see upon asking. No strings attached.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Pazcat said:


> I see the point in that but how can you make an informed offer without being informed. I wouldn't do it in Australia or anywhere else for that matter. Also how can I know what I am allowed to offer without running it past the bank first and the very first thing the bank needs to see is the nota simple, from there they work out just how much they can give you and they do this on a property by property basis.
> Sure I can take a guess but I'm fed up of this crap, we could of had the info by now and an offer made if things checked out all right and then take it to our lawyer.
> I'm certainly not going to throw money at our lawyer without doing the basic checks ourselves like we are entitled to do.
> 
> ...



As I said before, if you or your bank need a copy of the nota simple, go in person to the office and get one - takes less than 30 minutes once you're there.

I agree about the agents attitude though.

What I would do is to assume everything is OK and base my offer on that, then, make an offer with the necessary get-out clauses. I certainly would not part with any money until I had seen all the relevant paperwork.

At the end of the day it's still a buyer's market and maybe the agent needs reminding of this!


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Can you get it with only just knowing the address? 
Other than that we have no info at all and he isn't likely to give us any. I guess it's a different approach and he wont like being told we will go get it ourselves which would be worth the 9 euros in itself.

Still, no house here has ever been 100% OK(actually I lie, at least 1 we are confident of) so I'm a little reluctant to waste anymore of my time and money when as you say it is a buyers market and if he is being this cagey about it then I can only assume there is something to hide.

We will move on to something less risky and I feel for the owner who is reportedly back in the UK with his property left in the hands of this clown.


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## Supercod (May 22, 2014)

Just to add as I didn't know this when buying a bank property until my lawyer told me, if no water or electricity is connected you need to have a habitation certificate to get these things. If no habitation certificate exists you need to pay an architect to do one for you (about €400 I was told) and submit it to town hall, but if the house is less than 10 years old the town hall can get you a copy of it something like €20 but can take a few weeks for them to locate it... Anyway all told it took 3 weeks to find the paperwork from town hall and then that very same day the water was turned on and the following day the electricity, by the way I done nothing for this, lawyer done it all as part of his fee.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Supercod said:


> Just to add as I didn't know this when buying a bank property until my lawyer told me, if no water or electricity is connected you need to have a habitation certificate to get these things. If no habitation certificate exists you need to pay an architect to do one for you (about €400 I was told) and submit it to town hall, but if the house is less than 10 years old the town hall can get you a copy of it something like €20 but can take a few weeks for them to locate it... Anyway all told it took 3 weeks to find the paperwork from town hall and then that very same day the water was turned on and the following day the electricity, by the way I done nothing for this, lawyer done it all as part of his fee.


... it's actually worse than that. To get the licence of second occupation (habitation licence) you will need an electrical boletin and a plumbing boletin - together these will cost more than 400€ and take a few weeks.


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Well, just to draw a line under this chapter that I have mentioned here, instead of showing us any documentation or proof that anything that was advertised was actually present on the property the agent(I use the term loosely) got back to us yesterday and basically told us to jog on, we wont accept any offers and this property is not for you.

Unbelievable, an actual agent telling a cashed up customer to ****** off. 
I honestly hope nobody here in Campello or Busot or the surrounds are using this company or agent. If anyone is curious then PM me as I can't name names on the forum.

This is in stark contrast to another agent who somehow managed to negotiate a price that was less than what we actually offered on another property.

Anyway, I guess the moral of this story is if an owner or agent will not provide you with details of the utilities or anything else then it's best to walk away from it.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I get the impression you asked too many intelligent questions and made life too uncomfortable for them. Methinks he was absolutely correct when he said the property was not for you and you have had a lucky escape!


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Clearly, I find it hard to believe they weren't hiding something.

No sleep lost over it anyway, we moved on once this attitude started. Plenty of other places on our list anyway and hopefully we are nearing an end to this now.

The thing is even if power and water were not available it wouldn't of mattered to us and even if there was a few things not declared we would of assessed the costs involved and it still may not of been a deal breaker but for him to be so aloof about it suggests far more is wrong with the property than just an undeclared extension.


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