July arrives, the community pool opens, and with it comes the summer’s favourite line: «I never set foot in that pool, so I’m not paying for it». It sounds reasonable. And it is, almost always, legally wrong. Spain’s Horizontal Property Law is blunt: common element expenses are paid according to your participation quota, whether you use them or not. Here is why, what the real exceptions are (they exist, but they are not the ones people think), and what happens to the owner who unilaterally stops paying.
The general rule: you pay by quota, not by usage
Article 9.1.e of the Horizontal Property Law obliges every owner to «contribute, according to the participation quota set in the title deed», to the general expenses for the proper upkeep of the building, its services, charges and liabilities. The key phrase is participation quota: common expenses are split by the coefficient assigned to your flat in the constitutive title, not by how much you use each service.
The pool, the garden, the lift, the padel court and the communal gym are common elements. Their upkeep is a general expense, and the law does not recognise «I don’t use it» as grounds for exemption. Not using the pool is a personal choice; paying for its upkeep is a legal obligation. Exactly like the ground-floor neighbour who pays for a lift they never take, unless the title says otherwise.
Why the law works this way (and it makes sense)
If every owner could opt out of paying for whatever they don’t use, the community would be ungovernable: nobody «uses» the reserve fund, or the façade, or the building’s insurance, yet everyone benefits from their existence. Besides, a pool adds value to every home in the building, whoever uses it. That is why the legislator’s criterion is objective (your coefficient), not subjective (your habits).
The real exceptions: when an owner can legitimately not pay
That said, there are three legal routes by which an owner can be excluded from a specific expense. None of them depends on their individual will:
1. Express exemption in the constitutive title or by-laws
The title or by-laws may provide that certain owners (typically commercial premises, garages or storage rooms with no access to certain areas) are exempt from specific expenses, such as the pool or the entrance hall. This is the most common exception and perfectly valid, but with two conditions that Supreme Court case law consistently demands: the clause must be express and unequivocal, and it is interpreted restrictively and literally. If your by-laws are silent, there is no exemption. Creating a new one requires amending the title or by-laws with the corresponding resolution.
2. New, non-required improvements (article 17.4)
If the community decides to build a new pool (or any installation or improvement not needed for the building’s upkeep), the resolution requires a 3/5 majority of owners and quotas. And here there is an individual way out: an owner who voted against is not obliged to pay for the installation if their share exceeds three ordinary monthly payments of common expenses. Mind you: if they later want to use it, they must pay their duly updated share. And note the nuance: this exception protects against the new installation, not against maintaining the pool that already existed when you bought.
3. Different cost-sharing schemes approved by the community
The meeting can approve, with whatever majority each case requires, different contribution schemes for certain services where the title allows it. But that is a decision of the community, never of one neighbour on their own.
«Then I’ll just stop paying»: what happens to the rebel
Refusing to pay your share of the pool does not make you a conscientious objector: it makes you a defaulter. And the law brings concrete consequences:
- You lose your vote at the meeting: an owner who is not up to date with payments (and has neither judicially challenged nor deposited the debt) is deprived of voting rights, and their name appears in the meeting notice for the whole community to see.
- The community can claim through the article 21 payment order procedure: debt certificate, possible preventive attachment without security, and lawyer’s fees at your expense.
- The debt accrues interest and can complicate selling the flat, because the property answers for the amounts of the current year and the three previous ones.
One more point that connects with what we covered this week: debts to the community become time-barred after five years if nobody claims them. If you are the defaulter, don’t count on it; if you are the community, here is how to stop your debts from expiring.
Transparency: the best vaccine against «I’m not paying»
In our experience, behind most «I’m not paying for that pool» there is no bad faith: there is opacity. The neighbour doesn’t know what maintenance costs, what their share is, or where the money goes. When the budget, the expenses and everyone’s fee are visible to all from the phone, meeting arguments deflate on their own. That is exactly what FixrOS does: every owner sees the community’s budget, their fees and the detail of every expense in real time, and the accounts stop being an act of faith.
Frequently asked questions
Can I refuse to pay for the pool if I don’t use it?
No. Article 9.1.e of the Horizontal Property Law requires contributing to general expenses according to your participation quota, regardless of usage. You would only be exempt if the constitutive title or by-laws expressly provide for it in your case.
What if the pool is new and I voted against it?
If it is a new, non-required installation (art. 17.4) and your share exceeds three ordinary monthly payments, dissenting owners are not obliged to pay for the installation. If you ever want to use it, you must pay your updated share. Maintenance of pre-existing installations does not fall under this exception.
Do commercial premises and garages pay for the pool?
It depends on the title and by-laws. It is common for premises, garages or storage rooms to be exempt from services they cannot use, but only if there is an express clause; the Supreme Court interprets these exemptions restrictively and literally.
What happens if I simply stop paying that part of my fee?
You become a defaulter: you lose your voting rights at meetings, your name appears in the meeting notice, and the community can claim through the article 21 payment order procedure, with interest and costs at your expense.
Are your community’s accounts still a mystery to the neighbours? With FixrOS, the budget, expenses and everyone’s fees are transparent and accessible from the phone. Book a free 30-minute demo and put an end to meeting arguments.