Equivalent of council tax

[ElVochoClassico]

Hi there,

From what I've read on Google etc I believe the equivalent of council tax is IBI? Can anybody give me a basic outline of how it works there and does anybody know what kind of amount it is in Torrox? Also, is water there metered or charged at a set price?

[Enrique]

Hi,
IBI is based on the cadastral value of the property, normally have a two month window to pay once the bills are received.

Some light reading..............

http://www.tumbit.com/how-to-guides/art ... lated.html

Water is metered .

[ElVochoClassico]

Thanks Enrique,

So that's something that the agent can tell me about each property then I would expect. Do you find water is expensive per whatever it's measured in? - not an important question, just curious really

[Enrique]

Can't compare it with any other data as this is my only metered water.

Was 54 euro for three months on last bill........two people

You should find the IBI and water a lot lower than UK.....although from reading on A.com some have had big hikes on their IBI...............in recent years.

[ElVochoClassico]

Light reading? Hmmm, why do I think it might not be so light I'll grab that for when I can't sleep haha!

Thanks for your help

[Beachcomber]

If you have recently purchased a property the last IBI receipt should have been incorporated in the escritura. This will show you the amount and an indication of how it is calculated.

[ElVochoClassico]

Hi Beachcomber,

I'll be renting first, so I'm just currently getting together a list of costs, currently still in the UK. I'll be looking at renting a 2/3 bed property in Torrox, I have a rough idea of the prices of the kind of properties I'm interested in, I'm just not sure of the IBI amounts

[Beachcomber]

I have no experience of long term rentals but I have a feeling that the tenant does not normally pay IBI or community fees. I'm sure others will be able to confirm whether or not this is so.

[elusive]

We are renting in frigiliana (yes we made it!!) and the owner is paying the IBI. we just pay for water electricity and rubbish collection

[peteroldracer]

IBI is something to be wary of for those (daft enough) to be buying a property here. We met a couple the other day who live in a wooden house, in an area rife with illegal homes, who are paying €1100 per year IBI. We pay around €350 for something a bit more substantial!
Of course there are other items like community charges for those in that type of home too, and they can be considerable.

[Wicksey]

Normally the owner pays the IBI, not the tenant.

It's something to ask if you eventually start looking to buy. Campo and village houses will be cheaper (our 2 bed campo house is about 165€ a year - just been reduced last year), and of course if you consider buying anything on an urbanisation be wary of the community charges which can be very high.

[ElVochoClassico]

Thanks all, that's great then, one less cost to worry about for the first couple of years then, and plenty to think about when it comes to buying at a later date