How Much a Second Home in Spain Really Costs: A 5-Year Cash Flow

Most second-home guides quote you a price and stop there. The price is the smallest decision you will make. An 800,000 € home costs 18,000 to 26,000 € every year to keep — before a single mortgage payment — and the biggest line on that bill is not the one you are watching.

The 800,000 € home — the base case

To make the numbers yours and not a brochure's, take a concrete base case: a 200 m² home in a mid-to-high coastal area, inside a development with a pool and shared areas, bought without renting it out. If the case is pricier or cheaper, the ratio holds — scale the figures to your price and the cash flow keeps its shape. The real driver of the cost, as the table will show, is not the IBI or the community fee. It is maintenance and a tax most owners discover too late.

The 8 annual costs you need to know

1. IBI (property tax) — 1,200 to 3,500 €

Each town hall sets it on the cadastral value. The national average runs 400-1,300 € (Fotocasa), but an 800,000 € home in a prime coastal area climbs to 1,200-3,500 € a year. Ask the seller for the last bill before you buy: that is the exact number, no guessing.

2. Community fees — 800 to 3,000 €

With a pool, garden, lift and security, the fee climbs fast. Fotocasa puts the general range at 20-200 €/month; in a prime development with services, count on 1,500-3,000 € a year. Ask too whether special levies are coming: a new façade or lift gives no warning.

3. Insurance — 350 to 700 €

Insuring a second home costs more than your main one. It sits empty much of the year, so it is more exposed to break-ins and to damage nobody catches in time (Fotocasa). It is the smallest cost on the list, and the one you notice most when it fails.

4. Minimum utilities — 1,200 to 2,000 €

Even if you do not set foot in it for six months, the standing charge on electricity, water and gas runs just to keep the supply connected — count on 100-170 €/month in minimums alone. Disconnecting and reconnecting each season costs more than leaving it on.

5. Maintenance — 1% of value (8,000 €)

The sector's rule of thumb: set aside 1% of the property's value a year for upkeep and periodic repairs. On 800,000 €, that is 8,000 € a year. Some years nothing gets spent; the year of the roof, the boiler or the façade, the provision earns its keep. This is the line that inflates the real cost most, and the one most owners ignore.

6. Income tax — the imputed-income charge almost nobody calculates

Here is the invisible cost. The Spanish tax office treats a second home at your disposal as if it generated income, even sitting empty, and imputes it to income tax: 2% of the cadastral value, or 1.1% if that value was revised in the last 10 years through a collective assessment (Agencia Tributaria, article 85 of the Income Tax Law). Against that amount no expense at all is deductible. On a cadastral value of 400,000 €, that is 4,400 € added to the taxable base and taxed at your marginal rate: between 1,600 and 2,000 € a year, just for owning it.

7. Accountant & filing — 200 to 400 €

You can file the return yourself — imputed income, IBI and the rest — but an accountant runs 200-400 € a year. Small but recurring, and worth it: getting the imputation wrong means a parallel assessment with interest.

8. Cleaning & upkeep — 600 to 1,500 €

Someone has to open, air, clean and check the house between stays. If you do not live nearby, that is 600-1,500 € a year in periodic service. It is not optional in a home that spends months closed: damp and neglect cost more than the cleaning.

Year-by-year cash flow (800,000 € base case, 5 years)

Here it all is, in one place. Year 0 is the purchase cost (transfer tax of 8-10%, notary, registry and stamp duty, around 80,000 € — the one-off side covered in our guide to the costs of buying a house in Spain). Years 1 to 5 are running costs. The last row — the cumulative total — is the one worth reading twice.

Figures in €. Base case 800,000 €. Year 0 = purchase costs; years 1-5 = running costs.

Five years of ownership: about 171,500 € out the door, of which 91,500 € is pure running cost that never comes back (the rest is the purchase). And that is before a single euro of mortgage. Finance 60% of the price — standard for a second home — and the interest stacks on top.

And if you put it on holiday let...

The popular assumption: I rent it out and it pays for itself. The numbers say otherwise. Gross rental yield in Spain ran about 6.7% in Q1 2026 (idealista); on 800,000 € that looks like 48,000 € a year. But out of that come professional management (20-25%), the 4-6 weeks kept for personal use and not earning, income tax on the return, and the accelerated wear of a home that cycles guests. The real net yield drops to 2-4%.

Then there is the regulation, shifting under your feet. The national single rental register (NRA) was mandatory from July 2025, and the Supreme Court struck it down in May 2026 (ruling 620/2026). Still in force: the single digital window that shares data with the platforms, and the regional registers — the Balearics, the Canaries and others keep their own, each with its own limits. The translation: buy to rent, and the purchase includes a moving regulatory target. Price it in.

Co-ownership: how the cash flow changes

Managed co-ownership does not touch one line of the list above. It touches all of them at once. The buyer takes a fraction (one-eighth) with registered title, not a usage right, and a single annual fee covers maintenance, management, cleaning, insurance and turnaround. The entry ticket drops to 100,000-200,000 € (an eighth of an 800,000-1,600,000 € home), and the recurring running cost for the co-owner is around 3,000-8,000 € a year.

The honest comparison has two readings, and they should not be mixed:

• Capital tied up: ~100,000-200,000 € versus 800,000 € plus purchase costs. That is where the ~85% saving sits: one-eighth immobilised instead of the whole.
• Annual running cost: ~3,000-8,000 € versus 18,000-26,000 €, and none of the management lands on you. The saving here is large too — on the order of 65-85% — and it comes with something no table shows: zero calls from the plumber.

The key question: who captures the appreciation?

The most common objection: 'with co-ownership I don't get the appreciation.' False. With full ownership you capture 100% of the asset's appreciation. Co-ownership captures 100% of your fraction: own an eighth, and when the house rises 14%, that eighth rises the same 14%. Same proportion, far less capital tied up. The gain is not split worse; it is split the same, on a smaller base you chose.

A quick calculator for your budget

Three scenarios, to place your budget. Running cost scales almost in line with the price, because maintenance — that 1% — dominates. The co-ownership fees are estimates:

Co-ownership fee reflects Vivla's confirmed band (~3,000-8,000 €/year) for fractions of 100,000-200,000 €. The 500,000 € scenario sits below that band (1/8 ≈ 62,000 €): figure to be confirmed.

Frequently asked questions

What does it cost to keep an 800,000 € home empty?

Between 18,000 and 26,000 € a year in running costs (IBI, community fees, insurance, minimum utilities, maintenance, imputed income tax, accountant and cleaning), before any mortgage. Empty does not mean cheap: maintenance, minimum utilities and the imputed-income charge are paid regardless.

Is second-home maintenance tax-deductible?

If the home is empty or for personal use, no: against the income the tax office imputes, no expense is deductible (Agencia Tributaria, art. 85 LIRPF). It only changes with a rental: for the rented days, the proportional expenses (IBI, community fees, insurance, interest) are deductible against the rental income.

What does Vivla's annual fee include?

Maintenance, full management, cleaning, insurance and turnaround between stays, plus the proportional share of IBI and community fees. The idea is a predictable fee and nothing to manage — no providers, no bills, no surprises.

Do I pay IBI in a co-ownership?

Yes, but proportional to your fraction and normally bundled into the annual fee, not a separate bill you have to chase. The co-owner pays an eighth of the home's IBI, just as they capture an eighth of the appreciation.

And if I put it on holiday let?

Gross yield averaged about 6.7% in Q1 2026 (idealista), but the real net drops to 2-4% after management, tax, personal-use weeks and wear. Add a moving regulatory target: the national register was struck down by the Supreme Court in May 2026, while regional registers stay in force. Count on it before you assume it pays for itself.