Maintenance fee in Bulgaria: what it is and what to read in the contract

Almost every apartment on the coast comes with an annual maintenance fee. In a price list it is a single number, but behind it there is a legal arrangement: it decides what you pay for, how the amount can change and what happens when you sell. It is worth understanding before you sign anything.

What the fee pays for

The fee covers the running of the parts of the building and the complex that all owners share. The Condominium Management Act (ЗУЕС) divides these costs into two groups. Management costs are the manager’s remuneration and the materials needed to run the building. Maintenance costs are electricity, water and heating of the common areas, cleaning, lift service and the other expenses needed to keep the common parts in order. In a resort complex the list is usually longer:

• security and controlled entry, and often a reception;
• cleaning of staircases, corridors and outdoor areas;
• pool care, and in many complexes a lifeguard in season;
• gardens, outdoor lighting, lifts and technical systems;
• insurance of the common parts, where the contract provides for it.

The fee does not normally include your own electricity and water, anything inside your apartment, or the annual property tax and waste fee, which you pay to the municipality.

Two ways the fee is set

Which rules apply depends on the type of building, and this is the first thing we check.

A gated residential complex is defined by the law as a complex on its own plot, with one or more residential buildings, facilities for shared use and controlled access for outsiders. Here the management of the common parts is governed by a written contract between the developer and the owners, signed before a notary. The developer records the contract with the Registry Agency against every unit, and from then on it also binds every later buyer (Art. 2 ЗУЕС). The services, the amount and the way it is calculated come from that contract.

In an ordinary residential building with no such contract, the owners decide together through the general assembly. By default, management and maintenance costs are shared equally per resident, whatever the floor, and an apartment used for no more than 30 days a year pays the share of one person (Art. 51(1)). With at least 51% of the shares, the general assembly may choose another formula: per resident, by each unit’s percentage of the common parts, or equally per unit (Art. 51(9)). Repairs and contributions to the repair fund are always shared according to each owner’s percentage of the common parts (Art. 6(1)(9) and Art. 50).

In resort complexes the fee is usually quoted per square metre per year. Check which area is meant: the apartment alone, or the total area in your notarial deed, which also includes your share of the common parts. The same rate gives two different amounts.

What a maintenance contract usually contains

Contracts differ from complex to complex, but most deal with the same points. These are the ones we read first:

• Parties and term: who the manager is, whether the contract is for a fixed period or indefinite, and how it can be ended.
• Services: exactly what is included, and what is charged separately, such as rental management, winter checks of the apartment or key holding.
• Amount and formula: the rate per square metre or per unit, which area it applies to, and the currency.
• Changes: whether the fee is indexed, how much notice owners receive and whether they can object.
• Payment: once a year or in instalments, the due date, and the interest or penalty for late payment.
• Reporting: whether owners receive a yearly account of what was spent and can see the supporting documents.
• Liability and insurance: who answers for damage in the common parts and which policies are in place.
• Sale of the apartment: what the buyer takes over and how the seller proves that no fees are outstanding.

Your protection as an owner

An individual who owns an apartment and signs a contract with a property manager is a consumer under EU law, unless the apartment is used only for business. The Court of Justice of the EU confirmed this in 2022 in a case referred by the Nessebar District Court (Case C‑485/21). In practice this means a court can review the terms of a maintenance contract for fairness, and an unfair term does not bind the owner.

Separately, the law keeps a public register of professional managers at the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. It is meant for companies that manage other people's buildings as their business: for them, registration is a condition for doing this work (Art. 47b ЗУЕС), and the fine for working without it applies to a manager who owns nothing in the building it manages (Art. 55(4)). In a gated complex the manager is usually the investor itself, acting under the Art. 2 contract and often still owning the land and shared facilities. That is a different arrangement, and what you check there is the contract and its registration against your apartment. If management has been handed to an outside company, it is reasonable to ask it for proof of registration.

Before you buy: three questions

• Ask for the maintenance contract itself, not only the price list, and check whether it is recorded against the apartment.
• On a resale, ask the seller for written confirmation from the manager that no fees are outstanding.
• Ask what last year’s fee was and what it actually covered, so that the figure you plan with is real.

We read the maintenance contract as part of every purchase we handle and explain it to you in your language before any deposit is paid. If you already own an apartment and have questions about your contract, send it to us.