IBI and Community Fees in the Liquidation of Spanish Matrimonial Property: Supreme Court (STS 667/2026) Always Includes Them in the Liabilities

Spanish Supreme Court Judgment 667/2026 of 4 May consolidates the case-law: IBI council tax, ordinary and extraordinary community fees and home insurance are *propter rem* obligations that must be entered as liabilities in the inventory of the marital community, regardless of which ex-spouse uses the property after separation. Analysis of the €14,912 Extremadura case and a practical guide for Costa Blanca divorces.

A judgment that ends years of contradictory criteria

The Spanish Supreme Court has issued a landmark ruling for civil and family law: STS (1st Chamber) No. 667/2026 of 4 May, with Justice Manuel Almenar Belenguer as rapporteur. The First Chamber establishes unequivocally how the Impuesto sobre Bienes Inmuebles (IBI) — Spanish council tax on real estate — and the community-of-owners fees must be treated after the dissolution of the marriage: they must be entered as liabilities in the inventory of the marital community (sociedad de gananciales), regardless of which ex-spouse uses the property at the time of liquidation.

For the thousands of mixed and Spanish couples owning property on the Costa Blanca (Torrevieja, Orihuela Costa, Moraira, Calpe) and facing divorce or separation, this doctrine completely reshapes how the liquidation must be structured.

1. The key legal distinction: use vs. ownership

The Supreme Court draws a strict line between occupation costs and ownership costs:

a) Use-related costs (borne by the occupying spouse)

Bills tied to the daily use of the property — water, electricity, gas, telephone, internet — fall exclusively on the spouse who remains in the home. The Chamber relies on the well-established STS 399/2018.

b) Ownership-related costs (borne by the marital community)

Ordinary community fees and the IBI are *propter rem* obligations: indissolubly tied to ownership. They follow the right of property, not possession, even when generated after the marital community has ended. The fact that one co-owner is not using the property does not release them from the legal duty to pay.

2. Consolidated case-law: from 2006 to 2026

The judgment traces the evolution of the Civil Chamber's doctrine and recalls STS 646/2006 and STS 588/2008, which already held that the IBI is a charge on the assets of the marital estate. The same logic applies to:

  • Extraordinary community levies (derramas).
  • Home insurance, which covers both building and contents in favour of the joint property.
  • Necessary conservation and improvement works carried out during the liquidation period.