Among the expenses that increase in the pocket in the current context of high inflation, there are the expenses for those who live in condominium properties. The increase of these common expenses in buildings -in the first quarter of the year- They vary between 25% and 30%. Anywayabove inflation which, in the same period, accumulates 21.7%, according to INDEC.
Last year, the year-on-year increase matched the price index. However, this year, the pace of spending has picked up as with the rest of the economy. In January, compared to the previous month, they increased 10%, in February another 6% and in March 7%, (24.76% in the quarter) according to Octopus Prop Tech, a consortium management app.
Among the expenses included in the common expenses are the purchase of cleaning products, services, taxes and insurance, in addition to the manager salarywhich has an incidence of approx 60% of expenses.
For this reason, a fact to take into account is that, at the beginning of April, the Argentine Federation of Workers in Horizontal-Income Buildings (FATERyh) and the Ministry of Labor agreed to a 38% salary increase for condominium managers over the January pay scales to be paid through August. (20% is applied in April and the rest in installments of 6% between May and August),
The level of expenses for expenses also depends on other factors, such as the area in which the property is located, the size of the unit, the type of services available to the consortium or if it has facilities, among others”.
According to a survey by Consorcio Abierto, another company dedicated to the management of consortia, the average expenditure on buildings (excluding debts) corresponding to the month of March was $37,004 while in January, it was $33,960.
According to this information – out of about 6,000 consortia in the Federal Capital – 18% of the functional units have on average some debt in payments of the monthly payments intended for the maintenance of the property. And according to these documents, delinquency is -currently- 30%, similar to that of the last measurement in 2022.
On the other hand, if we take into account the debts that the units usually carry, the average condominium expenses corresponding to the month of March were $50,424 while in January they were approximately $46,904. That is, the change in this case was 7.50%.
“Many times the neighbors are willing to pay, but they pay the bills late because there are no expiration dates. In this sense, technology is a great facilitator”, explained Albano Laiuppa, director of ConsorcioAbierto.
However, sometimes other reasons for non-payment of expenses are added, such as the economic equation. “If a tenant or landlord does not pay, the interest rate applied is 5%, with which, this rate is low compared to the monthly inflation which is 8%, warns Juan Luciani Otaño, specialist in horizontal property and teacher of Civil Liability, consumer protection and occupational risks.
“But people who don’t pay, the rest hurts those with a greater social conscience tend to respect the rules of coexistence and remuneration”, he underlines. According to his vision, another obstacle could be added this year for tenants or landlords to promptly comply with the payment of expenses: the increase of public services such as electricity and gas in the context of the abolition of subsidies.
The Open Consortium manager adds that there are a few tactics administrators can optimize expense collection. For example, “Using technology so that neighbors can automatically analyze expenses, when they want, where they want, from their cell phone,” he says, “You can also schedule payment reminder messages to automatically be sent to neighbors when the payment date is due.” deadline is approaching and until when detect sudden increases or deviations”, proposed.
Source: Clarin
