Maintaining a Beachfront Apartment: The 4 Real Charges

A beachfront apartment is not sustained by a single receipt. There are four charges from four different sources: the condominium fee, property tax, the annual federal zone right when there is a concession, and insurance. Two have their rate or rule in a public regulation; the other two depend on private documents from your condominium. The monthly figure they give you when quoting is only one of the four.

What are the charges for a beachfront apartment and where does each one come from?

There are four, and it's worth looking at them separately because they arise from different rules.

The condominium fee and reserve fund. They are created by the Condominium Property Law of the State of Quintana Roo: it corresponds to the General Assembly to establish the fees for maintenance and administration, and the reserve fund (art. 31 fr. IX). The amount is not published in any gazette: it comes from the constitutive deed and the Condominium Regulations. With the fee you pay for what belongs to everyone, which is more than it appears. The art. 23 declares common property the land, the facade and the perimeter walls—precisely the elements that a coastal tower degrades more quickly and that no one maintains alone.

Property tax. Each municipality sets it in its Tax Law. I develop this below.

The annual federal zone right (ZOFEMAT), when the property has a concession. It is the only charge that no inland apartment pays. The 2026 fee for general use in Subzone B—which includes Tulum, Cancún, Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos—is 199.25 MXN per square meter per year, according to the Federal Rights Law updated in Annex 4 of the RMF 2026. Watch for a point that almost nobody explains: the Federal Zone Regulations themselves warn that continuing to occupy the area when the concession expires and paying the corresponding rights "shall not be understood as an extension of it" (art. 30, last paragraph). The paid receipt is not a current title.

Insurance. Here is the fine point: the law does not require insurance. The art. 41 par. 2 says that the Regulations may establish the obligation to contract insurance against hydrometeorological phenomena. That the law does not require it does not mean that no one can require it of you: if your Regulations include it, it is mandatory for you. Coverage and exclusions are another matter.

If you buy within the restricted zone, there is also a fifth recurring cost associated with the vehicle that sustains the property and charges its own annual commission.

What it means for you: ask for all four figures separately before signing. The one they are going to give you is only one.

How much property tax is paid, and why does it change by municipality?

It changes because each municipality sets its own rate in its Tax Law. In Tulum the rate for developed urban properties is a factor of 0.0017 annually on the base (art. 32). In Playa del Carmen it is 0.0019 for developed urban properties (art. 14). In Cancún, operating residential work pays 2.45 per thousand on the cadastral value and 2.8 per thousand on the declared value (art. 14).

Municipality	Residential developed property tax rate	How the law expresses the rate
Tulum	0.0017 annually on the base	Decimal factor
Playa del Carmen	0.0019 annually on the base	Decimal factor
Cancún (Benito Juárez)	2.45 on cadastral value / 2.8 on declared value	Per thousand

The counterintuitive detail is in the base. In Tulum it is not the cadastral value alone: the law chooses, among the cadastral value, the bank value, the declared value or the income that the property produces or could produce, "taking into consideration the highest value" (art. 30). Property tax is covered by two-month periods in advance, in the first ten days of January, March, May, July, September and November, with the option of advance annual payment (Tulum art. 34; Benito Juárez art. 16).

What it means for you: coastal property tax is a calendar payment, not an annual receipt, and its base can increase without the municipality touching the rate.

Can they raise your fee without your vote, and can you refuse to pay it?

You cannot refuse, and yes they can raise it. The law is clear: "The maintenance fees referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not be subject to compensation, personal exceptions, nor to any other circumstance that may excuse their payment and shall be non-prescriptible" (art. 42 fr. I). "I don't use the amenities" is not a defense.

There are three ways your fee can move without your individual consent. First: the amount is integrated in proportion to your ownership interest, the percentage stated in the constitutive deed (arts. 42 fr. II and 9 fr. VI); it is not negotiated per unit, it is read in the title. Second: the extraordinary fee, "the monetary amount agreed by the General Assembly to cover unforeseen or extraordinary expenses" (art. 2 fr. X), which the Assembly approves by its majorities. Third: if your Regulations provide for it, the Administrator can distribute a delinquent's debt "among the remaining Condominium owners... in proportion to the value of their properties, until recovery of the debt" (art. 43 par. 4), with subsequent reimbursement. It does not operate on its own: it requires that clause in the Regulations.

What it means for you: all three ways live in the constitutive deed and in the Regulations. Ask for them before signing.

What really happens if you stop paying maintenance?

Maintenance is not a discretionary expense: it is a liability with its own executive procedure and a short timeline. Uncovered fees incur interest at the rate set by the Regulations or the Assembly, non-compounding, plus penalties and attorney fees (art. 43 par. 1).

The statement of account signed by the Administrator and the President of the Oversight Committee "carries enforcement in civil executive proceedings... This action can only be exercised when there are three ordinary fees or one extraordinary fee pending payment" (art. 43 par. 3). Three ordinary fees: months, not years.

The ceiling of risk is in art. 44: the condominium owner who repeatedly fails to comply "may be sued to be required to sell their rights even in public auction", with the agreement of the extraordinary assembly representing at least 75% of the ownership interest, to which the delinquent is also summoned. And credit for fees is preferentially guaranteed by the property itself, with the express phrase "even if the Unit of Exclusive Property is transferred to third parties" (art. 49 par. 1): the property responds, not a personal debt of the buyer.

What it means for you: before buying second-hand, ask the Administrator for a debt settlement statement. How to buy without inheriting a liability starts there.

Frequently asked questions

Can they cut off my water for not paying maintenance?

No. When private area services are paid with the condominium fund, the Administrator can suspend them to the delinquent condominium owner with prior authorization from the oversight committee, "except when it is water service" (art. 43 par. 5). Water is expressly outside that power; other common services are not.

If I rent the apartment, does the tenant respond for the fees?

If a non-owner occupant fails to meet their obligations or violates the Regulations, the Administrator files suit against the occupant and against the owner condominium owner (art. 45). It does not transfer responsibility: it adds it. As owner you continue to respond, even if the use is held by another person under your rental contract.

If I have accumulated interest and fines, does my payment go first to the fee?

No. Payments are applied in chronological order: first fines, interest, penalties and attorney fees; then ordinary fees; then extraordinary fees; and finally the reserve fund (art. 43 par. 2). A partial payment can be consumed in accessories before touching the fee, so the underlying debt does not decrease as you would expect.

Who decides how much I pay for maintenance?

The General Assembly establishes maintenance fees and the reserve fund (art. 31 fr. IX). The first contributions to establish both funds are determined by the Condominium Regulations, in proportion to your ownership interest (art. 42 fr. II). Neither the developer nor the administrator sets the amount on their own: the power belongs to the Assembly, under the rules of the Regulations.

What happens to fee debt when the unit is sold?

The notary who prepares the deed must require from the seller a certificate of no fee debt signed by the Administrator, plus proof of the last three payments (art. 46). Additionally, the contract must state that the unit is current (art. 12). The law does not impose on the buyer a personal debt for what the seller left; if that credit is enforceable against him without registration, the law does not resolve it: it is a matter for your attorney.

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An honest closing: the figure the market quotes—a monthly amount per square meter—does not fit in this article because it depends on the condominium, and we do not estimate it here. What you can demand before signing are the four figures separately, the constitutive deed and the Regulations. If you want a Propyte advisor to help you ask for and review those documents for a specific unit, schedule a conversation with the team.

Informational content. Does not substitute individual legal or tax advice. Professional review: Jorge Alonso, attorney in real estate matters and condominium regime, with tax support for the municipal layer. Effective date of figures: ZOFEMAT fees updated as of January 1, 2026; municipal rates according to the consolidated POE 10-12-2025; Condominium Property Law, last reform POE 12-11-2021. Municipal rates are reviewed every December and federal rates every January 1.