Suma

If you bought in July 2022 then the previous owner is responsible for payment this year. Whoever owns the property in January 1st is responsible for payment that year.

Your solicitor should have retained money from the previous owner for this & other payments. He/she would usually change the direct debit for you. I would contact your solicitor.

For your information (as you appear to be a new owner), SUMA is the name of the agency that collects the annual IBI (similar to the UK rates) for your town in the Alicante Province area.   The same agency also collects the car tax each year, should you own a vehicle.

Yes, just to confirm  what Peterpan  has said that although the IBI is paid by the owner of the property on Jan 1st, it isn’t normally collected until early October. Your solicitor should have been holding the money to pay it, but you need to check with them and ask for proof of payment. Your solicitor should have explained all of this to you at the time of purchase.

If the solicitor has forgotten to pay, before it could be years before the debt re-appears, by which time the retained money will have been returned to the previous owner and the debt and fines will be your responsibility.

Occasionally on mutual agreement the IBI payment may need to be paid either in full or in part by the new owner.  So a quick call or email to your solicitor will give you all the answers. You should have now received and be paying a full set of utility bills, water, electric and if you are on a community you should have had contact with the administration company. You probably should have made a basura payment by now, but different municipalities have different ways and times for collecting.  So if any of these haven’t happened, mention that to your solicitor.

Lynn