📌 What is the support fee?
This is an annual fee that apartment owners pay for the maintenance of the complex's common areas—grounds, entrances, elevators, swimming pools, security, landscaping, etc.
💶 Approximate prices in 2026 in Bulgaria
🧱 Apartments in residential complexes
📍 This format is most common in resort and new residential projects:
💸 By area (most common):
🔹 ~5–8 €/m² per year — small or no pools, basic maintenance, lowest prices
🔹 10–12 €/m² per year — standard residential complexes
🔹 12–15 €/m² per year — seaside resort complexes with pools and security
🔹 15–20 €/m² per year — residential complexes, often premium segment, with pools and spas and security
🔹 €60–100/m² per year — Emerald Apartment Hotel
📍 This format is most common in resort and new residential projects:
➡️ If, for example, you have a 60 m² apartment and the maintenance fee is €10/m², the maintenance fee will be ≈ €600 per year (~€50/month).
📊 Fixed Rate
Some complexes charge a fixed amount per year, rather than based on square footage:
~€300–500 per year — small complexes
~€600–2,000 per year — large projects with infrastructure
➡️ These rates are common in coastal properties, where the infrastructure extends beyond just entrances.
🏙️ Standard residential buildings (not complexes)
Even in a standard apartment building (not a large complex), there is often maintenance for common areas:
✔️ Elevator, lighting, cleaning
💶 Typically ≈ €50–€200 per year per apartment—significantly less than in a complex with swimming pools and amenities.
🧠 What's included in the maintenance fee:
The fee typically covers:
✔️ Cleaning of common areas
✔️ Elevator and its maintenance
✔️ Lighting for the grounds and entrances
✔️ Security/guards/cameras
✔️ Maintenance of the pool, green areas, and playgrounds (if any)
✔️ Repairs to common areas and funds for future maintenance
⚠️ Note: Recently, there has been a trend to exclude parking services from the maintenance fee. For example, in the Sunny Day, Cascadas, Paradise Garden, Sunny View Central, and Panorama Dreams complexes, there are restrictions in Fort Noks. In addition to the maintenance fee, a fee for cars is charged, although maintenance has always been included in the fee.
📍 Results
✔️ The maintenance fee is not a government tax, but a fee for the maintenance of the common property and infrastructure of the complex.
✔️ In 2026, typical maintenance fee rates in Bulgaria were: ≈ 5–20 €/m² per year.
✔️ Large projects with swimming pools, security, and landscaping cost closer to 20 €/m², while simple houses cost closer to 5–8 €/m².
✔️ In city houses without infrastructure, maintenance costs are much cheaper—often up to 200 € per year.
If you'd like, I can calculate an approximate maintenance fee for a specific type of apartment—for example, 50 m² or 80 m² in your area (e.g., Burgas or Sunny Beach). Tell me the area and city, and I'll do the calculation.
The maintenance fee in Bulgaria is roughly equivalent to what's called a "comunidad" in Spain—a fee for maintaining the common areas of a residential complex or apartment building.
The Sherlock Homes website always expertly lists the maintenance fee for each apartment or property in a residential complex. This is standard practice, as the maintenance fee is an important part of a property owner's actual expenses in Bulgaria. This ensures that people immediately understand the real monthly housing costs, in addition to the purchase price. The management company (ZhEK) is also always listed, allowing you to monitor the quality of the work performed. If you're looking for apartments without a maintenance fee, you can find them in our dedicated section.
