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HOA Fees: how to legally challenge unjustified increases - La Nacion Propiedades
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Expensas: cómo impugnar legalmente aumentos injustificados
Antes de la impugnación formal, se recomienda pedir constancias de gastos y facturas y ante alguna irregularidad solicitar que se subsanen los errores
www.lanacion.com.ar
March 05, 2026
Before filing a formal complaint, it is recommended to request receipts and invoices, and if any irregularities are found, to request that the errors be corrected.
Expenses can be a point of tension for many homeowners and tenants.Ricardo Pristupluk
In a context of constant price increases and ever-more expensive services , building maintenance fees have become a point of contention for many homeowners and tenants . However, current regulations clearly establish what a building management company can charge, how expenses must be justified, and what recourse a homeowner has when they believe an increase is unjustified .
The legal basis is precise and, as Enrique Abatti, a lawyer specializing in Real Estate Law and president of the Chamber of Owners of the Argentine Republic, explains, owners have concrete rights to review, object to and challenge settlements that do not comply with the law.
Article 2046, section c), of the Civil and Commercial Code establishes that the owner is obligated to pay “ ordinary and extraordinary expenses in proportion to their undivided share of the functional unit.” Article 2048, in turn, stipulates that the owner must pay “the ordinary common expenses set by the building management and the extraordinary expenses determined by resolution of the assembly.” This distinction is fundamental because it implies that the management cannot impose extraordinary expenses without a prior decision by the owners gathered in assembly.
The administration cannot charge extraordinary expenses without a prior decision from the owners gathered in assembly. Shutterstock
Article 2067 of the same code details the administrator's obligations: they must "prepare the accounts for expenses and collect the necessary funds to cover them" and " submit an accounting within 60 days of the close of the fiscal year established by the horizontal property regulations." Furthermore, to access the reserve fund for unforeseen expenses exceeding ordinary costs, "they must request prior authorization from the owners' council."
In this context, owners are entitled to review the supporting documentation for expenses, and the administrator "must allow access to it," explains Abatti. This right of access is key to detecting errors, excesses, or misallocated expenses.
When an owner believes there have been unjustified increases in maintenance fees, the first step is to request proof of expenses, invoices, contracts, and other documentation from the building management. This can be done via certified letter or email, provided that the latter method has been established as a valid form of notification in the bylaws or by a meeting of the owners, as permitted by Article 75 of the Code, amended by Decree 338/2025. Once the documentation has been reviewed, if irregularities are found, the owner should "notify the building management and the owners' council by a valid means (...) so that they can correct the errors." If this does not occur, the matter proceeds to the formal challenge stage.
When a homeowner believes there have been unjustified increases in expenses, the first step is to request from the administration a record of the expenses, invoices, contracts, and other documentation.Shutterstock
The formal challenge begins with a formal request to the administration, also through a verifiable means, to convene an extraordinary general meeting to address the issue and record the challenge in the minutes. If this attempt fails, the challenging owner(s) representing 10% of the total number of owners may petition a judge to convene a judicial meeting. This mechanism, although rarely used, is designed to prevent the administration or a temporary majority from blocking the handling of a legitimate claim.
Before initiating any procedure, it's important to compare previous maintenance fees with current increases , taking into account the INDEC Consumer Price Index (CPI), verify that the percentage corresponding to the functional unit was calculated correctly, and check if the reserve fund was used. Often, discrepancies arise from calculation errors or incorrectly categorized expenses .
How have the increases in expenses been?
In that sense, according to the January report from Octavo Piso, for example, expenses in 2025 had increases well above the inflation reported by INDEC: it was 75% in buildings in CABA , almost 60% in the province of Buenos Aires and 27% in gated communities , compared to 31.5% from the official agency.Meanwhile, Consorcio Abierto estimated that in January 2026 the average increase in expenses in CABA was 2.5% compared to December 2025 (it is 324,404 pesos), although for this platform the year-on-year increase within its database is 38.1%.
If the administrator does not respond to requests for expense reports or does not provide the required information, the owner can file a complaint. Archive
But beyond the calculations, which can serve as a reference, if the administrator does not respond to requests or provide the required information, the owner can file a complaint with the Registry of Administrators in the jurisdiction and even with Consumer Protection. Both options are available when the administration fails to meet its obligations regarding information and transparency .
While these procedures are underway, the owner can avoid defaulting by paying under protest, “challenging the assessment, reserving the right to initiate legal action,” or directly depositing the payment with the court. According to Abatti, all of these options should be evaluated beforehand by a lawyer, as each case presents unique circumstances and different consequences.
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