Predial and Administración in Medellín: How Owners Pay Them

Once the deed is registered, two recurring bills start arriving whether or not you're in the country. One comes from the city: predial, the municipal property tax. The other comes from your building: administración, the monthly common-expense fee. Both stay with the property, both can block a future sale if they go unpaid, and both are easy to manage once you understand how they work. This guide explains each, using the Alcaldía de Medellín's own tax rules and Colombia's horizontal-property law, and ends with a simple system for owners who live abroad.

Two bills, two very different creditors

How predial works in Medellín

Medellín's substantive tax rules are in Acuerdo 093 de 2023, the city's current tax statute. For an apartment owner, these are the parts that matter:

• It's a tax on the property itself. The statute calls predial a real tax ("gravamen real") that falls on the property. The city can pursue the property for unpaid tax no matter who owns it now. In practice, a buyer inherits a seller's unpaid predial unless it's cleared at closing.
• The owner or possessor pays. The taxpayer is the owner or possessor of property in the city. Co-owners pay in proportion to their share.
• The base is the avalúo catastral. The tax is calculated on the cadastral value, which can come from cadastral formation, updates or an approved self-appraisal. It's usually different from market value. Our avalúo catastral vs market value guide explains the gap.
• Rates are differential. The statute sets differential rates within a general range of 5 to 16 per thousand of the avalúo, with higher ceilings for some undeveloped lots. Your bill shows what applies to your property.
• It accrues on January 1, for the year. Payment is split into four quarterly installments during the tax year.
• Increases are capped after reappraisals. The statute limits how much the tax can rise after a cadastral update and refers to the national limits in Ley 1995 de 2019 for other years. Even so, your bill can rise when the avalúo is updated, so budget for that.

The early-payment discount, and how to use it

Medellín's tax statute (Article 423 of Acuerdo 093) lets the mayor set an early-payment discount each year of up to 5% of the tax, subject to the city's finances. For 2026, Decreto 0080 de 2026 set a 5% discount on the full year's tax for anyone who paid the whole year by March 27, 2026.

How it worked in 2026, according to the decree:

• The bill carried two barcodes, one to pay the full year with the discount and one to pay by quarter.
• The discount was calculated separately for each property an owner holds.
• Owners with debts from earlier years could still get the discount, but had to pay those arrears together with the 2026 tax.
• Taking a payment plan for the 2026 tax meant no discount.

Paying predial when you live abroad

The Alcaldía encourages its online channels, where taxpayers can check their account, download the bill and pay. It also accepts payment at authorized banks and the city's service points. For a foreign owner, the practical options are:

1. Pay online yourselfDownload the bill from the Secretaría de Hacienda's portal and pay with a Colombian account. A Colombian bank account makes this much easier.
2. Delegate to a manager or trusted personGive your property manager or lawyer written authority and the funds to pay, and ask them to send you the receipt each time.
3. Calendar both datesNote the early-payment deadline and your quarterly due dates. Hacienda says the dates without discount or interest can vary by zone, so check the bill for yours.
4. Keep the receiptsSave every receipt with your deed. You'll need a clean record when you sell.

How administración works under Ley 675

Most Medellín apartments are in buildings under the horizontal-property regime of Ley 675 de 2001. The law is blunt about the basics:

• Owners must pay, even if the unit sits empty. Article 29 says the obligation applies even when the owner doesn't live there or doesn't use a particular common service.
• Owner and occupant are jointly liable. For ordinary fees, the owner and the person occupying the unit (a tenant, for example) answer jointly. A lease that makes the tenant pay doesn't take you off the hook.
• The owners' assembly sets the budget. Under Article 38, the assembly approves the annual budget and the ordinary and extraordinary fees. Article 39 requires it to meet at least once a year, on the date set in the bylaws, or within three months after the budget period ends if the bylaws don't set one.
• Late payment carries interest. Article 30 sets late interest at one and a half times the current banking interest rate, unless the assembly sets a lower rate. While the debt lasts, the building may post the situation in permitted places, and the minutes must list the debtors.
• Collection can go to court quickly. Under Article 48, the administrator's certificate of the debt serves as the enforceable title (título ejecutivo) in a collection lawsuit.

The administrator also issues the paz y salvo when a unit changes owner or occupant (Article 51). Our guide to owning in a propiedad horizontal covers assemblies, voting and how to read the budget.

Both bills at closing, and again when you sell

Predial and administración debts follow the property, so they're part of closing, not an afterthought.

• Predial: Acuerdo 093 requires proof of payment (a paz y salvo) before a deed transferring the property is notarized.
• Administración: Ley 675 says the notary will ask for a paz y salvo from the building's legal representative. If one isn't provided, the deed records that it was requested and that the new owner is jointly liable for unpaid fees. Old and new owner answer jointly for debts that existed at the transfer.

For buyers, that means your lawyer should get both paz y salvos before the deed. Our certificado de tradición guide and closing costs breakdown show where they fit. For future sellers, a clean payment history saves weeks when you sell (see selling later).

A simple system for absentee owners

Missed payments rarely come from unwillingness. They come from bills arriving at an address no one checks. Set this up in your first month (our first 60 days checklist has the rest):

• Confirm the predial account is in your name after registration, and that you can see it online
• Ask the administración to send statements by email, and give them a local contact
• Decide who pays each bill: you online, your manager, or an automatic debit from a Colombian account
• Keep a peso balance in Colombia large enough for one predial installment plus a few months of administración
• Add the January discount announcement and the quarterly predial dates to your calendar
• Ask for copies of the annual budget and assembly minutes every year
• Give your proxy written authority to attend the assembly if you can't
• File every receipt with your deed, ready for a future sale

If a manager will handle these payments, put the duty in writing and ask for receipts. Our property manager contract checklist shows how.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information for property owners. It is not legal or tax advice. Tax rates, discounts and deadlines are set by the Distrito de Medellín and can change each year, so check your bill and the Alcaldía's current announcements, and confirm your situation with a Colombian accountant or lawyer.