Property Caretaking on Mallorca: What It Costs

If you only use your finca or apartment a few weeks a year, you know the feeling at departure: what if a storm rips tiles off the roof, the pool pump fails, or a neighbor mentions someone was at the gate? Property caretaking on Mallorca answers exactly those worries. A property manager checks on the place regularly, manages the keys, lets tradespeople in, and gets the house ready before you arrive. This article covers what the service includes, what it typically costs, and how to spot a reliable provider. How this differs from a community's building management is covered in the guide on property management on Mallorca.

What Property Caretaking Actually Covers

Property caretaking is the regular inspection and management of a property on behalf of an absent owner. The caretaker checks the building and its systems, holds the keys, coordinates tradespeople and other service providers, and reports any damage. They are your point of contact on the ground, without being a landlord or the manager of an owners' community.

In practice, that means someone stops by every one to two weeks, airs the place out, runs water through every tap so legionella cannot build up in standing pipes, checks for damp, mold, and signs of a break-in, empties the mailbox, and checks the fuses, hot water, and irrigation system. After a storm, there is an extra visit, ideally with photos. Someone who has done this for years spots a damp corner before the ceiling comes down.

Beyond that, most caretakers offer the following, often through partner firms:

• Key management and access for tradespeople, pool service, gardeners, and deliveries
• Obtaining quotes, commissioning repairs, and signing off on the finished work
• Sorting mail and forwarding official letters, for example from the town hall or the Agencia Tributaria
• Getting the house ready before arrival: cleaning, bed linen, stocking the fridge, turning on hot water and air conditioning
• For holiday rentals: check-in, check-out, and laundry
• Emergency response for water damage, power outages, or an alarm going off

The last two items are not standard, they are add-on packages. If you need them, ask for them to be itemized separately in the quote.

What Property Caretaking Costs on Mallorca

Most providers charge a flat monthly fee that covers the visits and travel. One example from a published 2026 price list, a firm on the east of the island: for a property up to 150 square meters, a fortnightly check costs 80 EUR a month, a weekly check 120 EUR, both plus IVA and only on an annual contract. A provider near Palma in the south quotes "from 99 EUR a month" for regular checks with a photo report, also plus IVA. Larger fincas with grounds, properties in remote locations, and providers with an English- or German-speaking office charge more; 150 to 250 EUR a month is not unusual there. Many larger firms publish no price list at all and quote a fixed price after a viewing.

Two other models exist alongside the flat fee. Some caretakers bill purely by the hour, usually between 30 and 55 EUR depending on the task, plus travel. That makes sense if you only need someone occasionally, for example to let in a tradesperson. For holiday rentals, many providers instead charge a percentage of the rental income. That is only fair if guest services, laundry, and guest communication are genuinely included; a plain check-in visit does not justify a revenue share. What the rental itself requires in terms of rules and registration is covered in the guide on holiday rentals on Mallorca.

For an owner who only sees the island in spring and autumn, the flat fee pays for itself quickly. An unnoticed water leak after a downpour, or a pool that turns green over three unattended weeks in August, costs a multiple of a year's contract. What a pool otherwise costs to run is covered in the article on pool costs on Mallorca.

What to Check in the Contract

A handshake with a friendly neighbor is fine for watering the plants. If you are handing over a key to a property worth six figures, get these points in writing:

1. The scope of work with a fixed interval: how often someone comes, exactly what gets checked, and whether there is a report with photos. "Regular checks" is not an agreement.
2. The key arrangement: how many copies the caretaker holds, where they are kept, and how handovers to tradespeople are documented.
3. A spending limit for repairs without prior approval. 150 to 300 EUR is common; anything above that needs your sign-off by email first.
4. Proof of public liability insurance (seguro de responsabilidad civil). Ask to see the policy, not just a verbal assurance.
5. Billing via a monthly invoice with IVA and the company's NIF. Tradespeople's invoices should be passed on in original form, and any flat markup must be shown separately.
6. Term and termination. Annual contracts are normal, so is a three-month notice period. Have any automatic renewal for another year removed.
7. The emergency chain: who is reachable outside office hours, and who steps in if the caretaker themselves is on holiday.

One point many owners overlook: hire a private individual regularly for pay instead of a company, and you can quickly become an employer. Spain's social security system runs the Sistema Especial para Empleados de Hogar for exactly this, with registration and contribution obligations. How that works in practice is covered in the article on registering household help (empleada de hogar). A company issuing its own invoices takes this problem off your hands.

Telling Reliable Providers Apart

The market ranges from a one-person operation with a small car looking after ten houses in the village, to a firm with an office in Palma and twenty employees. Both can be good. What matters more than size is a handful of things you can ask about in your first conversation:

• A registered business (S.L. or autónomo) with a NIF that appears on invoices and the contract
• Proof of liability insurance
• Sample inspection reports, ideally with photos and dates
• References from your area, ideally owners you are allowed to call
• A clear statement of which services they perform themselves and which go to partners
• Availability: fixed office hours and an emergency number

Be wary if payment is requested only in cash or only to a personal account, if no invoice with IVA is issued, or if a provider claims to handle "everything" from pool to electrics to roofing without naming any partners. A caretaker who openly says which specialist firm they bring in for what is usually the better choice.

Being geographically close also matters. Someone based in Santanyí will not rush to Pollença after a storm. Ask specifically how long it takes them to reach your house, and whether an extra check after an AEMET storm warning is included in the price or billed separately. Owners can find vetted firms for cleaning and property caretaking, pool, and garden in the Mallorca Plus service provider directory.

What does property caretaking cost per month on Mallorca?

For regular check-in visits, expect 80 to 150 EUR a month plus IVA depending on property size and interval, more for larger fincas and full-service packages. Pool, garden, and cleaning are billed separately.

Do I need property caretaking if my apartment is in a complex with an administrador?

The administrador only looks after common areas and the community's finances. Your own apartment, its plumbing, windows, and mail are not their responsibility. For longer absences, separate caretaking still makes sense.

Can I just pay a neighbor for this?

Occasional checking in is not a problem. Once it happens regularly and for pay, it can turn into an employment relationship with registration requirements at Social Security. There is also no liability insurance if something goes wrong.

The Bottom Line

Property caretaking on Mallorca costs second-home owners 80 to 150 EUR a month for the check-in visits, with separate packages for pool and garden on top. Measured against an unnoticed water leak, that is not much. The contract is what matters: scope of work, keys, spending limit, insurance, and termination belong on paper, and the provider should hand over invoices, a NIF, and proof of liability insurance without being asked twice. Add a caretaker who can reach the house in twenty minutes, not ninety. What an empty property costs over a year in other respects is broken down in the guide on running costs on Mallorca.