Prices and utilities in Bulgaria

Prices of goods and services and public utility costs in Bulgaria

The present section will help you get a notion of what life is like in Bulgaria. What the expenses of the owners of real properties are and the prices of the goods and services.

We will begin with the fact that in Bulgaria the “public utilities costs“ are not exactly what the citizens of EU countries are used to be. There are no monthly payments inclusive of the individual water, electricity consumption and heating bills, as well as of monthly contributions for maintenance of the building, common parts and the adjacent area. The public utilities bills in Bulgaria are clearly distributed among the different service providers and are paid separately.
 
Public utilities bills such as water and electricity consumption are paid based on the readings of the measurement instruments (meters) installed in every flat (or house) subject to the following tariffs:
 
Electricity consumption (as at present) – 0.097 Eur/1 kW/h
Water consumption – 1 Eur/m3
 
Telephone costs: ISDN installation – EUR 12, monthly subscription – approximately EUR 10.

Internet: initial installation charge – EUR 18, monthly subscription – approximately EUR 15.
 
The building maintenance costs are also covered by the owners, with different methods available for determining the amount of the maintenance fee.
 
In the event the real property is of urban type (for example, most residential buildings in Varna, Bourgas and Sofia), its maintenance, by rule, is reduced to: cleaning the communal entrances and the common areas, covering the costs for electricity consumption, security and current repairs of the building. In this case, the general meeting of the owners takes a decision on what staff will be hired and determines the amount of the remuneration for their services. The monthly instalments which every owner has to pay are formed based on that.  
 
The situation with the newly developed sites in the resorts in Bulgaria is different. The new generation real properties in the resorts are closed-type apart-complexes, located on a vast area and offering many conveniences to its owners (for example, a swimming pool, children’s and sports playgrounds, a car park, a reception desk and security, recreation centres, shops, etc.). This infrastructure requires continuous maintenance and that is why one of the characteristics of such properties is the so called “maintenance fee“. Its payment involves maintenance of the adjacent area of the complex (landscaping, swimming pools, outdoor lighting and common parts lighting, cleaning of the shares, non-stop and year-round security, refuse collection and refuse transportation, and complex maintenance). The fee is paid annually. The sum for each property is different, but varies between 6 and 12 Euro/m2 per year. Owing to this fee, your dwelling is under constant surveillance and the surrounding area is clean.
 
Alternatively, if you are the owner of a private house, in this case the expenses on the maintenance are very individual. If you reside in it permanently, the basic maintenance can be done by you. If the house is used on a seasonal basis for holiday purposes, then it is necessary that you take care of certain things. For example, to sign a contract with a security company. It is possible that you may need a gardener and a cleaner. In any case, we will help you with the organisation of the maintenance of your house!

Finally, the costs for the maintenance of your real property – these are the public utility bills (electricity and water consumption in accordance with the readings of the meters) plus the property maintenance fee.
 
 
With regard to the level of the prices of basic goods and services, here they are completely accessible to the citizens of EU countries. The table below shows the prices of the basic goods. This will help you orientate yourselves.