Cost of Living in Tenerife 2026 – Bills, Electricity, Water, Internet

What does it really cost to live in an apartment in Tenerife every month?

Anyone can work out the purchase price of an apartment in a few minutes. Far fewer of our clients ask about the other side of the budget: what it actually costs to maintain a property month after month. Yet those are the numbers that decide whether a purchase "for rental income" or "for retirement" really adds up.

Below we gather realistic cost ranges for living in Tenerife in 2026 — electricity, water, internet, gas, community fees and insurance — based on a typical 2-bedroom apartment in the south of the island. Amounts are given as approximate ranges, as of today — energy tariffs and administrative fees change from year to year, so for any specific listing it's always worth asking the previous owner for their most recent bills.

Electricity — the biggest variable in the budget

The electricity bill (factura de la luz) is usually the most unpredictable item, largely because it depends heavily on air conditioning use.

• Apartment used seasonally, without regular AC use: approx. €40–70/month averaged over the year (more in summer, less in winter).
• Property used year-round with regular air conditioning (July–September): approx. €80–150/month, sometimes more in peak months with older, less energy-efficient AC units.
• A villa with a pool and pump typically adds another €30–60/month just for the pool pump during the season.

Two things are worth knowing before you buy: potencia contratada (contracted power — a fixed charge paid regardless of consumption; the higher it is, the more expensive the fixed part of the bill) and the supplier. Endesa dominates in Tenerife, but more and more owners are switching to cheaper tariffs from alternative suppliers — one of the first things worth checking after taking over a property.

Water — stable, but pricier than in Poland

The water bill (factura del agua) in Tenerife is usually higher than in Poland, because water on a volcanic island partly comes from desalination and deep groundwater sources, which raises production costs.

• 1–2 person household, seasonal use: approx. €25–40/month.
• Year-round use, 2–3 people: approx. €40–60/month.
• Bills usually arrive quarterly, so a single invoice can be 3–4 times higher than the monthly figures above — worth remembering when planning cash flow.

If the apartment has a garden or shared community pools, part of the water cost "leaks" into the Comunidad fee — more on that below.

Internet and phone — one of the cheaper items

This is good news compared to the other bills: internet in Tenerife, especially in the popular tourist areas of the south, is well developed and relatively cheap.

• Fibre (fibra) 300–600 Mb/s: approx. €30–40/month with the main operators (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, local offers).
• Internet + mobile phone bundle: approx. €45–60/month for two lines with a reasonable data allowance.
• In newer apartment complexes, fibre is often already run to the building, which shortens installation to a few days after signing the contract.

For owners renting their apartment out to tourists, stable, fast internet is now practically a requirement — it strongly affects guest reviews and occupancy, as we discussed in our piece on the locations with the highest rental ROI.

Gas — usually a bottle rather than a pipeline

Most apartments in the south of the island have no mains gas. The standard is a gas bottle (bombona) used for the cooker and sometimes a water heater:

• A 12.5 kg bottle costs approx. €18–20 and typically lasts a household 1.5–3 months.
• That works out to roughly €8–15/month — the cheapest item on the whole list.
• Newer apartments increasingly have electric induction hobs and boilers, which removes this cost at the price of a somewhat higher electricity bill.

Comunidad de Propietarios — the fee buyers often forget when calculating the purchase price

This is the item buyers from Poland most often leave out of their first calculation, and it can significantly change how a purchase works out financially, especially in complexes with a pool, security and gardens.

• Apartment in a simple complex without a pool: approx. €50–90/month.
• Complex with a pool, garden and basic security: approx. €100–180/month.
• Premium residence (several pools, reception, 24h security, spa): €200/month and up.

The level of the Comunidad fee should always be weighed against the price per square metre — a cheaper apartment in a complex with high fees can end up costing more per year to maintain than an apparently pricier property in a smaller community.

Home insurance — inexpensive, but recommended

Property insurance (seguro de hogar) is not mandatory in Spain when buying with cash (banks require it for a mortgage), but it's definitely worth having, especially for an apartment rented out to tourists.

• Basic policy (fire, flooding, civil liability): approx. €120–220/year, i.e. €10–18/month.
• Extended policy with equipment cover and short-term rental protection: approx. €250–400/year.

Monthly summary — a typical 2-bedroom apartment in the south

Item	Seasonal (a few months a year)	Year-round
Electricity	€40–70	€80–150
Water	€25–40	€40–60
Internet	€30–40	€30–40
Gas (bottle)	€8–15	€8–15
Comunidad	€80–150	€80–150
Insurance	€10–18	€10–18
Total	approx. €195–330/month	approx. €250–430/month

On top of this comes the local IBI tax, paid once a year — we cover it in more detail in our article on the costs of buying a property in Spain. It's worth adding this to your annual maintenance budget right away, not treating it as just a one-off purchase cost.

How does this compare to Poland?

Utility bills (electricity, water, gas, internet) in Tenerife are usually comparable to or somewhat higher than in a large Polish city — mainly due to pricier water and seasonally high electricity bills from air conditioning. The biggest budget difference, though, is the Comunidad fee, which in Polish apartment blocks (renovation fund + management) tends to be lower than in pool-equipped complexes in the Canaries — but in return you get infrastructure that a Polish housing cooperative usually doesn't offer.

For investors calculating rental profitability, this is an important correction to the ROI model — we cover the return calculation itself in our article on buying an apartment for rental in Tenerife.

Practical tips before you buy

1. Always ask for the last 3–4 bills for electricity and water from the current owner — that's the best source of real, not estimated, costs for a specific unit.
2. Check the community's resolutions for planned renovations — a one-off derrama (extra levy for a major renovation) can be several times the annual Comunidad fee.
3. Calculate costs over 12 months, not one holiday month — the seasonality of the electricity bill can distort the picture if you only view the apartment in summer.
4. Ask about the building's internet provider — in older buildings, fibre sometimes needs to be run in individually, which can add a few weeks to the paperwork.

Summary

The real monthly cost of maintaining a typical apartment in the south of Tenerife is usually €200–450, depending on whether the property is used seasonally or year-round and how elaborate the complex is. It's a figure worth having in your budget from day one of planning a purchase — not only after you pick up the keys.

Looking for an apartment whose running costs genuinely fit your budget? Browse our properties for sale or get in touch — for every listing we help you realistically estimate the bills and community fees before you decide to buy.