Quick answer

A condominium corporation or other authorized management body may increase condominium dues only if the increase is supported by the condominium’s registered master deed and declaration of restrictions, articles, bylaws, approved budget, and a valid corporate act.

Philippine law does not impose one universal advance-notice period for every dues increase. Whether owners were entitled to advance notice or a vote depends mainly on the project’s governing documents and on how the increase was approved:

If the board already has authority to set reasonable assessments for authorized expenses, a separate vote of all unit owners may not be required.
If owner or member approval is required, the corporation must properly call the meeting, disclose the matter in the notice and agenda, observe the applicable notice period, establish a quorum, and obtain the required vote.
If the increase effectively changes the declaration of restrictions, the amendment procedure must be followed. The Condominium Act requires the vote of not less than a majority in interest of the owners to amend the declaration.
An unexplained increase is not automatically void, but management cannot create assessments outside its authority or charge arbitrary amounts unrelated to authorized condominium expenses.

Do not simply ignore the new billing. Ask for the legal and financial basis in writing, preserve your objections, and obtain advice promptly if management threatens penalties, service restrictions, a lien, or foreclosure.

What controls a condominium-dues increase?

There is no nationwide statutory percentage cap on how much condominium dues may increase. The answer for a particular building usually comes from several documents read together.

The registered master deed and declaration of restrictions

The declaration of restrictions is central. Under Section 9 of the Condominium Act, Republic Act No. 4726, it binds the condominium owners and must provide the project’s management structure, including voting majorities, quorums, notices, meeting dates, and other governance rules.

It may authorize reasonable assessments for expenses such as:

Maintenance, utilities, gardening, and services benefiting common areas
Building personnel
Legal, accounting, professional, and technical services
Materials and supplies for common areas
Taxes or assessments affecting the project or common areas
Insurance
Repairs or reconstruction
Other authorized expenditures connected with management of the project

The declaration ordinarily determines how each unit’s share is calculated. Unless it provides another lawful allocation, assessments are proportionate to the owner’s fractional interest in the common areas.

The articles and bylaws

Where the common areas are held by a condominium corporation, that corporation is the project’s management body. Its articles and bylaws cannot contradict the Condominium Act, the master deed, or the declaration of restrictions.

Check whether these documents:

Give the board authority to approve the annual budget and fix dues
Require approval or ratification by members
Distinguish regular dues from special assessments
Prescribe advance notice, consultation, or a hearing
Set quorum and voting requirements
Require an independent audit
Establish a particular assessment formula
Authorize interest, penalties, collection costs, or attorney’s fees
Provide an internal protest or dispute-resolution procedure

A management contract or house-rule circular cannot ordinarily give a property manager greater power than the management body itself possesses.

The Revised Corporation Code

A condominium corporation is also subject to applicable corporate rules under the Revised Corporation Code, Republic Act No. 11232, insofar as those rules are consistent with the Condominium Act and the project documents.

The Code generally places corporate powers in the board, but the board must act at a properly convened meeting with a quorum and the required vote. The minutes should record the meeting’s authority, notice, agenda, attendance, resolutions, and actions taken.

Was advance notice legally required?

The first question is not simply, “Did management send a circular?” It is, “What corporate action authorized the increase, and what notice did that action require?”

If the board alone could approve the increase

If the governing documents expressly authorize the board to approve a budget and set assessments, the Condominium Act does not prescribe a separate fixed number of days’ notice to every owner before the new rate takes effect.

The board must still act within its authority and for legitimate condominium purposes. A valid board meeting generally requires notice to every director or trustee at least two days before the meeting, unless the bylaws require a longer period or the director validly waives notice.

The absence of prior notice to unit owners therefore does not, by itself, settle whether the assessment is valid. Failure to follow a more protective notice provision in the declaration or bylaws may, however, undermine the increase.

If members had to approve the increase

If the declaration, articles, or bylaws require member approval, the meeting rules matter.

Under the Revised Corporation Code:

Written notice of a regular members’ meeting must generally be sent at least 21 days before the meeting, unless another period is required by the bylaws, another law, or a regulation.
A special members’ meeting generally requires at least one week’s written notice, again subject to a different governing period.
The notice must state the meeting’s time, place, and purpose and must include the agenda.
Unless another rule applies, a quorum for a nonstock corporation consists of a majority of the members.
Defective notice may be waived expressly or impliedly. Attendance can amount to waiver unless the person attends specifically to object that the meeting was not lawfully called.

A vague agenda such as “other matters” may be inadequate when the governing rules require owners to receive notice that a dues increase or special assessment will be considered.

If the increase required changing the declaration

The management body cannot avoid the declaration’s amendment requirements by describing a substantive change as a mere board policy.

Section 9 of the Condominium Act requires the vote of not less than a majority in interest of the owners for an amendment to the declaration of restrictions. The declaration may impose additional procedural requirements. Because the declaration is registered and binds the units, a purported amendment should also be checked for the required registration or annotation.

This issue can arise when management changes the allocation formula, introduces a new class of compulsory charges, or alters rights and obligations fixed in the declaration—not merely when it adjusts the amount needed under an existing formula.

When an increase may be challengeable

A dues increase may be open to challenge when evidence shows that:

The board or manager had no authority to impose it.
A required members’ vote was never held.
Required meeting notice, agenda, quorum, or voting rules were not followed.
The assessment contradicts the registered declaration.
A required amendment was not approved by the necessary majority in interest.
The new allocation does not follow the applicable fractional interests or another formula validly stated in the declaration.
The assessment funds expenses outside the condominium corporation’s lawful purposes.
The amount is not a reasonable assessment for authorized expenditures.
The resolution was never validly adopted or is materially different from the charge actually billed.
Interest, surcharges, collection costs, or attorney’s fees lack a basis in the declaration or other binding terms.
The increase was made retroactive without contractual or documentary authority.
Directors approved a transaction despite an undisclosed conflict of interest or other legally significant irregularity.

A large increase is not automatically unlawful. Higher utilities, insurance premiums, repairs, staffing costs, regulatory work, or reserve requirements may justify it. Conversely, management’s assertion that costs increased does not excuse it from proving proper authorization and applying the correct allocation.

What to request from management

Send a dated written request to the condominium corporation’s board and corporate secretary. Ask for:

The exact previous and new rates, effective date, and computation for your unit and parking spaces.
The board or members’ resolution approving the increase.
The meeting notice, agenda, proof of delivery, attendance record, quorum certification, voting results, and approved minutes.
The current master deed and declaration of restrictions, including registered amendments.
The articles of incorporation and current bylaws.
The approved annual budget and the comparison with the preceding budget.
The most recent financial statements and relevant audit report.
A breakdown of operating expenses, reserve contributions, special projects, taxes, insurance, and management fees funded by the increase.
The provision authorizing any interest, penalty, collection fee, or attorney’s fee.
The corporation’s internal procedure for protesting an assessment.

Under Sections 73 and 74 of the Revised Corporation Code, a member or stockholder may inspect corporate records at reasonable hours on business days and may demand copies or excerpts in writing at the requester’s expense, subject to legitimate-purpose and confidentiality rules. The corporation must furnish its most recent financial statement within 10 days after receiving a written request.

If inspection or reproduction is denied or ignored, Section 73 permits the aggrieved member or stockholder to report the denial or inaction to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC maintains its official iMessage inquiry and complaint portal.

A practical way to object

Keep the objection factual and specific. Identify the unit, the billing period, the amount disputed, and the documents that have not been provided.

You may state that:

You are requesting the authority, resolution, budget, and computation behind the increase.
You reserve all rights concerning the validity of the assessment and related charges.
Any payment is being made under written protest and without waiving the objection, if that is the course you choose.
Management should not treat your request for records as an admission that the disputed computation is correct.
Future notices should be sent to your current registered mailing and email addresses.

If part of the bill is unquestionably due, consider paying that undisputed portion on time while clearly identifying what the payment covers. Whether to pay the disputed balance under protest depends on the documents, the size of the charge, and the risk of collection action. Obtain individualized legal advice before withholding substantial sums.

Evidence to preserve

Keep copies of:

All billing statements before and after the increase
Circulars, emails, text messages, portal notices, and envelopes
Proof of when each notice was delivered
Official receipts and bank or online-payment records
Your written requests and management’s responses
The master deed, declaration, bylaws, and amendments in effect on the approval date
Meeting notices, agendas, minutes, attendance sheets, proxies, and voting results
Budgets, financial statements, audit reports, contracts, and expense breakdowns
Screenshots of resident-portal announcements, with dates and URLs visible
Any threat to block access, utilities, amenities, voting, leasing, or transfer clearance
The Condominium Certificate of Title and any current certified title showing annotations

Record telephone conversations in a contemporaneous written log. Note the date, time, participants, and substance, then confirm important points by email.

Do not confuse billing notice with a registered lien

Section 20 of the Condominium Act provides that an assessment made in accordance with a duly registered declaration of restrictions is the obligation of the owner at the time the assessment is made.

The assessment and authorized additional charges become a lien on the unit when the management body causes a notice of assessment to be registered with the Register of Deeds. That registered notice must state the amount and authorized charges, describe the unit, name its registered owner, and be signed by an authorized representative.

Registration of a lien is legally different from advance notice of the board or members’ meeting that authorized an increase. It is also different from an ordinary billing statement or demand letter.

A registered lien can survive a transfer of ownership and may ultimately be enforced through foreclosure procedures. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized the importance of compliance with Section 20, including in Goldland Tower Condominium Corporation v. Lim. Extrajudicial foreclosure presents additional authority and procedural requirements; the Supreme Court addressed those limits in LPL Greenhills Condominium Corporation v. Huang.

Common mistakes

Assuming every increase requires a vote of all owners

Some declarations give the board authority to set assessments through the annual budget. The documents must be checked before claiming that a membership vote was mandatory.

Assuming no individual circular automatically cancels the charge

There is no single statutory notice period applicable to every board-approved rate adjustment. The missing notice matters most when the governing documents or the law required a members’ meeting, specific agenda, or particular form of notice.

Relying only on lobby announcements or group chats

Informal notices may not prove that the proper corporate procedure was followed. Request the resolution, minutes, and proof of authorization.

Withholding all dues without assessing the risk

Unpaid valid assessments may accumulate authorized interest, penalties, collection expenses, or attorney’s fees and may support a lien. A blanket refusal can worsen the owner’s position.

Treating a property manager as the final authority

The manager should be able to identify the board or management-body action authorizing the charge. A manager cannot independently rewrite the declaration or invent compulsory assessments.

Applying homeowners’-association rules automatically

The Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners’ Associations, Republic Act No. 9904, does not automatically govern a condominium corporation. The Supreme Court confirmed this distinction in Chateau de Baie Condominium Corporation v. Moreno. Different rules may apply if the entity collecting the charge is genuinely a homeowners’ association rather than the condominium corporation or management body.

Where a dispute may be filed

A dispute between a condominium corporation and its unit-owner member over the validity of association-dues assessments is generally an intra-corporate controversy when it concerns their corporate relationship and rights under the corporation’s internal rules.

The Supreme Court has held that this type of case belongs in the Regional Trial Court acting as a Special Commercial Court, not an ordinary RTC branch merely exercising general civil jurisdiction. See Chateau de Baie Condominium Corporation v. Moreno and the Court’s later jurisdictional ruling involving the same corporation.

Jurisdiction can change with the nature of the allegations. A buyer’s claim against a developer under Presidential Decree No. 957, a title dispute, an ordinary collection case, and an intra-corporate challenge do not necessarily belong in the same forum. The SEC may assist with corporate-record inspection and regulatory matters, but the SEC no longer decides intra-corporate controversies transferred to designated RTCs by Section 5.2 of the Securities Regulation Code, Republic Act No. 8799.

Have counsel identify the correct cause of action, venue, and branch before filing. Filing in the wrong forum can cause dismissal and dangerous delay.

When legal help is urgent

Consult a Philippine lawyer promptly if:

A notice of assessment or other lien has been annotated on the title.
You receive a demand threatening foreclosure, auction, or court action.
The corporation imposes substantial retroactive charges.
Interest and penalties are rapidly accumulating.
Management threatens to disconnect an essential service or deny access to the unit.
The disputed assessment affects a pending sale, mortgage, transfer, or estate settlement.
Records suggest unauthorized resolutions, falsified minutes, conflicts of interest, or diversion of funds.
A meeting or election connected with the assessment is about to occur.
You receive a summons, subpoena, court order, or formal SEC communication.

Do not ignore formal papers. Court and regulatory deadlines may run even while you are negotiating with management.

Frequently asked questions

Can management raise dues without asking every owner’s permission?

Possibly. If the declaration and bylaws authorize the board to approve budgets and set reasonable assessments, unanimous or individual consent is not required. A members’ vote is necessary only when the law or governing documents require one.

Is there a legal maximum percentage increase?

The Condominium Act sets no general nationwide percentage ceiling. The assessment must nevertheless be authorized, reasonable, properly allocated, and adopted through the required procedure.

Does the increase become invalid because I received no email?

Not necessarily. Check the required method of notice, your address in the corporate records, the bylaws, and whether the increase required a members’ meeting at all. If a meeting was required, lack of proper notice and agenda may be significant.

Can management charge the new rate retroactively?

Only if a binding provision and valid corporate action support retroactivity. Ask for the exact authority and calculation. Retroactive interest or penalties require separate scrutiny.

Can I demand the budget and financial statements?

As a member or stockholder, you generally have statutory inspection rights over corporate records for a legitimate purpose. You may also request the most recent financial statement, which must be furnished within 10 days after the corporation receives the written request.

Who is liable when the unit is rented out?

Section 20 places the assessment obligation on the owner at the time it is made. A lease may allocate payment between landlord and tenant, but that private arrangement does not necessarily eliminate the owner’s obligation to the condominium management body.

Can the corporation place a lien on the unit without first winning a case?

A valid assessment and authorized charges may become a lien when the statutory notice of assessment is registered with the Register of Deeds. Enforcement or foreclosure must still comply with applicable law and the project documents.

Should I stop paying while I challenge the increase?

Not automatically. Nonpayment may expose you to lawful penalties, interest, collection proceedings, and a lien. Consider paying the undisputed amount or paying under written protest, but obtain advice based on the actual documents before choosing a course.

Official legal sources

This article provides general legal information, not legal advice or a prediction of any case’s outcome. Condominium disputes are document- and fact-specific. The governing documents, title annotations, corporate records, and current procedural rules should be reviewed by a qualified Philippine lawyer. Sources checked as of September 7, 2026.