Is it legal to collect property fees at the beginning of the month?

It depends on when the payment is agreed in the contract.

Property fees are calculated and collected from the day when the ownership of the house belongs to you.

According to Article 42 of the Property Management Regulations, the owner shall pay the property service fee in accordance with the property service contract. If the owner and the user of the property agree that the user of the property shall pay the property service fee, the owner shall bear joint and several liability from the agreement. The property service fee shall be paid by the property developer before the property is actually delivered to the buyer for possession, and shall be paid jointly by the owner and the buyer after the actual delivery. Under normal circumstances, the property service fee is paid monthly. Therefore, in real life, the property management service fee is generally paid in the second month after the buyer actually takes over the house.

In addition, when the owner receives the house from the developer, he has the right to actually occupy and use the house and enjoy the property management service of the property service enterprise. As for the fact that the owner does not actually live for some reason, it does not affect the property company to collect property service fees. According to Article 6 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Property Service Disputes, if the property service enterprise has provided services in accordance with the contract and relevant provisions, and the owner only claims that he does not enjoy or need to accept the relevant property services, the people's court will not support it.