Rules by sector
Rules for residents' associations in Spain: what the law requires of the building, the owners' meeting and the administrator (2026)
A comunidad de vecinos (a residents' or owners' association in a Spanish block) has two layers of obligations. Its own come from the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (the Horizontal Property Act): keep the building in good repair without waiting for a vote, hold a reserve fund, call the owners' meeting once a year and have someone deal with urgent faults. The second layer belongs to its communal installations, and each one has its own regulation: the lift, the extinguishers in the garage, the electricity of the common areas, the central heating or the pool. Both are here, with the article behind each obligation, what changes on 23 October 2026 and what the law does not say.
Does it apply to you? A residents' association's obligations, one by one
| Obligation | Does it apply? | How often and who | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Necessary upkeep works on the building and its communal installations | Yes, always: they are compulsory and need no prior agreement of the owners' meeting | Whenever needed; the meeting only shares out the derrama (special levy) and sets the payment terms | Act 49/1960, Art. 10(1)(a) and 10(2)(a) |
| Reporting an urgent repair in the common areas | Yes, every owner | “Without delay”, to the administrator; the administrator orders it and reports immediately to the president | Act 49/1960, Arts. 7(1) and 20(1)(c) |
| Ordinary meeting with budget and accounts | Yes, always | At least once a year; called by the president with at least six days' notice | Act 49/1960, Art. 16(1) and 16(3) |
| Reserve fund | Yes, always (in Catalonia, under the Catalan Civil Code rule) | In every budget: no less than 10 % of the last ordinary budget (Act 49/1960, Art. 9(1)(f)); in Catalonia, no less than 5 % of common expenses (Art. 553-6(1)) | Act 49/1960, Art. 9(1)(f) and first additional provision; Catalan Civil Code, Art. 553-6(1) |
| Building logbook and maintenance plan | Buildings whose works licence was applied for from 6 May 2000, or subject to the Building Code | Receive it, keep it and hand it on to the next owner; follow the plan with a qualified technician and record every repair or refurbishment | Act 38/1999, Arts. 7 and 16; CTE, Part I, Art. 8 |
| Building inspection (ITE or IEE) | Depends on the region and the municipality; the State only says the authorities may ask for it | In the Madrid region, buildings over 30 years old, every 10 years; elsewhere, other deadlines | TRLSRU, Art. 29(1) (Constitutional Court ruling 143/2017); Madrid Act 9/2001, Art. 169 |
| Lift | Yes, if there is a lift: the association is its holder | Monthly maintenance (every 20 to 45 days) by the lift maintenance firm; inspection by an approved inspection body every 4 years with more than 20 homes or more than 4 floors served, and every 6 years otherwise | RD 355/2024, ITC AEM 1, Arts. 4, 5(4) and 11(4) |
| Fire protection | Yes, for the communal equipment: extinguishers, fire hose reels, dry riser | Extinguishers: every 3 months (the association or a maintenance firm), every year and every 5 years (approved maintenance firm); the 10-year inspection does not apply because of the homes, but does in a garage of 500 m² or more with anything beyond extinguishers or lighting | RD 513/2017, Annex II and Art. 22(2) |
| Electricity in the common areas | Only above certain thresholds | Every 10 years if the common areas exceed 100 kW; every 5 years for a pool above 10 kW and a garage of 25 spaces or more (inspection body) | REBT, ITC-BT-05, sections 4.1 and 4.2 |
| Central heating or hot water | If the thermal installation is communal | Up to 70 kW, an approved maintenance firm with no compulsory contract; above 70 kW, a contract, monthly servicing, an annual certificate and an efficiency inspection every 4 years | RITE, Art. 26, IT 3.3 and IT 4 |
| Communal pool | Yes, as a type 3A private-use pool | Water quality and reporting incidents; national rules do not require daily checks or a self-monitoring protocol, and the region may require more | RD 742/2013, Arts. 2(3) and 3(2) |
| Legionella | No, if the building is homes only and the installation does not affect the outside | Ground-floor commercial premises are covered; the rule does not say what happens in a mixed-use building | RD 487/2022, Art. 3(2) |
Rules read in their consolidated text in the BOE (Spain's official gazette) on 19 October 2026. Where the region decides, each row says so; your region may have rules of its own.
The short answer
A residents' association does not have a single rule. Horizontal property, the Spanish regime for flats in a shared building, is governed by Act 49/1960, which says who keeps the building in repair, who decides and with what money; each communal installation has its own technical regulation; and the inspection of the building as a whole is set by the region and the town hall.
The association's own part fits into three ideas. Upkeep is not put to a vote: necessary works are compulsory even if the meeting does not approve them. Urgent faults in the common areas follow a channel set by law: the resident tells the administrator, who acts and reports back. And the reserve fund exists so that there is money when something breaks.
Upkeep is not put to a vote
Tendrán carácter obligatorio y no requerirán de acuerdo previo de la Junta de propietarios […] Los trabajos y las obras que resulten necesarias para el adecuado mantenimiento y cumplimiento del deber de conservación del inmueble y de sus servicios e instalaciones comunes (“The following shall be compulsory and shall not require prior agreement of the owners' meeting […] the work needed for the proper maintenance of the property and its communal services and installations and to fulfil the duty to keep them in repair”)
This always includes works for safety, habitability, universal accessibility and appearance. The owners pay for them, and the meeting only agrees “la distribución de la derrama pertinente y […] los términos de su abono” (how the relevant special levy is shared out and paid) (Art. 10(2)(a)). If the downpipe in the garage breaks and floods the storage rooms, nobody waits for the spring meeting to replace it.
Each owner keeps their own flat or premises in repair, allows the repairs the building needs and lets workers in to carry them out (Art. 9(1), letters b, c and d). Anyone who sees that an urgent repair is needed in the common areas must, under Art. 7(1), “comunicarlo sin dilación al administrador” (notify the administrator without delay). And the Código Técnico de la Edificación (Spain's Building Code) extends the duty to tenants: “Los propietarios y los usuarios pondrán en conocimiento de los responsables del mantenimiento cualquier anomalía que se observe en el funcionamiento normal del edificio” (owners and users shall inform those responsible for maintenance of any anomaly in the normal operation of the building) (Part I, Art. 8.2.1).
Meeting, president and administrator: who does what
The association is run by the owners' meeting, the president, the secretary and the administrator (Art. 13(1)). The presidency is compulsory for the owner chosen and represents the association (Art. 13(2) and 13(3)); if nobody else is appointed, the president also acts as secretary and administrator (Art. 13(5)). The administrator can be an owner, a person with “cualificación profesional suficiente y legalmente reconocida” (sufficient, legally recognised professional qualifications) or a company (Art. 13(6)). The administrator's most everyday duty is this one:
Atender a la conservación y entretenimiento de la casa, disponiendo las reparaciones y medidas que resulten urgentes, dando inmediata cuenta de ellas al presidente o, en su caso, a los propietarios. (“To attend to the upkeep and maintenance of the building, ordering the repairs and measures that are urgent and reporting them immediately to the president or, where appropriate, to the owners.”)
The meeting approves the budget and repair works, and is informed of the administrator's urgent measures (Art. 14(c)). It meets at least once a year for the budget and accounts, with at least six days' notice (Art. 16(1) and 16(3)), and its decisions go into the minutes book (Art. 19(1)). The general voting rule is a majority of owners who also hold a majority of shares (Art. 17(7)); setting up or removing a porter or security service, and improvements that are not necessary, need three fifths (Art. 17(3) and 17(4)).
The reserve fund and special levies
Every association must keep a reserve fund for upkeep, repair, refurbishment, accessibility and energy-efficiency works. Art. 9(1)(f) of Act 49/1960 sets its minimum at 10 % of the last ordinary budget, and the first additional provision stops it from falling below that during the financial year: whatever is spent on Art. 10 works is topped up at the start of the next one. The fund can pay for property damage insurance or a standing maintenance contract for the building.
The word derrama (special levy) appears twice in the act, with no definition: in Art. 10(2)(a), for compulsory works, and in Art. 17(11), which places levies for improvements on whoever is the owner when the payment can be claimed. If a flat is sold with a levy already approved, what counts is the date on which each payment can be claimed.
Worth knowing
Catalonia has a different minimum. There, Book Five of the Catalan Civil Code applies, and its Art. 553-6(1) requires the budget to set aside no less than 5 % of common expenses for the reserve fund; Act 49/1960 leaves room for whatever the regions adopt (first additional provision).
Nor does the act set a specific majority to approve a levy: the levy follows the expense it pays for. If it is necessary work, there is no prior vote; if it is an improvement, the majority for improvements applies.
Accessibility: the change on 23 October 2026
Accessibility works requested by an owner whose home is lived in by a person with a disability or someone over seventy are compulsory, with no agreement of the meeting, if their annual cost passed on to owners, after grants, does not exceed twelve ordinary monthly service charges. Until 22 October 2026, Art. 10(1)(b) also makes them compulsory when the grants the association can apply for reach 75 % of their cost.
From 23 October 2026 the wording of Act 4/2026 (BOE no. 246 of 3 October) applies. The new Art. 10(1)(b) counts the grants “efectivamente concedidas” (actually awarded) and lowers the threshold to 70 % of the cost of the works; the association must apply for the grants if the owner gives it the calls for applications; with financing, the cost is spread over as many years as the financing allows; and if the works still do not go ahead, the owner concerned can go to court.
Building logbook and maintenance plan
The plans, the handover certificate, the list of professionals involved and the instructions for use and maintenance make up the building logbook, which is handed to the users (Act 38/1999 on Building Regulation, Art. 7); owners must “recibir, conservar y transmitir” (receive, keep and hand on) that documentation (Art. 16(1)). The Building Code adds a maintenance plan with the scheduled operations (Part I, Art. 8.1.3) and requires carrying it out with a qualified technician, doing the inspections required by regulation and recording every repair or refurbishment in the logbook (Art. 8.2.2).
Act 38/1999 applies to works whose licence was applied for after it came into force, on 6 May 2000 (first transitional provision): an older block may have no building logbook under this act.
The building inspection: ITE or IEE
Constitutional Court ruling 143/2017 (BOE no. 15 of 17 January 2018) struck down almost all the national rules on the informe de evaluación del edificio (building assessment report): sections 2 to 6 of Art. 29 of the consolidated Land Act, Art. 30 and the timetable in the second transitional provision. Art. 29(1) remains: owners in residential buildings with several homes “podrán ser requeridos” (may be required) to show the state of repair, accessibility and energy efficiency.
When it happens is set by the region and the municipality. In the Madrid region, buildings over thirty years old are inspected every ten years by a qualified technician or an approved body, and the report goes to the town hall within the month after each period ends (Madrid Land Act 9/2001, Art. 169). Other regions and many municipal by-laws set different ages and deadlines.
The communal installations
The table sums up each check and links to its page. What associations forget most often:
- Lift. It cannot be used without a contract with a lift maintenance firm; the periodic inspection is hired by the association, never by the maintenance firm; and any fault is reported to the maintenance firm within 24 hours at most (ITC AEM 1, Art. 4).
- Garage extinguishers. The three-monthly checks can be done by the association's own staff; the annual and five-year ones only by an approved maintenance firm, and the reports are kept for at least five years (RIPCI, Annex II).
- Pool. As a type 3A pool, national rules only require its Arts. 5, 6, 7, 10, 13 and 14(d) to (f), which include water quality and reporting incidents to the authorities (RD 742/2013, Art. 3(2)). In Andalusia, Decree 485/2019 applies its rules to the pools of associations with twenty or more homes (Art. 3(1)).
- Legionella. RD 487/2022 excludes buildings used exclusively as homes if the installation does not affect the outside environment (Art. 3(2)); ground-floor commercial premises are not excluded.
What the rules do not say
Worth knowing
None of these rules says how a fault is to be reported. Act 49/1960 asks for notice “sin dilación” (without delay) and an “inmediata cuenta” (immediate report), but sets no channel, format or number of hours, does not define “urgent”, does not use the term “administrador de fincas” (property administrator) and does not require hiring a professional. Nor is there a building inspection with a common deadline for the whole of Spain.
The legionella exclusion depends on how the building is used, not on its size: the text does not settle the case of a building that mixes homes with shops or offices, or of the garden sprinklers. That is decided by the health authority of each region.
Frequently asked questions
What obligations does a residents' association have in Spain?
Its own under Act 49/1960: carrying out necessary upkeep works even if the meeting does not vote on them (Art. 10(1)(a)), holding a reserve fund of at least 10 % of the last ordinary budget (Art. 9(1)(f)), calling the owners' meeting at least once a year for the budget and accounts (Art. 16(1)) and dealing with urgent repairs through the administrator (Art. 20(1)(c)). On top of that, the checks on each communal installation: lift, fire protection, electricity, central heating and pool.
Does an urgent repair need the owners' meeting to approve it?
No. The administrator, or the president when acting as administrator, orders urgent repairs and measures and reports them immediately to the president or the owners (Art. 20(1)(c) of Act 49/1960), and the meeting is informed afterwards (Art. 14(c)). Necessary upkeep works need no prior agreement either: the meeting only shares out the levy and decides how it is paid (Art. 10(2)(a)). Anything that is neither urgent nor necessary, such as an improvement, is put to a vote.
How much money must the reserve fund hold?
At least 10 % of the association's last ordinary budget, under Art. 9(1)(f) of Act 49/1960, and it cannot fall below that minimum at any point in the financial year: whatever is spent on compulsory works is topped up at the start of the next one (first additional provision). Catalonia has a different rule: Art. 553-6(1) of the Catalan Civil Code requires an amount of no less than 5 % of common expenses.
How often does a building need its ITE inspection?
It depends on the region and the municipality. National law only says the authorities may ask owners in residential buildings with several homes to show the state of the building (Art. 29(1) of the consolidated Land Act); the national timetable was struck down by Constitutional Court ruling 143/2017. In the Madrid region, for example, buildings more than thirty years old are inspected every ten years (Act 9/2001, Art. 169).
How often is a residents' association's lift serviced and inspected?
A lift maintenance firm services it every month, with no less than 20 and no more than 45 days between visits; only slow lifts declared under the machinery rules, in residential buildings with up to three stops and twenty homes, go every four months. Inspection by an approved inspection body is every four years if the building has more than twenty homes or more than four floors served, and every six years otherwise (ITC AEM 1, Arts. 5(4) and 11(4)).
Does a residents' association have to carry out legionella control?
If the building is homes only, in principle no: Art. 3(2) of Royal Decree 487/2022 excludes installations in buildings used exclusively as homes, provided they do not affect the outside environment. The central hot water of a block of flats falls outside under that rule. Ground-floor commercial premises are not excluded, and the rule does not say what happens in a mixed-use building: that is for the region's health authority to decide.
The inspections for this sector, one by one
- Lift inspectionWhat ITC AEM 1 (Royal Decree 355/2024) requires of a lift's holder: a contract with a lift maintenance company, monthly servicing, a periodic inspection every 2, 4 or 6 years and deadlines for defects.
- Fire protection (RIPCI)RIPCI checks: quarterly by the owner, yearly and five-yearly by the maintenance company, records kept for five years and an inspection every ten years, with its exemptions.
- Low-voltage inspectionInspection by an accredited body every 5 years for the premises in ITC-BT-05 (bars, restaurants and hotels always) and every 10 years for residential common areas over 100 kW.
- Thermal installations (RITE)Maintenance company from 5 kW; contract, annual certificate and efficiency inspection every 4 years above 70 kW, with the minimum intervals of table 3.1.
- Swimming poolsWhat Royal Decree 742/2013 requires by type of pool: self-monitoring, daily and monthly checks, information for users and incidents, and what it leaves to the autonomous communities.
Rules for other sectors
- Restaurants and barsThe obligations of a restaurant or a bar in Spain: what is specific to the kitchen and the checks on the premises, each with the condition that triggers it, how often it applies and its article.
- GymsA gym: no national law; qualifications, insurance and notices under each region's sports professions act, plus low voltage, Legionella, pool, RIPCI and defibrillator as premises.
- HotelsA hotel: guest register and reporting within 24 hours, regional classification, low voltage and lift as a public-assembly venue, RIPCI, Legionella, pool, kitchen and defibrillator.
- Shops and franchisesA shop: responsible declaration up to 750 m², opening hours, prices, franchises with no register since 2018, complaint forms, accessibility adjustments and the inspections of premises open to the public.
- OfficesThe obligations of an office in Spain: temperature and upkeep of the premises, screen work, health and safety, coordination with contractors, internal reporting channel, right to disconnect and building checks.
- SchoolsA school: minimum facilities, protocols against violence and a wellbeing coordinator, canteen and menus from April 2026, self-protection and the building inspections.
- Industrial unitsAn industrial unit: fire inspection every five years under the 2025 regulation, chemical storage (APQ), air receivers, work equipment, low voltage, cooling towers and self-protection.