Spain's Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, LPH) has changed, but not where many property managers expected. On 23 October 2026, Law 4/2026 came into force and strengthened the duty to carry out accessibility works. The reform that would have allowed owners' meetings by video call, notices by email and an electronic minutes book lapsed on 6 October, when Parliament was dissolved. The rules for calling, holding and recording meetings stay as they were.
What has changed in the LPH in 2025 and 2026?
The consolidated text in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado, BOE) shows three recent changes. None of them touches how meetings are called, held or recorded.
| What changes | Law | From | LPH article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holiday lets: the community must expressly approve them, by a three-fifths majority | Organic Law 1/2025 | 3 April 2025 | 7.3, 17.12 and second additional provision |
| Aerothermal and geothermal systems added to the one-third rule | Royal Decree-law 7/2026 | 22 March 2026 | 17.1 |
| Accessibility works: more cases are mandatory, and a duty to apply for grants | Law 4/2026 | 23 October 2026 | 10.1.b and a new third additional provision |
| Meetings by video call, notice by email, electronic minutes book | Bill 122/000240 | Never arrived: it lapsed on 6 October 2026 | 9.1.h, 15.1 and 19.1 (unchanged) |
Holiday lets. Since 3 April 2025, an owner who wants to use their flat as a tourist let "deberá obtener previamente la aprobación expresa de la comunidad de propietarios" (must first obtain the express approval of the community of owners) (article 7.3). That decision needs the votes of three fifths of the owners who also hold three fifths of the shares (article 17.12). Anyone already running a tourist let under the regional tourism rules can carry on "con las condiciones y plazos establecidos en la misma" (under the conditions and deadlines those rules set) (second additional provision). The same organic law brought in MASC, the compulsory attempt to settle before going to court; how it affects claims for unpaid fees is explained in MASC for community fees.
Aerothermal and geothermal. Article 17.1 lets one third of the owners, holding one third of the shares, approve renewable energy systems. Since 22 March 2026 it expressly says "incluyendo la aerotermia y geotermia" (including aerothermal and geothermal). The change was first tried with Royal Decree-law 7/2025, but Congress repealed that decree-law on 22 July 2025. It came back with Royal Decree-law 7/2026, which Congress validated on 26 March 2026. Remember the other half of the rule: with that majority, the community cannot pass the cost on to owners who did not expressly vote in favour.
What changes in accessibility works from 23 October?
Law 4/2026, published in the BOE on 3 October, is a disability rights law. Its first final provision rewrites article 10.1.b of the LPH, and the law came into force "a los veinte días de su publicación" (twenty days after publication) (twenty-eighth final provision): on 23 October 2026.
| Until 22 October 2026 | From 23 October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Which works are mandatory without a meeting vote | Those needed for "los ajustes razonables en materia de accesibilidad universal" (reasonable adjustments for universal accessibility), and those requested by owners whose flat is home or workplace to people with a disability or over seventy | Those needed to "garantizar las condiciones de accesibilidad universal, y en todo caso, los ajustes razonables" (guarantee universal accessibility and, in any case, reasonable adjustments), plus those requested by the same owners |
| Cost cap | Twelve months of ordinary fees per year, after grants | The same, but if the community takes out financing, the cost is spread over "tantos años como las opciones de financiación disponible permitan" (as many years as the available financing allows) |
| Public grants | Mandatory if the grants "a las que la comunidad pueda tener acceso" (the community could access) reach 75% | Mandatory, with no cost cap, if the grants "efectivamente concedidas" (actually awarded) reach 70% |
| Applying for grants | No express rule | If the owner asking for the works brings the grant calls, the community is "obligada a solicitarlas" (obliged to apply for them) |
| If the community does nothing | No express rule | The owner can ask a court to order the works |
One useful rule for the owner asking for the works stays: they remain mandatory even if grants fall short of 70% or the cost goes over the cap, "siempre que el exceso que haya que afrontar, en ambos casos, sea asumido por quienes las hayan requerido" (as long as whoever requested them pays the excess).
The law also adds a third additional provision to the LPH. It requires public administrations to set aside "créditos suficientes" (sufficient funds) in their budgets for accessibility grants. It sets no amounts or dates, so this is not a grant you can apply for tomorrow: you will have to wait for the calls.
For a property manager (administrador de fincas), the practical change is procedural. When an owner asks for a ramp or a lift and brings grant calls, the community has to apply for them. Keep a record of when the request arrived, what was provided and what was done with it.
Will there be a consolidated version of the LPH?
Only of one part. The eighteenth final provision of Law 4/2026 authorises the Government to approve, "en el plazo de doce meses a partir de la entrada en vigor de esta ley" (within twelve months of this law coming into force), a consolidating text (texto refundido) bringing together articles 10 and 17 of the LPH and Law 15/1995 on removing architectural barriers.
Two caveats. The authorisation only covers those texts, and only to leave them "debidamente regularizados, aclarados y armonizados" (duly regularised, clarified and harmonised): it does not reach notices (article 9), attendance (article 15) or the minutes book (article 19). And article 21.6 of the Government Act says legislative delegations "quedarán en suspenso durante todo el tiempo que el Gobierno esté en funciones como consecuencia de la celebración de elecciones generales" (are suspended for as long as the Government is acting in a caretaker role after a general election). After the election on 29 November 2026, the Government will be a caretaker until the new one takes office (articles 21.1 and 21.2), and in the meantime that authorisation cannot be used.
What did the online meetings reform propose?
Bill 122/000240, tabled by the People's Party group (Grupo Parlamentario Popular), had a single article with three changes:
- Email for notices (article 9.1.h). Each owner could give "el domicilio en España o una dirección de correo electrónico a efectos de citaciones y notificaciones" (an address in Spain or an email address for summonses and notices). The rest of the article, with the flat as the default address and the notice board as a last resort, stayed the same.
- Attendance by video call (article 15.1). "La asistencia a la Junta de propietarios será personal, por videoconferencia o por representación legal o voluntaria" (attendance at the owners' meeting will be in person, by video call or through a legal or voluntary representative).
- Electronic minutes book (article 19.1). "El libro de actas podrá llevarse en formato y soporte electrónico conforme al modelo aprobado por resolución de la Dirección General de Seguridad Jurídica y Fe Pública" (the minutes book may be kept in electronic form following the model approved by the Directorate General for Legal Certainty and Public Faith).
The explanatory memorandum leaned on the pandemic: the experience of Royal Decree-law 8/2021 "permitió constatar el éxito de la asistencia a las juntas de vecinos de modo no presencial" (showed that remote attendance at residents' meetings worked). It said owners should be able to attend by video call "si así lo ha aprobado previamente la junta de propietarios, o lo tiene incluido en sus estatutos" (if the owners' meeting has approved it beforehand or the bylaws include it), although the proposed wording for article 15.1 did not include that condition. It would have come into force the day after publication in the BOE.
How far did it get?
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| 14 November 2025 | Tabled in Congress |
| 21 November 2025 | Published in the Parliamentary Gazette |
| 26 May 2026 | Taken into consideration: 306 votes in favour, 33 against, 10 abstentions |
| 8 June 2026 | The Bureau sends it to the Justice Committee with full legislative powers and a deadline for amendments of 30 June |
| 2 September to 7 October 2026 | Six extensions of the amendment deadline, a week at a time; the last one ran to 7 October |
| 6 October 2026 | Royal Decree 806/2026 dissolves Parliament and the bill lapses |
The Rules of Procedure of Congress leave no room: once Congress is dissolved, "quedarán caducados todos los asuntos pendientes de examen y resolución por la Cámara" (all business pending before the Chamber lapses) (article 207). The bill's record marks it "Concluido - (Caducado)" (closed, lapsed).
The broad support in May does not save it. Under the same royal decree, the new chambers meet for the first time on 23 December 2026, and anyone who wants to revive the reform will have to table it again and start from the beginning. Until it appears in the BOE, nothing changes.
Can you hold an owners' meeting by video call today?
Outside Catalonia, the LPH does not provide for it. Article 15.1 says attendance "será personal o por representación legal o voluntaria" (will be in person or through a legal or voluntary representative), and article 16.2 requires the notice to state "el lugar, día y hora" (the place, day and time). The reform's own memorandum admitted that the LPH "no contemplaba la posibilidad de desarrollar las reuniones de forma telemática" (did not provide for holding meetings remotely).
The only exception was temporary. Royal Decree-law 8/2021 allowed meetings, until 31 December 2021, "por videoconferencia o por conferencia telefónica múltiple" (by video call or multi-party phone call), as long as every owner had the means, checked by the property manager beforehand, and the secretary confirmed the identity of those attending in the minutes (article 3.2). It also allowed votes without a meeting, by post or electronically, with a 10 calendar day window (article 3.3). That regime has ended.
There is still the universal meeting: under article 16.3, the meeting can go ahead without the president calling it "siempre que concurran la totalidad de los propietarios y así lo decidan" (as long as all owners attend and so decide). What the courts have said about video meetings and email notices is covered in calling an owners' meeting by WhatsApp or email.
The safe option is an in-person meeting at a specific place. If someone wants to follow it remotely, they should first appoint someone attending as their proxy in writing, because representation is proved with "un escrito firmado por el propietario" (a document signed by the owner) (article 15.1). That way their vote is cast by someone in the room.
What about Catalonia?
Catalonia has its own rules in book five of the Catalan Civil Code, amended by Law 5/2015, which already solves two of the three issues:
- Video calls. "Los estatutos pueden establecer, o la junta de propietarios puede acordar, que pueda asistirse por videoconferencia o por otros medios telemáticos de comunicación sincrónica similares" (the bylaws may provide, or the owners' meeting may agree, that owners can attend by video call or similar real-time electronic means) (article 553-22.1).
- Email. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, notices go out at least eight calendar days ahead to the address the owner gave, and they can be sent "por correo postal o electrónico, o por otros medios de comunicación, siempre y cuando se garantice la autenticidad de la comunicación y de su contenido" (by post, email or other means, as long as the authenticity of the message and its content is guaranteed) (article 553-21.2). The minutes go out within ten days by the same means (article 553-27.4).
- Minutes book. It is still legalised at the Land Registry (article 553-28.1), with no mention of an electronic format.
Is there a digital minutes book?
Not under national law. Article 19.1 LPH requires a book "diligenciado por el Registrador de la Propiedad en la forma que reglamentariamente se disponga" (stamped by the Land Registrar as regulations provide). Those regulations are article 415 of the Mortgage Regulations (Reglamento Hipotecario): the book is stamped before use, its pages are "numeradas con caracteres indelebles" (numbered in indelible characters) and carry the Registrar's seal. The reform's authors admitted it: the new format needed to be "recogido también en la Ley" (written into the Act as well) to have "plena seguridad jurídica" (full legal certainty).
The same article has a practical detail: "El libro podrá ser de hojas móviles" (the book may be loose-leaf). You can write the minutes on a computer and print them on the stamped pages. Deadlines, signatures and a template are in owners' meeting minutes.
What should you do while there is no reform?
- Give a place, day and time in every notice (article 16.2), and make written proxies easy for anyone who cannot come.
- Collect email addresses in writing from owners who want notices and minutes that way, but keep sending notices to the address of anyone who has not signed. There is a template in calling an owners' meeting by WhatsApp or email.
- Keep the usual deadlines: six days for the annual meeting, as explained in the notice period for an owners' meeting.
- Keep the evidence for five years. The secretary must keep "las convocatorias, comunicaciones, apoderamientos y demás documentos relevantes de las reuniones" (notices, communications, proxies and other relevant meeting documents) (article 19.4).
- From 23 October, log every request for accessibility works: who made it, which grants they brought and when the community applied.
- In Catalonia, use article 553-22.1: if you want video meetings, approve them at a meeting or in the bylaws before using them.
- Watch the BOE, not the headlines. A reform only counts once it is published there.
If you send notices and minutes by email to owners who asked for it, what matters is being able to prove they arrived. Certified email, from Quantum Nova, sends the document to the whole list from your firm's own domain and records, for each owner, delivery, opening and download with date, time and IP address, plus a SHA-256 fingerprint anyone can check on a public page. Opening is only an indication; the download is the strong proof. It is not a qualified eIDAS service and does not replace a burofax: if it is disputed, the judge weighs it as electronic evidence. And if you want to automate more of the work of running communities, see automation for property managers.
Frequently asked questions
Can owners' meetings be held online in Spain now?
Outside Catalonia, no: the LPH only provides for attendance in person or by proxy, and the reform that added video calls lapsed on 6 October 2026. The temporary permission under Royal Decree-law 8/2021 ended on 31 December 2021. In Catalonia, yes, if the bylaws provide for it or the meeting agrees.
Can a community send meeting notices by email from 2026?
The law has not changed: notice goes to the address in Spain each owner gave or, if they gave none, to their flat. Email can work if the owner provided the address and the community can prove the notice arrived, but not because the LPH says so. The reform that would have written it into article 9.1.h was not passed.
Is a digital minutes book compulsory?
No. National law does not even provide for one: the book is stamped at the Land Registry under article 415 of the Mortgage Regulations. What that article does allow is a loose-leaf book.
What changes in accessibility works from October 2026?
From 23 October 2026, works to guarantee universal accessibility are mandatory without a meeting vote, within the cap of twelve months of fees per year. If the grants awarded reach 70% of the cost, they are mandatory with no cap, and the community must apply for the grants the requesting owner points to.
When will the LPH reform be approved?
There is no date. The bill lapsed when Parliament was dissolved, the election is on 29 November 2026 and the new chambers meet on 23 December. Any reform will have to start again.
Sources
- Law 49/1960 of 21 July on horizontal property, consolidated text: arts. 7.3, 9.1.h, 10.1.b, 15.1, 16, 17.1, 17.12, 19 and second and third additional provisions.
- Law 4/2026 of 1 October, first, eighteenth and twenty-eighth final provisions.
- Organic Law 1/2025 of 2 January on efficiency measures for the public justice service, fourth final provision.
- Royal Decree-law 7/2026 of 20 March, and the Resolution of 26 March 2026 validating it.
- Resolution of 22 July 2025 repealing Royal Decree-law 7/2025.
- Royal Decree-law 8/2021 of 4 May, arts. 2 and 3.
- Royal Decree 806/2026 of 5 October, dissolving Parliament and calling elections.
- Rules of Procedure of the Congress of Deputies, art. 207.
- Law 50/1997 of 27 November, the Government Act, art. 21.
- Mortgage Regulations, art. 415.
- Law 5/2006, book five of the Catalan Civil Code, arts. 553-21, 553-22, 553-27 and 553-28.
- Bill 122/000240: text (BOCG 285-1), taken into consideration (BOCG 285-2), Bureau decision (BOCG 285-3) and record of proceedings.
This article explains the law and published court criteria as of the update date. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer on a specific case.