It can work, with conditions. The Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, LPH) requires notice at the address in Spain each owner gave or, failing that, at their flat. Courts have accepted email when the owner provided it and it was the usual channel, as long as the community can prove it arrived. With WhatsApp, proof is even harder. The reform that would have allowed email lapsed on 6 October 2026.
What the law says
The rule is in article 9.1.h LPH. Each owner must "comunicar a quien ejerza las funciones de secretario de la comunidad, por cualquier medio que permita tener constancia de su recepción, el domicilio en España a efectos de citaciones y notificaciones de toda índole relacionadas con la comunidad" (give whoever acts as secretary of the community, by any means that leaves a record of its receipt, an address in Spain for summonses and notices of any kind relating to the community). If they do not, their flat or premises counts, and a notice handed to whoever lives there takes effect. If it cannot be delivered there either, there is still the community notice board, with a formal note signed by the secretary and approved by the president.
Article 16.2 points back to that rule: notices of the owners' meeting (junta de propietarios) are given "en la forma establecida en el artículo 9" (in the manner set out in article 9). The law does not mention email or messaging apps.
The Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) has read this strictly. In its judgment 572/2020 it recalls, citing an earlier ruling, that "la citación debe ser personal y por escrito en el domicilio señalado" (the notice must be personal and in writing, at the designated address), or failing that at the flat and, as a last resort, on the notice board.
But it also allows some flexibility. Notice can be treated as proved without a notary or a registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt where there is "un sistema habitual de comunicación entre la Comunidad y los comuneros sin queja o protesta de sus integrantes" (a usual system of communication between the Community and the owners, without complaint or protest from its members) (judgment 987/2007).
And one rule never changes: if an owner says the notice never reached them, the community has to prove it gave notice (judgment 572/2020).
What the Provincial Courts have said
With those two pieces, the strict law and the flexibility of the usual channel, the Provincial Courts (Audiencias Provinciales, the appeal court for each province) decide case by case. Here are some examples:
| Provincial Court | Channel | Result | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alicante, Section 5, judgment 139/2019 | Valid notice | The community used the address the claimant herself had provided, as in other notices, and the administrator's certificate and other emails to that address backed it up | |
| Balearic Islands, Section 5, judgment 160/2018 | Meeting void | The meeting had agreed to give notice by email, but the owner later gave another address for everything to do with the flat, and the community kept writing to the old one | |
| Córdoba, Section 1, judgment 1025/2025 | Meeting void | There was a conflict, and the community did not use the email address it had normally used with the owner in the previous months | |
| Valencia, Section 6, judgment 26/2022 | No value as notice | It was sent to someone who was not the owner, the day before the meeting, at 11.57, without saying that the notice was attached | |
| Córdoba, Section 1, judgment 690/2025 | Resolutions void | The screenshots did not prove the message was delivered before the meeting, and there was no usual system | |
| Segovia, Section 1, judgment 260/2026 | Not annulled | A community of four owners that normally called its meetings by WhatsApp, and the meeting was universal: everyone attended |
Read together, the picture is clear. Email works when the owner provided the address, it is the channel really in use, and the community can prove it sent the notice to that address. It fails when you write to an old address, to someone else, or at the last minute.
Responsibility is shared. The Córdoba Provincial Court pointed out that an owner who lets the email address they designated go dead, and does not give a new one, "está incumpliendo esta obligación legal y debe soportar las consecuencias de ello" (is in breach of this legal obligation and must bear the consequences). But in the same case it required "especial diligencia" (special diligence) from the community, because the meeting directly affected that owner and her opposition was known.
WhatsApp: the problem is proof
In the Córdoba case of June 2025, the president produced two screenshots from her phone. One showed a PDF of the notice forwarded on 10 June for a meeting on the 18th, but with no information on when it was delivered. The other showed a later message with the blue "Visto" (read) ticks, but not the "Entregado" (delivered) ones.
The court concluded that receipt before the meeting had not been proved. It also found that the community used the notice board, WhatsApp and email interchangeably, so there was no usual system. The resolutions were declared "radicalmente nulos" (absolutely void).
The same judgment sums it up: "A pesar de la libertad de forma que ampara la jurisprudencia, sigue manteniendo el uso del correo en el domicilio designado, o en la propia vivienda o local" (Despite the freedom of form that case law allows, it still upholds the use of post to the designated address, or to the home or premises itself).
The 2026 Segovia case shows the other extreme. In a community of four owners, the claimant and her siblings, who called meetings by WhatsApp and usually all turned up, the channel was not a problem. For a community with an administrador de fincas (property/community manager) and dozens of owners, use WhatsApp as a reminder, not as the formal notice.
The reform that would have allowed email did not happen
In November 2025 the Partido Popular parliamentary group tabled Bill 122/000240 (Proposición de Ley). It proposed that article 9.1.h should read "el domicilio en España o una dirección de correo electrónico a efectos de citaciones y notificaciones" (the address in Spain or an email address for summonses and notices). It also added attendance "por videoconferencia" (by videoconference) to article 15.1, and an electronic minute book to article 19.1.
The full Congress (Pleno del Congreso) agreed to consider it on 26 May 2026, and its governing Bureau (Mesa) sent it to the Justice Committee with a period for amendments. It was still at that stage when Royal Decree 806/2026, published in the BOE (Spain's official gazette) on 6 October, dissolved Parliament (las Cortes) and called elections for 29 November.
The Rules of Procedure of the Congress (Reglamento del Congreso) are blunt in article 207: once Congress is dissolved, "quedarán caducados todos los asuntos pendientes de examen y resolución por la Cámara" (all matters awaiting examination and decision by the Chamber shall lapse). The bill's record shows it as "Concluido - (Caducado)" (closed, lapsed) since 6 October 2026.
The conclusion: today, article 9.1.h applies exactly as it stands. If the new Congress wants this reform, it will have to start again from scratch.
What about meetings by videoconference?
The LPH does not provide for them either. Article 15.1 says "la asistencia a la Junta de propietarios será personal o por representación legal o voluntaria" (attendance at the owners' meeting shall be in person or through legal or voluntary representation), and representation is proved by "un escrito firmado por el propietario" (a document signed by the owner). The consolidated text in force does not mention videoconferencing or remote means.
During the pandemic, Royal Decree-law 8/2021 allowed meetings to be held "por videoconferencia o por conferencia telefónica múltiple" (by videoconference or multi-party phone call), as an exception and until 31 December 2021, provided all the owners had the means and the secretary confirmed their identity (article 3). That regime has ended.
The Madrid Provincial Court, Section 21, in judgment 207/2025, explained it clearly: the LPH "no contempla la celebración de las juntas de propietarios por videoconferencia o por medios telemáticos" (does not provide for owners' meetings to be held by videoconference or remote means). It added that it would be reasonable to treat the resolutions as valid if all the owners agree to meet that way, under the universal meeting rule in article 16.3. It left open the case of statutes that provide for it. In the case before it, none of that applied, and it upheld the nullity of the challenged resolutions of a videoconference meeting held without the claimant's consent.
Today, the safe route is an in-person meeting, with written proxies for anyone who cannot come.
If the community is in Catalonia, the rule is different. Book Five of the Catalan Civil Code allows notices to 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 or email, or by other means of communication, provided the authenticity of the communication and of its content is guaranteed) (article 553-21.2). And it allows the statutes or the meeting to agree on attendance "por videoconferencia o por otros medios telemáticos de comunicación sincrónica similares" (by videoconference or other similar real-time remote means) (article 553-22.1).
Safe practice today
If you want to give notice by email outside Catalonia, set the system up so that it survives a challenge:
- Ask for the designation in writing. Have each owner sign which email address they want used for notices, together with their address in Spain. The fact that the owner had provided the address herself was key in Alicante.
- Anyone who does not sign gets paper. Keep giving them notice at their designated address or at their flat, as article 9.1.h says.
- Keep the list up to date. If an owner writes from another address and says to use it "for everything", treat that as a change. That was the mistake in the Balearic Islands.
- Use a method that leaves a trail. Certified email sends the notice to the whole list at once from your firm's domain. For each owner, it records delivery, opening of the message and download of the document, with date, time and IP address. Each document carries a SHA-256 fingerprint that can be checked on a public verification page. It is not a qualified service under the eIDAS Regulation, so if it is disputed, the judge weighs it freely as electronic evidence (article 43.1 eIDAS and article 326.3 of the Civil Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil, LEC). Opening is only indicative; the download is the strong proof. It does not replace a burofax (a certified postal communication with proof of content and delivery) when you need one.
- For contentious meetings, use two channels. If the meeting affects an owner who opposes it, add a registered letter or a burofax to the designated address. If the burofax comes back undelivered, the key is still the designated address. We explain this for the MASC case (the compulsory attempt to negotiate before suing over a debt) in burofax refused or not collected.
- Respect the notice period. Email does not shorten the six days for the ordinary meeting: see the notice period for the owners' meeting. With the date the email arrives, our owners' meeting notice calculator gives you the earliest safe date for the meeting.
- Keep the proof for five years. That is what article 19.4 LPH requires for notices and communications.
Template: email designation form
Adapt it to your community and keep the signed original. The Spanish version of this article has the same template in Spanish.
Designation of an email address for summonses and notices
Community of Owners [name], [building address].
[Full name], owner of [flat or premises], informs the secretary of the community as follows:
- Their address in Spain for summonses and notices is [address].
- In addition, they ask to receive the community's meeting notices, minutes and other notices at the email address [email address].
- They undertake to give written notice of any change to that address. Until they do so, the community may continue to use this one.
- They may withdraw this request at any time, in writing.
The community will use this address only for communications relating to the community.
In [place], on [date].
Signature: [owner's name]
If you manage many communities, collecting and keeping these designations up to date is exactly the kind of task worth automating: we cover it in automation for property managers. And if your notice includes a list of owners in arrears, see the notice template with owners in arrears.
Sources
- Law 49/1960, on Horizontal Property (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal), arts. 9, 15, 16 and 19.
- Royal Decree-law 8/2021, of 4 May, arts. 2 and 3.
- Royal Decree 806/2026, of 5 October, dissolving Parliament.
- Rules of Procedure of the Congress of Deputies, art. 207.
- Bill 122/000240: text (BOCG 285-1), consideration by the plenary (BOCG 285-2), referral to the Justice Committee (BOCG 285-3) and progress record.
- Law 5/2006, on Book Five of the Civil Code of Catalonia, arts. 553-21 and 553-22.
- Civil Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil), art. 326, and Regulation (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS), art. 43.
- Supreme Court: judgment 987/2007 of 19 September and judgment 572/2020 of 3 November.
- Provincial Courts: Alicante, judgment 139/2019; Balearic Islands, judgment 160/2018; Córdoba, judgment 690/2025 and judgment 1025/2025; Madrid, judgment 207/2025; Segovia, judgment 260/2026; Valencia, judgment 26/2022.
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.