Property Owner Obligations Under the LPH in Spain in 2026: What You Must Do and Cannot Do in a Spanish Community

The nine statutory duties every owner in a comunidad de propietarios owes, the mandatory works a community can force through without a vote, the activities the law prohibits inside your own unit, and the 2024 Supreme Court rulings that confirmed a community can ban tourist letting outright.

When you buy an apartment, townhouse or villa inside a Spanish urbanisation, you join a comunidad de propietarios governed by Ley 49/1960, the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (LPH). That membership brings nine statutory obligations under Article 9 and a set of prohibited activities under Article 7 that the community can enforce through the courts. Article 10 adds a category of mandatory building works the junta cannot block. In 2024 and 2025 the framework moved substantially: the Supreme Court confirmed that a three-fifths majority can prohibit tourist letting outright, a DGSJFP resolution upheld a registrar blocking a tourist-let registration where statutes forbid the use, and the Andalusia housing decree tightened the regional short-let regime. This guide sets out what you must do, what you cannot do, and how the community enforces each rule.

What are the nine obligations of a property owner under Article 9?

Article 9.1 of the LPH lists nine duties every owner owes to the community. They are not aspirational: each is legally enforceable, and breach of the financial duties (e and f) carries a preferred-credit status that follows the property, not the person.

Duty	LPH basis	Enforcement route
Respect common elements and use them properly	Art 9.1.a	Community demand; damages claim
Maintain your unit in good repair	Art 9.1.b	Community demand; damages claim
Consent to necessary repairs and servitudes	Art 9.1.c	Court order if refused
Allow access for those works	Art 9.1.d	Court order if refused
Contribute to community expenses by cuota	Art 9.1.e	Preferred credit; property attachment
Fund the reserve fund at 10 per cent of budget	Art 9.1.f	Preferred credit; property attachment
Use the building diligently and answer for damage	Art 9.1.g	Community demand; damages claim
Register a Spanish address for notifications	Art 9.1.h	Deemed notice at the unit if absent
Report any change of ownership to the secretary	Art 9.1.i	Joint and several liability with the buyer

The financial duties (e and f) carry the strongest teeth. Article 9.1.e grants community fee credits preferred status under Article 1923 of the Spanish Civil Code, ranking ahead of most other claims against the property. A buyer inherits liability for the seller’s unpaid community fees for the current year and the three preceding years, which is why the community debt certificate is a mandatory document at every completion. The reserve fund duty under Article 9.1.f was raised from 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the ordinary annual budget by Real Decreto-ley 7/2019, with an adaptation period under that decree’s transitional provisions. The fund may now also cover accessibility and energy efficiency works under Article 17.2, per Ley 10/2022.

The notification duties (h and i) are procedural but carry real consequences. If an owner does not register a Spanish address for community notices, any communication left at their unit or posted on the community notice board takes full legal effect within three days. If a seller fails to report a change of ownership, they remain jointly and severally liable with the new owner for all community debts incurred after the transfer. The BOE consolidated text, last updated 21 March 2026, confirms both duties remain in force without amendment.

What work can a community force through without a vote under Article 10?

Article 10 lists five categories of building work that are obligatory and do not require a prior junta agreement. The junta’s role is limited to distributing the cost as a derrama and setting payment terms. An owner who opposes or delays government-ordered works is individually liable for any administrative sanctions.

Work category	What it covers	LPH basis
Conservation and safety	Maintenance of the building and common installations to meet security, habitability and accessibility standards	Art 10.1.a
Accessibility for over-70s or disabled residents	Ramps, lifts, communication devices, if annual per-owner share after subsidies does not exceed 12 monthly fees	Art 10.1.b
Accessibility at 75 per cent subsidy	The same works are mandatory if public aid covers at least 75 per cent of the cost	Art 10.1.b
Occupancy of common elements during works	Temporary use of common areas while obligatory works proceed	Art 10.1.c
Government-ordered structural or urban-renewal works	New floors, structural alterations, complex formation required by a public administration	Art 10.1.d

The 12-monthly-fees cap under Article 10.1.b was broadened by Real Decreto-ley 7/2019, which extended the trigger to residents over 70 as well as those with disabilities. The works remain obligatory even if the requesting owner covers the cost above the 12-month threshold. The 75 per cent subsidy trigger is a separate route: if public aid reaches that share, the community cannot refuse the works regardless of the per-owner cost. The property itself is legally attached to the cost, on the same terms as general community expenses under Article 9.

This means an owner in a building with no lift can, under Article 10.1.b, request lift installation on behalf of an elderly or disabled resident, and the community must carry it out if the cost test is met. The works are not a discretionary improvement; they are a statutory obligation. Our reserve fund guide explains how the fund can now finance accessibility works under Article 17.2, and the community fees guide covers how derramas are calculated.

Can an owner install an EV charging point without a community vote?

Yes. Article 17.5 of the LPH, added by Real Decreto-ley 8/2011 and retained in the consolidated text, gives an owner the right to install a private electric vehicle charging point in their individual garage space with only prior communication to the community. No junta vote is required. The owner bears the full installation cost and the electricity consumption, and the community cannot refuse or delay the installation. This is one of the few owner-initiated works that bypasses the voting thresholds of Article 17 entirely, sitting alongside the mandatory works of Article 10.

The provision matters increasingly in 2026 as EV adoption accelerates on the Costa del Sol and charging infrastructure becomes a buyer expectation. An owner who installs a charging point under Article 17.5 does not need to fund a community-wide infrastructure upgrade under Article 17.3 (renewable energy installations, which require a one-third majority); the private installation is a standalone right.

What activities are prohibited under Article 7?

Article 7.2 prohibits activities inside a unit or the building that are harmful, annoying, unhealthy, noxious, dangerous or illegal, plus anything the community statutes expressly ban. The enforcement route is fixed by statute and runs through the president, the junta and the courts.

Stage	Who acts	What happens
Cessation demand	President	Written warning to stop immediately
Junta authorisation	Junta de propietarios	Vote to authorise court action
Court filing	President (on junta’s behalf)	Demanda via juicio ordinario
Cautelar order	Judge	Immediate cessation under penalty of desobediencia
Sentencia	Judge	Definitive cessation, compensation, privation of use up to 3 years

The president issues the first demand, either on their own initiative or at the request of any owner or occupant. If the offender persists, the junta must be convened to authorise a court action. The judge can grant a cautelar (interim) order for immediate cessation at the first hearing, before the full trial. A final estimatoria sentence can impose privation of use of the property for up to three years, calibrated to the gravity of the infringement and the prejudice caused to the community. If the offender is a tenant rather than the owner, the court can extinguish their occupancy rights entirely and order immediate eviction.

Article 7.1 lets an owner modify architectural elements inside their unit, provided the changes do not compromise the building’s security, structural integrity, external appearance or the rights of other owners. The owner must inform the community beforehand. Changes to common elements require community agreement, and urgent repairs affecting common installations must be reported to the administrator without delay.

Did the Supreme Court confirm a community can prohibit tourist letting?

Yes, and this is the most significant development in LPH enforcement since the 2019 reform. On 3 October 2024 the Sala de lo Civil del Tribunal Supremo issued two rulings, STS 1232/2024 and STS 1233/2024, that settled a question the lower courts had split on: whether Article 17.12 lets a community prohibit tourist letting outright, or merely limit or condition it.

The Court held that limitar includes prohibir. The word “limit” in Article 17.12 encompasses the maximum form of limitation, which is prohibition. The Court reasoned across eight points: (1) Article 17 sets the voting rules for community agreements by nature of the matter; (2) the contested question was whether “limitar o condicionar” in Article 17.12 extends to prohibition; (3) the provision must be interpreted by its spirit and purpose, not just its literal text, per Article 3.1 of the Civil Code; (4) semantically, “limitar” means not just “to put limits on” but “to fix the extent of authority or rights”, which includes their complete prohibition; (5) the teleological reading of Real Decreto-ley 7/2019 supports restriction of tourist lets to protect residential housing supply; (6) attributing this power to communities is justified by the real nuisance tourist lets can cause in residential buildings; (7) the Article 7.2 cessation route only lets communities react after the nuisance occurs, while Article 17.12 lets them prevent it; (8) Article 17.12 is an exception to the unanimity rule, so subjecting a prohibition to unanimity would make it impossible, as the owner wanting to let would simply vote no.

The rulings resolved two specific cases. In STS 1232/2024 (ponente Pedro Jose Vela Torres), the Court upheld a Madrid community’s 20 April 2020 agreement prohibiting tourist lets, adopted by more than three-fifths but not unanimously. In STS 1233/2024 (ponente Jose Luis Seoane Spiegelberg, rec. 2617/2023), the Court upheld a Málaga community’s 20 July 2019 prohibition, adopted by 14 owners (22.95 per cent of owners, 24.012 per cent of cuotas) with three against, applying the presumed-vote mechanism of Article 17.8 to absent owners who did not dissent within 30 days. The practical consequence: an owner wanting to block a prohibition needs the favourable vote of at least 41 per cent of owners and cuotas, not merely their own vote against.

Earlier rulings (STS of 30 January 2024 and two sentencias of December 2023, per the Poder Judicial notification of 12 December 2023) had already established that tourist letting is an economic activity and that statutes prohibiting economic activities cover tourist lets. The October 2024 rulings added the definitive holding that Article 17.12 itself authorises prohibition by three-fifths, even without a pre-existing statutory ban.

Can a property registrar block a tourist-let registration?

Yes. A DGSJFP resolution of 22 December 2025 (BOE-A-2026-6851, published 2026) confirmed that a property registrar can refuse to assign a tourist-let registry number when the community statutes prohibit tourist use, even if the owner holds a regional tourism registration. The case arose in Seville: an owner registered a property in the Andalusia Registro de Turismo on 20 June 2024, but the community had agreed on 23 May 2024 to prohibit tourist letting and inscribed the statutory amendment on 30 July 2025. The registrar refused the registry number under Real Decreto 1312/2024, Article 10.1, which requires checking “possible agreements of the community of neighbours conforme to Ley 49/1960”.

The DGSJFP held that the administrative tourism licence does not override the civil-law statutory prohibition. The owner, having been present at the junta that adopted the prohibition, could not claim third-party protection under Article 32 of the Ley Hipotecaria. The resolution expressly cited LPH Articles 7.3 and 17.12 and confirmed that “it is the comunidad de propietarios who, if it wishes, can modify the statutes to exclude the activity of tourist letting from the prohibited activities”. This closes a gap that some owners had tried to exploit: obtaining a regional tourism registration first, then arguing the community ban should not apply.

Does an owner need community approval to let to tourists?

Yes, since 3 April 2025. Article 7.3 of the LPH, added by Ley Organica 1/2025, requires an owner to obtain express community approval by three-fifths of owners and three-fifths of cuotas before exercising the seasonal rental activity defined in Article 5.e of Ley 29/1994 (the LAU), in the terms set by the applicable regional tourism regulation. Letting without that approval is treated as a prohibited activity under Article 7.2 and follows the same cessation and privation route.

Article 17.12, added by Real Decreto-ley 7/2019, lets a community limit, condition or prohibit tourist letting by the same three-fifths majority. Once adopted, the restriction binds all owners, including those who voted against it and those who bought after the agreement. The October 2024 Supreme Court rulings confirmed that this power includes outright prohibition.

In Andalusia, the Decreto-ley 1/2025, de 24 de febrero (BOJA-b-2025-90042), introduced urgent housing measures including tightened requirements for tourist accommodation, with sanctions raised to up to EUR 600,000 for clandestine rentals. The decree was convalidated by the Andalusian Parliament on 7 March 2025 and subsequently consolidated into Ley 5/2025, de 16 de diciembre, de Vivienda de Andalucía. The regional framework requires a town-hall authorisation alongside the LPH community approval, building on the Decreto 31/2024 regime that renamed the VFT (vivienda con fines turisticos) figure to VUT (vivienda de uso turistico) and hardened the registration requirements. The Costa del Sol short-let rules guide covers those regional requirements in detail.

If you are buying a property intending to let it seasonally, the community’s stance under Article 7.3 and Article 17.12 is now a due-diligence question as fundamental as the title status. An existing tourist-let operator who was registered before 3 April 2025 can continue under the transitional regime in the Disposicion adicional segunda, but a new operator needs the community vote first, and the December 2025 DGSJFP resolution confirms the registrar will enforce any statutory prohibition.

Can an owner lose voting rights over unpaid debts?

Yes. Article 15.2 suspends the voting rights of any owner who, at the start of the junta, is not current on all debts owed to the community and has not judicially challenged the debt or consigned the disputed amount with a court or notary. The owner may still attend and speak at the meeting, but their cuota is not counted toward any majority threshold, which can change the outcome of a three-fifths or simple majority vote. The acta must record the suspended owners by name.

This is the enforcement lever for the financial duties under Article 9.1.e and 9.1.f. An owner who stops paying community fees does not just accumulate a preferred-credit debt that follows the property; they also lose their voice in community decisions. The only route back is to pay, challenge the debt in court, or consign the sum with a notary or court. Our community governance guide explains the full voting threshold structure, and the dispute resolution guide covers how an owner can challenge a junta agreement under Article 18.

What should a buyer check about owner obligations before purchasing?

Three documents matter most for the obligations you will inherit. The constitutive title and any statutes set the cuota and any activity restrictions the community has adopted, including a tourist-let limit or prohibition under Article 17.12. The community debt certificate under Article 9.1.e discloses what the seller owes for the current year and the three preceding years, and the property is legally attached to that debt. The minutes of the most recent junta reveal pending mandatory works under Article 10, any special derramas, and any cessation actions in progress under Article 7.

Your independent lawyer should request these as part of standard due diligence, alongside the full buying process checks. The Horizontal Property Law guide sets out the broader statutory framework, and the community fees guide breaks down what the cuota-based contributions typically cost. If the community has adopted an Article 17.12 tourist-let restriction, it transfers with the property and may affect your intended use.