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

The nine statutory duties every owner in a comunidad de propietarios owes, the mandatory works a community can force through without a vote, and the activities the law prohibits inside your own unit.

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

The same Ley Organica 1/2025 added Article 17.12, which 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. In Andalusia, the February 2025 Decreto-ley on tourist accommodation added a town-hall authorisation requirement and a 60 per cent community approval threshold for short-term lets, building on the LPH framework. 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.

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 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.

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and individual circumstances differ. Verify current requirements with an independent lawyer (abogado) or tax advisor (gestor/asesor fiscal) before acting.