The communities of owners must take into account an important change in the Horizontal Property Law that comes into force on October 23, 2026, as warned by the notary, María Cristina Clemente. The reform especially affects buildings in which people with disabilities or people over 70 years of age live who need to carry out works to improve accessibility, like installing an elevator or building a ramp.
As explained by Clemente, in a video published on the social networks of Notaría Buendía, where he warned of the new obligations that the communities will have when one of their owners requests this type of action.
“All communities of owners are very attentive to the reform of the Horizontal Property Law that comes into force on October 23,” said the notary, recalling that, if one of these neighbors provides information about subsidies available to carry out the works, it will be the community itself that must request them.
Communities will be obliged to request aid to install elevators or ramps
The reform, which came into force this October 23, is included in Law 4/2026, of October 1, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE)whose first final provision modifies article 10.1.b) of Law 49/1960, on Horizontal Property.
Specifically, it establishes that, when accessibility works are requested for people with disabilities or people over 70 years of age, the interested party may provide information on the available aid and subsidies that the community can benefit from, and it will be the neighborhood community that is obliged to request them.
That is, if an owner requests to install an elevator or a ramp and provides information about a call for aid to which the building can access, the community will not be able to ignore its processing.
Furthermore, it must be remembered that the Horizontal Property Law already establishes the mandatory nature of certain accessibility works when their annual cost, discounting public aid, does not exceed twelve ordinary monthly payments of common expenses.
If the aid reaches 70% of the cost, the works will be mandatory
One of the main novelties is that, if the subsidies actually granted cover at least 70% of the amount of the works, their execution will be mandatory for the community, even if the financial limits established previously are exceeded.
This is how Clemente remembers it in his video: “The board cannot ignore this procedure and, if the aid and subsidies actually granted reach 70% of the amount of these works, their execution is mandatory for the community of owners.”
This means that it is not enough that there are announced subsidies, but that they must have actually been granted. In addition, the law contemplates that the works also maintain their mandatory nature when that percentage is not reached or the economic limit is exceeded, provided that those who requested them assume the corresponding excess.
On the other hand, the reform expressly introduces the possibility of going to court when the community does not comply with these obligations. In that case, the interested party may request the judicial authority to adopt the necessary decisions to force the execution of the actions.
“If despite this the community does not comply with this reform, today that neighbor can go to court and the judge will be the one to order execution,” explains the notary.
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Finally, Clemente recalls that this modification of state regulations does not apply in the same way in Catalonia, where communities of owners have their own civil regulation on horizontal property.