Having the dog or cat regularly living on the balcony, terrace or patio is no longer just a question of ethics, but a serious legal violation in Spain. According to Law 7/2023 on Animal Welfare, owners who keep their pets permanently in these spaces, as well as on rooftops, storage rooms, basements or vehicles, face financial penalties that can reach 50,000 euros.
What does art.74 say?
This measure, included in article 74 of the current regulations, seeks to guarantee the protection and “dignity of animals” in a country where one in three households lives with at least one four-legged companion.
According to the law, the animal cannot have a terrace, balcony, roof terrace, storage room, basement or vehicle as its usual place of residence. Although the law allows the pet to occasionally be in these spaces (for example, sunbathing or browsing under supervision), it strictly prohibits it from being their living place.
Keeping an animal alone outside for long hours is now part of the behaviors that compromise its well-being. In fact, according to article 3.y of the law, this situation can be considered abuse by omission, since it deprives the animal of social interaction and the thermal and protection conditions necessary for a dignified life.
Strict limits
In addition to the restriction of spaces, the rule establishes temporary “red lines” to avoid covert abandonment. Dogs cannot be left alone for more than 24 consecutive hours under any circumstances. While for the rest of the pets, the maximum period without human supervision is three days.
Failure to comply with these rules is not considered a minor offense. By directly compromising the physical and psychological health of the animal, having a pet on the terrace permanently escalates directly to the section of serious infractions according to article 76.
| Type of Violation | Example of behavior | economic fine |
| Mild | Neglect of obligations without physical damage (e.g. not updating data). | €500 to €10,000 |
| Serious | Dogs on balconies, lack of microchip or not reporting loss. | €10,001 to €50,000 |
| Very serious | Unauthorized death, training for fights or cruelty. | €50,001 to €200,000 |
Loss of the pet in the most serious cases
For the most serious cases of serious violations, such as confinement in basements or rooftops, the law not only provides for financial punishment. The offender may face additional measures, such as disqualification from owning animals for a period of up to five years, thus losing any right to their current pet or future acquisitions.
According to article 76 of the law, the administration can withdraw custody of the pet to ensure its safety, disqualify the offender as the owner of any animal for a period of one to five years, as well as temporarily withdraw permits related to the ownership of animals.
With more than thirteen million animals identified in Spain, the authorities’ objective is clear: to raise the standard of care. Currently, only 27% of dogs and a mere 4.3% of cats that arrive at shelters have microchips, a figure that the new law also aims to combat through its sanctions regime.