Accessible housing and your rights over lifts, ramps and adaptations

Key rules

• Community duty: The community must do needed accessibility works at no vote when the cost after subsidies is within 12 monthly ordinary charges.
• Who can ask: A disabled owner or resident, or anyone over 70, can make the request.
• Tenants: You need the landlord's written notice and consent, and you pay for the works.
• Subsidies: Aid depends on your region, income and degree of disability, so check which calls are open.

Many older buildings have no lift

A large share of Spain's older blocks have no lift, especially buildings from before 1980 and those in historic centres. When you search, filter for a lift and a step-free entrance. Then check each home in person with the viewing checklist below.

When the community must install the works

The community must carry out needed accessibility works if the cost after subsidies is no more than 12 monthly ordinary charges. This covers ramps, lifts and other devices in the common areas. It applies when the request comes from:

• an owner or resident with a disability, or
• anyone over 70 living in the building, or someone who lives with a family member who is.

No general vote of owners is needed in these cases. The rule applies to buildings run as an owners' community, which is most blocks of flats. Send the request to the community administrator in writing and keep a copy.

If the cost is higher

Above that limit, the community does not have to do the works. You still have two routes:

• Ask the owners to vote. If the required majority approves, every owner shares the cost. The majority rules were changed in 2019 and later, so ask the administrator or a lawyer which one applies to your works.
• Pay for the works yourself. The part above the limit falls on you unless the community agrees to bear it.

Subsidies you receive count off the cost when the community measures it against the limit. That is why it helps to apply for them first.

Subsidies

Aid can come from the national housing plan, from rehabilitation programmes funded by the EU, and from programmes run by each region. It usually covers a share of the cost of lifts, ramps and adapting homes for people with a disability or over 65. The share and the ceiling depend on your income and your degree of disability. For common areas, the application often goes through the community. Calls and amounts change, so ask your regional housing department which are open now.

If you rent

A tenant with a disability, or who lives with or employs someone with a disability or over 70, may adapt the home or its common elements. To do it:

1. Tell the landlord in writing and describe the works.
2. Get the landlord's consent.
3. Pay for the works and any community or town hall permits.

When the lease ends, the landlord can ask you to restore the home to its original state, unless you agree otherwise.

Which option to choose

The decision guide below helps you pick between asking the community, asking for a vote, doing the works yourself or applying for a subsidy first.

Choosing between options

How should you get accessibility works done in your building?

• Ask the community to do the works: The works are needed and the cost after subsidies is no more than 12 monthly ordinary charges. You or someone living with you has a disability, or anyone in the building is over 70.

• Apply for a subsidy first: You want to lower the cost. Aid for lifts, ramps and home adaptations is run by each region, so ask the regional housing department which calls are open for your income and level of disability.

Subtract any subsidy from the cost, then compare the result with 12 monthly ordinary charges: at or below it, the community must do the works; above it, you need a vote or you pay.

Check current subsidy calls with your regional housing department and the voting rules with your community administrator.

Checklist for viewing an accessible home in Spain

Checklist for viewing an accessible home

• Look for steps at the street entrance and between the entrance and the lift, and check any ramp is gentle enough for you to use.

• Check that the lift reaches every floor, including the entrance floor without half-flights.

• Measure the lift cabin and its door. An accessible cabin is usually at least 1.00 m by 1.25 m, with a door clear width of 0.80 m.

• Press the lift buttons to test their height, and look for Braille or raised numbers.

• Check the landing in front of the lift has room to turn a wheelchair, and ask who maintains the lift and whether it works reliably.

• Test the intercom, handrails and lighting in the common areas.

• Measure the clear width of every door inside the home.

• Check for a free turning circle of 1.50 m across in the entrance, bathroom and bedroom.

• Check the bathroom has a 1.50 m turning circle and about 0.80 m of free space beside the toilet. Older homes are not required to meet these sizes.

• Ask the landlord or seller for the building inspection report (ITE or IEE), which has an accessibility section for older buildings, or an architect's accessibility report.

• Ask for the cédula de habitabilidad or first-occupation licence, where your region requires one. The energy certificate does not cover accessibility.

• Ask to read the community minutes (actas) for agreed or pending lift and ramp works and any special charges.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays if the accessibility works cost more than the limit?

If the cost is above the limit, the community does not have to do the works, but it can still approve them by the required majority, and then all owners share the cost. Otherwise the owners who asked can do the works and pay for them.

Do subsidies count towards the cost limit?

Yes, any aid you receive is taken off the cost before it is compared with the limit. That can bring a lift or ramp project back under the limit and make the community's duty apply.

Can a tenant adapt a rented home?

Yes, a tenant with a disability, or who lives with or employs someone with a disability or over 70, can adapt the home, but only with the landlord's written consent. Tell the landlord in writing what you plan to do. You pay the cost and any permits, and the landlord can ask you to restore the home when the lease ends unless you agree otherwise.

Are lifts rare in older Spanish buildings?

Yes, many buildings with three or more floors have no lift, especially those built before 1980. Around a third of residential buildings are not accessible. Ask about the lift before you book any viewing in an older building or historic centre.