{"id":51398,"date":"2026-09-28T11:05:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/?p=51398"},"modified":"2026-09-28T11:07:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T11:07:54","slug":"nueva-ley-del-amianto-en-catalunya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/nueva-ley-del-amianto-en-catalunya\/","title":{"rendered":"New Asbestos Law in Catalonia"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The new and pioneering <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><strong><em>Law 8\/2026 of July 2 on the eradication of asbestos in Catalonia<\/em><\/strong><\/span> establishes a specific framework for <strong>identifying, managing, and removing<\/strong> this health-hazardous material from all buildings (public and private) in Catalonia constructed or renovated <strong>prior to 2002:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Residential buildings:<\/strong> Single-family homes, apartment blocks, and residential communities (regarding common elements such as downpipes, tanks, or roofs)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Public buildings:<\/strong> Schools, sports centers, government offices, and other state or municipal facilities (subject to a specific 3-year action plan)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Industrial units and warehouses:<\/strong> Spaces with fiber-cement or corrugated asbestos-cement roofing<\/li>\n<li><strong>Commercial premises, garages, and other structures:<\/strong> Any building housing economic or auxiliary activities where this material is present<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The new legislation therefore represents a qualitative leap, given that, until now, legally installed asbestos could remain in place as long as it was not disturbed and had not reached the end of its useful life.<\/p>\n<p>It was published in the <strong>Official Gazette of the Generalitat of Catalonia<\/strong> (DOGC) on <strong>July 3, 2026<\/strong>, and will generally enter into force on <strong>October 3, 2026<\/strong>. The specific sanctions regime remains subject to regulatory development by the Catalan Executive Council, which has <strong>a one-year timeframe<\/strong> to complete this process. Consequently, this <strong>does not mean<\/strong> that all property owners must immediately remove any roof or element containing fiber-cement on October 3. The law establishes the framework and instruments, but many details\u2014such as procedures, priorities, a specific timeline, and certification requirements\u2014have yet to be defined through regulations.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">What does it entail for the homeowner?<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>For any owner of a property where asbestos is identified, the new law establishes <strong>an obligation to keep the property free of said material<\/strong>, adopting the necessary measures for its proper removal:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Private individuals <strong>must not remove asbestos themselves<\/strong> or hire just any worker to do so.<\/li>\n<li>Removal must be carried out by specifically trained companies and professionals.<\/li>\n<li>Removed asbestos must follow the legal process for collection, transport, and final disposal.<\/li>\n<li>The authorities may establish <strong>binding deadlines for removal<\/strong>, based on criteria to be developed.<\/li>\n<li>Prioritization will take into account factors such as the condition or risk level of the material, proximity to people (especially children and vulnerable individuals), population density, and the quantity of material.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">And what about the sale and rental of housing?<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>The new law establishes a <strong>certificate of asbestos presence or absence<\/strong>\u2014a document that must be provided to the buyer (in sales) or the tenant (in rentals) of a property in Catalonia. Pending the approval of regulations specifying exactly how the certificate is to be issued, the law itself stipulates that it must, at a minimum, attest to the presence or absence of visible asbestos, the condition of the material, and any potential risk to human health.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, in the case of the sale of a property built or renovated prior to 2002, the certification regarding the presence or absence of asbestos must be duly recorded in the <strong>Property Registry<\/strong>, in accordance with applicable regulations.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Who bears the costs of removing the hazardous material?<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>The law also establishes the <strong>Fund for the Eradication of Asbestos in Catalonia<\/strong>, intended to finance detection, removal, and management activities, as well as advisory services, training, and certain private initiatives. It also specifically provides funding for actions undertaken by local authorities. However, key aspects\u2014such as the scope of the aid, the eligibility requirements, and the number and timing of calls for applications\u2014remain to be determined, pending the aforementioned regulatory implementation.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" wp-image-51411 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amianto-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"607\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amianto-1.jpg 528w, https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Amianto-1-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 607px) 100vw, 607px\" \/><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Homeowners&#8217; associations<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>The new law will also require property managers to notify owners and the relevant registry of the presence of asbestos, and to ensure that the appropriate certificate is provided upon the sale or rental of a property. They must also provide information on available grants and subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if a building has a central courtyard roof made of fiber-cement, <strong>the issue will not automatically fall solely on the owner of the top-floor apartment;<\/strong> instead, it will be necessary to analyze the ownership of the element, the obligations of the homeowners&#8217; association, and the timeline established by the implementing regulations.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">Can I be sanctioned?<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>Although the specific sanctions regime will not apply until the decree implementing it is approved, minor, serious, and very serious infractions are established:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Minor:<\/strong> From \u20ac100 to \u20ac3,000<\/li>\n<li><strong>Serious:<\/strong> From \u20ac3,001 to \u20ac30,000<\/li>\n<li><strong>Very serious:<\/strong> From \u20ac30,001 to \u20ac100,000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Furthermore, for certain serious or very serious infringements, there may be ancillary sanctions related to public aid or contracting with the public administration.<\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #993366;\">What is still NOT fully defined<\/span><\/h5>\n<p>The following remain to be finalized, among other things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>How asbestos will be identified and diagnosed<\/li>\n<li>What information the Catalan census will contain<\/li>\n<li>Who will be authorized to issue the presence\/absence certificate<\/li>\n<li>How removal schedules will be established<\/li>\n<li>Which materials will be prioritized<\/li>\n<li>How the registry of authorized companies will operate<\/li>\n<li>Technical requirements for collaborating entities<\/li>\n<li>Specific aspects of the penalty regime<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Catalan Government has yet to develop the regulations for the law and, furthermore, <strong>has 6 months from its entry into force to launch the Register of qualified companies and professionals.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?l=es-ES&amp;phone=34608010051\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-17273\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"desp-petit aligncenter wp-image-17273\" src=\"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/casas-en-el-maresme-mobil-en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"394\" height=\"246\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?l=es-ES&amp;phone=34608010051\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-17274\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"desp-gran aligncenter wp-image-17274 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/casas-en-el-maresme-en.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"175\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/b><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new and pioneering Law 8\/2026 of July 2 on the eradication of asbestos in Catalonia establishes a specific framework for identifying, managing, and removing&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":51402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,117,172],"tags":[6,67,19,22],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51398"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51421,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51398\/revisions\/51421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bestmaresme.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}