Asbestos (uralita) at home or in the community: how to know if it is present, who removes it and who pays

The first clue is the date. The Orden de 7 de diciembre de 2001 banned the marketing of materials with asbestos from 14 June 2002 and allowed those already installed to be kept until their elimination or the end of their useful life. A building constructed or renovated before 2002 may have it; also one constructed or renovated during 2002, because stocks were allowed to be sold for 6 more months. Its maximum use was from 1960 to 1984 (Technical Guide of the INSST).

Where it is usually found: fibre cement (uralita) in roof panels, downpipes, gutters, water tanks, chimneys and ducts; vinyl-asbestos tiles; and thermal insulation of pipes and boilers. Fibre cement accounted for 77% of uses.

It cannot be confirmed with the naked eye. A visual inspection by a technician is needed, who identifies the visible materials, their condition and the risk, or taking samples with laboratory analysis. Samples are taken by specialised personnel, never the owner. The risk lies in breathing the fibres released when the material is broken, cut, sanded or degraded; friable ones, such as thermal insulation, release them more easily.

If the property is in Catalonia, the direct route is the certificate of presence or absence of asbestos. With our asbestos certificate service we arrange the technician, review the certificate and give you the clause for the contract and the delivery receipt. The technician's fees are separate; you can see the updated amount in the service page.

Outside Catalonia there is no general date forcing an individual or a community to remove it. The Ley 7/2022 (the Spanish Waste Act), additional provision 14, obliges town halls to make a public census of installations with asbestos and a removal calendar, prioritising by danger. The famous "before 2028" only refers to higher risk public installations, not your home. Ask your town hall if your building is on the census.

But a broken or detaching material is a conservation and safety problem, and those works are mandatory for the community (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 10.1.a; in Catalonia, Código civil catalán, art. 553-44).

In Catalonia, the Ley 8/2026 obliges not to manipulate asbestos, to inform the administration of known places with asbestos and to keep properties, once identified, free of it, adopting measures to remove it (art. 11). The deadlines will be set with binding character by the competent institutions (additional provision 4); today there is no general one for homes. According to the ARC, detecting asbestos does not prevent selling or renting.

The removal is done by a company registered in the Registry of Companies with Asbestos Risk (RERA). The Real Decreto 396/2006 requires that, before each job, the company has a work plan approved by the labour authority (art. 11) and is registered in the RERA (art. 17.1). Ask for the registration number with the quote and the approval of the plan before starting. The royal decree itself exempts sporadic and low exposure works from the plan and the RERA, such as removing a non-friable material without breaking it, if the risk assessment justifies it (art. 3.2). Even so, a company does them, never you.

In Catalonia, in addition, only authorised companies and professionals can remove it (art. 31) and the law creates a Registry of qualified companies and professionals, mandatory to work there and which does not replace the RERA (art. 36). The Government has 6 months from 3 October 2026 to set it up; meanwhile, what you can check is the RERA.

Never do it yourself: dismantling, breaking, cutting, drilling, sanding, painting or cleaning fibre cement with pressurised water; tearing off tiles or thermal insulation; or throwing remains with rubble or in the bin. In Catalonia the law expressly forbids it (arts. 11.a and 34). If a panel has fallen, do not sweep or vacuum it: cordon off the area and notify the community or the specialised company.

If it is in a common element (roof, general downpipes, community tank), the community pays. If it is in a private element (the shed in your patio, the floor of your flat), its owner pays, unless the title or the by-laws say otherwise.

Outside Catalonia, the necessary conservation, safety and habitability works are mandatory and do not require a prior resolution of the owners' meeting (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, art. 10.1.a): the meeting only sets the special assessment and how it is paid (art. 10.2.a), and whoever opposes an order from the authority is responsible for the penalties (art. 10.2.b). It is distributed according to the participation quota.

In Catalonia, the community must keep the common elements in conditions of watertightness, habitability and safety, and the owners assume those works (Código civil catalán, art. 553-44). It is paid according to the quota (art. 553-45.1) and not using the element does not exempt you (art. 553-45.2): the ground floor owner also pays for the roof, unless a provision in the by-laws exempts them from that specific expense. The work is approved by a simple majority of owners and quotas that vote (art. 553-25.2), even if it affects the structure if it is required for safety or habitability (letter b), and provided the matter is on the agenda (art. 553-25.1).

If you live in a rented property, the necessary repairs for habitability are the landlord's responsibility, without raising the rent, except for damage attributable to the tenant (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, art. 21.1).

A municipal permit is needed, and which one depends on the ordinance and the scope. Replacing a roof without touching the structure usually goes through a prior communication of minor work; if the structure is touched or the building is protected, through a building permit. You can process it with our municipal minor works communication or municipal building permit services; you can see the updated amount in each service page.

They are 2 different procedures and both are needed: the municipal permit (yours or the community's) and the approved work plan (the company's). In Catalonia, if the replacement requires materials that change the structure, the town hall must authorise them with the building permit (Ley 8/2026, final provision 6).

The waste is hazardous and goes to a controlled landfill or an authorised manager (in Catalonia, arts. 30 and 33). Ask the company for the delivery receipt and keep it.

Knowing if there is asbestos: a certificate with visual inspection of a flat is advertised from about €150 to €250 plus VAT; with samples and laboratory, from about €500 plus VAT. Buildings and warehouses, by quote.

Removing it: depends on surface, height, scaffolding, access and transport of the waste, and there is usually a minimum per job. The new roof is separate. Ask for at least 2 quotes that separate removal, waste and replacement.

Grants: as of 3 October 2026 there are none open in Catalonia. The one from the Catalan Waste Agency (ARC) of 2026 accepted applications from 18 June to 2 July and is closed: €10.5 million by order of presentation, up to €30,000 per property, for removal by a RERA company, transport and treatment, not for replacement. The rehabilitation programmes with European funds (up to €1,000 per home or €12,000 per building for removing asbestos) closed on 30 June 2026 in the Consorci Metropolità de l'Habitatge and in the Barcelona one.

The Ley 8/2026 creates the Fund for the Eradication of Asbestos (art. 23) and obliges to call for grants regularly (art. 26), without dates. If your community plans to act, have the technical report and itemised quotes ready: the 2026 one was by order of presentation.

The Ley 8/2026, of 2 July, on the eradication of asbestos enters into force (DOGC 9699 of 3-7-2026; BOE of 17-8-2026). It only affects properties in Catalonia; outside Catalonia the certificate is not mandatory.

Whoever sells or rents must deliver a certificate of presence or absence of asbestos (art. 21.2) that proves, at least, the visible asbestos, its condition and the risk (art. 21.3). According to the ARC's criteria, while there is no regulation: architects, technical architects, engineers and technical engineers can issue it; an in-person visual inspection is enough; it considers it required in properties prior to 2002 (the law does not set that limit); today it has no validity period; and in a flat it refers to that unit, not to the common elements.

Property administrators must communicate the asbestos to the owners and to the Catalan Census, ensure the delivery of the certificate and inform about the grants (art. 12.1). Not delivering the certificate is a minor offence of €100 to €3,000 (arts. 53.c and 54.1.a), but that fine will not be applied until the sanctioning decree is approved.

In Catalonia, if the poor condition of a building can affect the healthiness of your property, you can demand that measures be taken (Código civil catalán, art. 546-11), and from 3 October 2026 the immissions of asbestos fibres produced by illegitimate acts of the neighbourhood that cause damage are forbidden and generate liability (art. 546-13).

In addition, the law obliges to inform the administration of the places with asbestos (art. 11.b). Until there is a specific channel for the Census, the ARC refers to its enquiry mailbox, its asbestos enquiry form and 012. Outside Catalonia, report it to your town hall. Leave it in writing: a formal request to the neighbour with photographs taken without touching the material and, if they do not respond, a notice to the administration.