Asbestos has been banned in Spain since 2002, but until Law 8/2026 no one was required to remove it if it was already installed. Here's what changed, and why now.
Asbestos was banned from manufacture and sale in Spain in 2002, but that national rule didn't require removing material already installed in buildings. As long as it stayed in good condition, it could remain in place indefinitely, with no obligation to disclose its presence when selling or renting.
Catalonia's ombudsman —the institution that defends citizens' rights before the administration— warned in a 2024 report that asbestos remained a serious public health, occupational and environmental problem, and recommended that Parliament pass a dedicated law to organise its planned eradication.
The European Union has set 2028 as the deadline to remove asbestos from public buildings, and 2032 for all other buildings. Catalonia, with one of the highest rates of installed fibre-cement in southern Europe, needed its own legal framework to meet those deadlines.
Official estimates point to millions of tonnes of asbestos fibre-cement installed in roofs, downpipes and tanks across the region, plus thousands of tonnes of sprayed and lagging materials, considered more hazardous because they release fibres more easily.
Beyond the mandatory certificate for sales and rentals, the law sets up a Catalan Asbestos Eradication Commission, a National Plan with targets and a timeline, a unified register of affected buildings, and a dedicated fund to help finance removals.
See what the law says in detail →In practice, it means that from 3 October 2026 you need the asbestos certificate to complete the transaction if the property was built before 2002, regardless of whether the material is in good condition. Getting it in advance stops it becoming a last-minute obstacle.