Can the comunidad stop me installing an EV charger in Spain?

What the law says

Article 17.5 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Horizontal, LPH) is clear: installing a charging point for private use in an individual garage space only requires prior notice to the comunidad (the community of owners). No meeting, no vote, no permission. The same article adds that the owner bears the full cost of the installation and the electricity.

The Supreme Court ruling of December 2025

The First Chamber of the Spanish Supreme Court, in judgment 1745/2025 of 1 December 2025 (press release of 12 December), settled the point that caused most disputes: even if the cable runs wholly or partly through common elements, or has to be fixed to them, no authorisation from the comunidad is needed. The only exception is an unnecessary or disproportionate impact on those elements or harm to the other owners.

What the comunidad can ask of you

• That a registered installation company does the work.
• That existing conduits and fire compartments are respected.
• That any common element touched is made good.
• That the electricity does not come from the community’s meter.

What it cannot do

• Put it to a vote or require a meeting resolution.
• Impose a charger brand or a particular installer.
• Charge you a fee for installing it.

Special cases

• Rented space: you need the consent of the owner of the space; a tenant cannot give notice in their own name.
• Connecting to the garage lighting supply: not allowed without agreement, because you would be using everyone’s electricity.
• A shared installation for the whole garage: a backbone line is approved at a meeting by one third of the owners holding one third of the shares (article 17.1).
• Refused access to the meter room: request it by burofax and, if refused again, administrative and court routes are open.

Doing it properly

A complete notice prevents almost every conflict. We visit, prepare the technical details for the notice and, after the courtesy period, install and file the boletín (electrical certificate). In Seville, Spain, see EV charger in a communal garage. Property managers handling several requests at once have a dedicated service on property managers.