Can fibre optic cables be run across my façade without my permission?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

Yes, in many cases, because in a building divided into flats the façade is a common part and the permission of each neighbour is not required. The telecommunications legislation only requires the operator to notify the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) in writing. In addition, the cable can only run across the façade if there are no ducts or they cannot be used, making use of what is already installed and with the least possible visual impact. If the building does not have a shared telecommunications installation ready for fibre, the association can in some cases prevent it by undertaking to install one. And the operator is liable for any damage it causes. When cables can run across the façade The “Ley General de Telecomunicaciones”, Spain's General Telecommunications Act, is a national law and applies in the same way in Catalonia. It allows operators to lay cables across façades on these conditions: There are no ducts through which to run them or they cannot be used for technical reasons. They make use, as far as possible, of the cables, ducts and installations that already exist. Measures are taken to keep them as unobtrusive as possible. The building is not protected for its historic or artistic value and the case is not one that could affect public safety, cases in which the law prevents it where this is justified. According to the “Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia”, Spain's markets and competition regulator, the town council can regulate how cables are placed on façades, but cannot require the owners' authorisation, because the law only requires notification. What the owners' association can say It is the association, not each neighbour, that deals with the operator. What it can do depends on whether the building has a common telecommunications infrastructure, the installation through which television, telephone and internet reach the flats: If it does not have one, or it is not suitable for fibre, the first operator that wants to reach the flats must notify the association in writing. Within the following month, the association can only prevent it if it shows that no owner or tenant is interested or if it replies that it will install the common infrastructure, or adapt the existing one, within the following three months. For that resolution the votes of a third of the owners also representing a third of the participation shares, the percentage that each flat has in the building, are enough. Operators that come later only have to give one month's notice and the association cannot refuse them access. If the cable merely passes through the building to reach others, the operator must also give one month's notice. What you can do You cannot prevent the cable from running across the common façade on your own. You can, however, ask the managing agent for the association to check that those conditions are being met and to require the operator to tidy up the cabling and repair any damage, because operators are liable for the damage they cause to buildings. The practical course is to claim from the operator in writing first. Before bringing a claim, the law requires an attempt at negotiation. It is a different matter if the operator wants to pass through a space that belongs only to you, such as the inside of your terrace. The law is not clear on that case and it is advisable to take advice.