How long do the public authorities take to reply and what happens if they do not?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

The public authority has six months to decide and notify you of its decision, counted from when the claim reaches the registry of the body that must decide it. If it does not reply within that time, it is deemed to have rejected the claim. This is what is known as a deemed refusal (negative administrative silence), which allows you to go to the administrative court, the court that hears cases against the public authorities. According to the “Tribunal Constitucional”, Spain's Constitutional Court, there is no time limit for challenging that silence, so waiting does not make you lose your right. But the public authority is still obliged to reply and, if it eventually rejects the claim in writing, from then on you will have two months to appeal. How long it really takes The six months can be extended. For example, the time limit can be suspended for up to three months while a mandatory report is awaited, such as the opinion of the “Comissió Jurídica Assessora”, the Catalan government's legal advisory body, in claims of 50.000 euros or more. The public authority must inform you of any such suspensions. In practice, delays are not unusual. In one file concerning a fall, which received an advisory opinion in 2023, more than two and a half years passed between the claim and the opinion, which is the step before the decision. If yours has stalled, you can complain to the “Síndic de Greuges de Catalunya”, the Catalan ombudsman, or to your municipality's ombudsman (“síndic”), if there is one. If the delay is on the part of the State administration, the complaint goes to the “Defensor del Pueblo”, the Spanish ombudsman. A complaint is no substitute for an appeal. If they do not reply You can wait. You do not lose your right and no time limit runs for challenging the silence. You can lodge an application for review (the “recurso de reposición”) with the public authority itself. It is optional and can be lodged at any time. You can go to the administrative court, again with no time limit. You will need a lawyer, although a court agent (“procurador”) is not compulsory in these courts. If you lose the case, you will normally be ordered to pay the costs, which are the public authority's legal fees, often subject to a cap. In a recent judgment of a Barcelona court, the claimant who lost had to pay 500 euros in costs. In another, the town council that lost paid 300. If they reply late The public authority can still decide after the six months have passed. That late decision is not bound by the silence, so it may even find in your favour. If it rejects your claim or gives you less than you asked for, you have two months from notification to go to court or one month to first lodge an application for review. If you chose to receive notifications online, check them often. A notification that you do not open within ten calendar days is treated as served and the time limit starts to run anyway.