What majority is needed to install a lift and how is the cost shared?
In Catalonia, a simple majority of the owners' general meeting is enough, even if the lift means amending the by-laws or altering the structure or the façade of the building. That majority is counted only among the owners who vote. The cost is paid by all the owners according to their participation share, including those who voted against, unless the deed of constitution (“título de constitución”) or the by-laws set a different allocation for that expense. What has not been settled in Catalonia is whether the same simple majority is enough to share the cost differently or to exempt an owner.
Alburquerque Abogados
José Manuel AlburquerqueHow the majority is counted
The Catalan Civil Code allows the installation of a lift and works to remove architectural barriers to be approved by a simple majority. This applies even if the work affects the structure or the façade and even if the by-laws or the deed of constitution have to be amended, the deed of constitution being the deed that divides the building into flats and commercial units. The four-fifths majority or the unanimity that the law requires for other resolutions is not needed.
Only the owners who vote count, whether in person, through a representative or by delegated vote. There must be more votes in favour than against and, in addition, those votes in favour must add up to more participation shares than the votes against. The participation share is the percentage that each flat or commercial unit holds in the building.
Owners who did not attend the meeting are bound all the same. They can object in writing, by a means that leaves a record, within a month of being notified of the resolution. That allows them to challenge it, but does not release them from paying for the lift. If the general meeting does not approve the lift, an owner or tenant who has a disability or is over seventy, or who lives or works with someone in that situation, can ask the court to compel the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) to install it. In the rest of Spain, the Horizontal Property Act (“Ley de Propiedad Horizontal”) requires for a lift a majority of all the owners who also represent a majority of the participation shares.
Who pays and in what proportion
If the lift is approved by the general meeting, the law places its cost on all the owners, including those who voted against. The rule that allows an owner who votes against not to pay for new installations that the law does not require, when their cost exceeds a quarter of the annual budget, does not apply here.
The cost is shared according to each owner's participation share, unless the deed of constitution, the by-laws or a valid resolution of the general meeting set a different rule for that expense. The exemption from lift expenses that by-laws grant to some ground-floor flats and commercial units does not, in principle, extend to the installation of a new one. If a storage room or other privately owned space has to be taken over to make the lift shaft, the resolution of the general meeting is not enough to take it away from its owner. The usual approach is to agree it with the owner, sometimes in exchange for not paying for the lift.
Sharing it differently or exempting someone
That agreement, like any other different allocation linked to the lift, raises the question of what majority is needed. Under the national legislation, the “Tribunal Supremo”, Spain's Supreme Court, accepted in its judgment 277/2026 of 23 February that such resolutions can be approved by the same majority as the lift if there is an objective reason that justifies them. In Catalonia, the point has not been settled. The Catalan code requires four-fifths of the owners and of the participation shares to set special expense quotas and unanimity to change the participation shares. There is no known Catalan judgment stating whether those rules give way when the allocation is tied to the lift.
Until this is clarified, the prudent course is to approve the special allocation or the exemption by a four-fifths majority and to explain in the minutes the objective reason that justifies it.
This answer is provided for educational purposes and offers initial guidance on the question raised. Every matter has its own circumstances and nuances that require individual assessment. For that reason, before taking decisions with significant consequences, it is advisable to consult a professional and not to rely solely on this information. Personalised advice makes it possible to apply these explanations to the specific case and to assess the options available with greater certainty.