Catalonia requires by law that asbestos be removed before 2028 and 2032.

The Official State Gazette publishes this Monday, 17 August 2026, Law 8/2026, of 2 July, on the eradication of asbestos, approved by the Parliament of Catalonia and promulgated by the Government of Catalonia. The regulation imposes for the first time the legal obligation to remove materials containing asbestos, with deadlines of 2028 for public buildings and 2032 for the whole territory, in line with the recommendations of the European Union.

The law is published in BOE number 201, section I, page 115241, with the official reference BOE-A-2026-17836, and consists of 61 articles structured in five titles, 23 additional provisions, one transitional provision, one repealing provision and seven final provisions. Catalonia estimates that it houses millions of tonnes of fibre cement and between 6,000 and 30,000 tonnes of sprayed and lagged materials, mostly installed between the mid-1960s and the late 1980s, and therefore already beyond their useful life. Until now, the 2001 ban on producing and marketing asbestos allowed materials already installed to be kept until the end of their useful life, with no legal obligation to remove them.

Obligations and deadlines

The regulation obliges public administrations to identify, manage and remove asbestos from assets and infrastructure under their ownership, with special attention to schools, health centres, and community and sports facilities. The Government of Catalonia must draw up a specific plan for the priority removal of asbestos in educational, health and social centres and public sports facilities within three years of its entry into force.

• Obligated parties must remove asbestos within the deadlines bindingly set by the competent institutions.
• The European Union recommends the removal of asbestos from all public buildings before the end of 2028 and the complete elimination of asbestos by the end of 2032.
• Citizens and companies must report the presence of asbestos, keep properties they own free of these materials and cooperate with inspection.

Instruments and funding

The law creates the Catalan Commission for the Eradication of Asbestos, the Catalan census of materials containing asbestos, the National Plan for the Eradication of Asbestos and the Fund for the Eradication of Asbestos of Catalonia. It also establishes the Register of qualified companies and professionals for asbestos management, registration in which is mandatory in order to operate in Catalonia, and the Register of mesotheliomas and asbestos-related diseases.

• The Government of the Generalitat must propose to the State, within one year, the creation of a state fund for the eradication of asbestos with territorialized management.
• The Catalan Waste Agency assumes the role of main instrumental administrative structure for management and removal.
• The social interest of expropriation of properties containing asbestos is declared, and the certification of the presence of these materials must be recorded in the Land Registry.

Health, victims and sanctions

The law recognizes victims of asbestos, with the right to reparation, legal, medical and psychological counseling, and compensation through the fund created by Law 21/2022, of 19 October. It gives special recognition to the municipalities of Cerdanyola del Vallès, Ripollet and Badia del Vallès, whose population was exposed for ninety years to the Uralita industry.

• The sanctioning regime classifies infractions with pecuniary and accessory penalties, such as the prohibition on receiving public aid or subsidies and on contracting with the Generalitat.
• When buying or renting a home, citizens will be able to obtain the certificate of presence or absence of asbestos.
• The Government must appear annually before the Parliament and account every two years on the national plan for the eradication of asbestos.

The law will enter into force three months after its publication in the Official Gazette of the Government of Catalonia. It is the first cross-cutting law with a country-wide vision that addresses the eradication of asbestos, a problem that affects public health, real estate and the construction sector, and that will force administrations, companies and citizens to assume an unprecedented removal schedule.