Cretas approves the ordinance regulating municipal funeral services

The Cretas City Council has definitively approved the Municipal Ordinance regulating the provision of municipal funeral services, as no claims were submitted during the public exhibition period. The regulation, which governs the municipal cemetery as a public domain asset assigned to a public service, is published in full in the Official Gazette of the Province of Teruel number 163, dated August 27, 2026, under reference No. 2026-2516.

The text was initially approved unanimously in an extraordinary session of the Plenary dated June 19, 2026, with the attendance of all members of the Corporation. Since no allegations were presented, the agreement was automatically elevated to definitive status in accordance with Article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, on the Bases of the Local Regime, and Article 141 of Law 7/1999, of April 9, on Local Administration of Aragon.

Management Regime and Concessions

The cemetery is managed directly by the City Council, without a special administration body, with the direction of the service corresponding to the Mayor’s Office. The Multi-Services Operator shall be responsible for the surveillance and state of conservation of the grounds, which will be open from Friday to Sunday throughout the year.

Burial sites are granted via administrative concession for a duration of 75 years, and no niche or grave shall be granted prior to death, except for the reservation of an adjacent space for a spouse. Due to their nature as public domain, concessions are inalienable, exempt from seizure, and imprescriptible, and their transfer between private individuals is prohibited.

Rates and Fees

The enjoyment of funeral rights implies the payment of the corresponding fee, as set out in Article 13 of Fiscal Ordinance number 3 of the Cretas City Council, with the following amounts:

• Maintenance and cleaning of the cemetery: 8.00 euros per niche or columbarium.
• Niche concession: 1,500.00 euros.
• Columbarium concession: 300.00 euros.

Inhumations, Exhumations, and Transfer

The ordinance establishes that a body may not be inhumed before twenty-four hours have passed since death, nor after forty-eight, except in cases of embalming, autopsy, or transplant. Exhumation may not be carried out before five years from the inhumation, and the costs of burial, exhumation, and transfer shall be borne by the taxpayers of the fee.

Funeral rights are transferred mortis causa in favor of the heirs, and their transfer intervivos is prohibited. Any grave, niche, pantheon, or mausoleum that becomes vacant, or whose holders fail to pay fees or fulfill the duty of conservation, shall revert to the City Council.

Infractions and Sanctions

The regulation classifies infractions into three degrees, the sanctioning of which corresponds to the Mayor following the instruction of the sanctioning procedure:

• Minor infractions: fine of up to 750 euros (access through unauthorized areas, improper parking, or walking on graves).
• Serious infractions: fine of up to 1,500 euros (entry of animals, depositing waste, consuming food, or recidivism in minor infractions).
• Very serious infractions: fine of up to 3,000 euros (contempt for a deceased person or their beliefs, and unauthorized burials or exhumations).

The ordinance will enter into force fifteen days after its full publication in the provincial bulletin, and is complemented by the fiscal ordinance regulating the fee for the provision of services in the cemetery. An administrative appeal may be filed against the agreement before the Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Aragon within a period of two months.

The new regulation affects all residents of Cretas, who will see clearly established rates for funeral services, the terms of concessions, and the sanctioning regime, providing legal certainty to an essential service of the municipality.

Source: Official Bulletin of the Province of Teruel, number 163, August 27, 2026, Local Administration section (official reference: No. 2026-2516).