Lleida declares the expiration of 151 non-updated niches at Sant Jordi

The Lleida City Council has declared the expiration and subsequent loss of funeral rights for 151 niches in the municipal cemetery, with the graves reverting to the council, due to the urgent need for burial spaces. The decision was adopted through a mayoral decree on September 14, 2026, signed by Mayor Fèlix Larrosa Piqué, and was published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Lleida no. 199, on October 19, 2026 (reference BOP-2026_0_199_8620, edict 8620, pp. 1-8). Affected holders have two months to regularize their situation before the City Council executes the resolution.

A decree for space urgency

The municipal decree bases the measure on the “urgent situation of the need to have niches available for burials.” The agreement only affects the non-updated niches listed in the annex of the resolution, all of which are located in the Sant Jordi department of the municipal cemetery.

Notification is made via an announcement published in the Official State Gazette, as the notification address of the interested parties is unknown, in accordance with Article 44 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the common administrative procedure of public administrations.

Criteria for the list of 151 graves

The annex identifies the affected graves by sector, type of funeral construction, number, floor, and the name of the holder. Two criteria led to their inclusion:

• The date of the last burial falls within the period 1954-1999.
• Neither the identification document number nor the address of the holder is recorded in the cemetery management program.

All listed constructions are niches in the Sant Jordi sector, with numbers ranging from 10 to 2616, and the holders are identified only by first and last names. This partial identification is applied in accordance with the seventh additional provision of Organic Law 3/2018, of December 5, on the protection of personal data, as the DNI, NIE, passport, or equivalent document of the concessionaires is not available.

Two months to regularize and risk of exhumation

The council grants a period of two months from the day after the publication of the announcement for interested parties to present the documents and justifications they deem appropriate, through any of the means provided for in Law 39/2015. If they do not appear at the municipal offices to regularize the situation and the resolution becomes final, the City Council will execute the agreement through:

• The material recovery of the niche.
• The exhumation of the body, if applicable.
• The immediate re-interment of the remains in the common grave.

This execution will be carried out in compliance with Decree 297/1997, of November 25, which approves the Mortuary Health Police Regulations, and other applicable regulations. The decree concludes the administrative route and opens the possibility of an optional appeal for reversal before the mayor within a period of one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the Contentious-Administrative Court of Lleida within a period of two months, according to articles 123 and 124 of Law 39/2015 and article 46 of Law 29/1998, of July 13.

Impact on the holder families

The measure directly affects the families listed as holders of the 151 graves and opens a limited period to update data and prove ownership before the municipal public health service, located at carrer Cavallers, 10-12, mezzanine, Lleida. After this period without regularization, the loss of the funeral right is definitive and the remains may end up in the common grave; therefore, any family member or successor who recognizes a holder on the list has two months to contact the City Council.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Province of Lleida, no. 199, October 19, 2026, Local Administration - City Councils, pp. 1-8 (official reference: BOP-2026_0_199_8620).