Asbestos certificate news

Earlier news archive

The following articles retain their original dates. References to events and criteria reflect the time of publication. For the latest information, use the 20/10/2026 update above; the ARC PDF link provides its current version.

10.10.2026 · ASBESTOS CERTIFICATE NEWS

Asbestos certificate in Catalonia: developments after the first week of Law 8/2026

Since 3 October 2026, the obligation under Law 8/2026 to provide a certificate of the presence or absence of asbestos has been in force for applicable sale or rental transactions.

After the first week of application, we bring together the main clarifications available to owners, estate agencies and technicians in Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia. Some were published before the law took effect; others appear in the FAQs of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya (ARC), updated on 5 October 2026.

These clarifications help define the current procedure, but must be distinguished from the requirements to be set by future implementing regulations.

Generalitat basic template: on-site visual inspection

The ARC has published a Generalitat basic certificate template that allows the minimum content provided for in Article 21.3 of Law 8/2026 to be documented during the transitional period.

The certificate is based on an on-site visual inspection of the spaces and elements that could be accessed. Issuing this basic certificate does not require opening-up works, sampling or laboratory analysis.

A visual inspection cannot scientifically confirm the composition of all materials. When an element that may contain asbestos is observed, it must be identified as such, without presenting visual suspicion as analytical confirmation.

If its composition needed to be verified, appropriate analysis and sampling carried out under the relevant protocols and safety measures would be required. That action is distinct from the visual inspection for the basic certificate.

Pre-2002 properties, advertisements and certificate scope

The ARC FAQs specify several practical criteria:

• Application is determined by the property's original age: it affects those built before 2002. A subsequent refurbishment does not in itself change that criterion.
• The ARC currently considers it sufficient to have the certificate before formalising the contract; it does not require it before starting to market the property or publishing an advertisement.
• When the transaction concerns an individual home, office or commercial premises, the certificate covers that unit. It does not automatically cover all common elements of the building.
• Access limitations must be identified. The document does not guarantee the absence of asbestos in hidden, inaccessible or visually unidentifiable materials.

For more information, consult our guides on the asbestos certificate for selling a home and the asbestos certificate for letting.

Does the asbestos certificate expire?

The ARC states that no specific validity period is currently established. It also expressly clarifies that the same certificate may be used for successive tenancy agreements provided that the property has not been altered.

This should not be interpreted as a guarantee of indefinite validity for every transaction. If the property, inspected elements or applicable requirements change, it will be necessary to assess whether the documentation still accurately reflects the situation.

¿Who can issue the asbestos certificate?

According to ARC clarifications, until implementing regulations are adopted, it may be issued by the professional categories provided for in the Spanish Building Regulation Act: architects, technical architects, engineers and technical engineers, within their respective competences.

Technical architects can therefore perform these inspections and issue certificates within their competences. Specific training in occupational risk prevention or asbestos does not in itself replace qualification and professional competence requirements.

Professional body endorsement: not a guarantee of acceptance

The basic asbestos certificate is not among the professional work subject to mandatory endorsement listed in Royal Decree 1000/2010. Endorsement must not be presented as a general requirement imposed by Law 8/2026 for this document.

CATEB offers certificate endorsement as part of its professional services. The scope of that review depends on the service requested: it is not equivalent to laboratory analysis and does not in itself guarantee acceptance of the document by a notary, registry or other recipient.

What happens if materials that may contain asbestos are detected?

According to ARC clarifications, detecting material that may contain asbestos does not in itself prevent the certificate from being issued or the property from being sold or let.

The document's purpose is to provide information on the elements observed, their location, state of repair and the risk they may pose, within the inspected scope.

Inspection and certification must be distinguished from laboratory analysis, handling, removal and waste management. EFITECNIC inspects and certifies; it does not remove or handle asbestos and does not present itself as a RERA-registered company.

Notaries and the Land Registry: matters requiring caution

The ARC states that Law 8/2026 does not expressly regulate the effects of a missing certificate on formalising the transaction or the verification duties of other professionals.

Regarding registration, the ARC recalls the seventh additional provision of the law and specifies that it is not the competent body to determine the consequences of a missing certificate.

It should therefore not be claimed either that its absence will always prevent a deed or registration, or that it will never have consequences. In each transaction, it is advisable to coordinate documentation with the notary and, where appropriate, the Land Registry.

Implementing regulations and upcoming information sessions

The basic template and current clarifications belong to the transitional period before the implementing regulations provided for in Law 8/2026. Procedures will need to adapt to requirements approved subsequently.

As of the date of this article, the professional bodies have announced these sessions:

• CATEB information session: on 19 October 2026, from 13:00 to 14:00, online.
• COAC information about the session: on 23 October 2026, at 12:00, on the law and the certificate, presented by the ARC.

The sessions may provide further clarifications, but their announcement does not in itself constitute a regulatory change.

Asbestos certificate in Barcelona: technical monitoring by EFITECNIC

At EFITECNIC, we follow official publications on the asbestos certificate and adapt our work to the applicable criteria.

A registered technical architect carries out the on-site visit and visual inspection, documenting the elements observed, access limitations and the area actually inspected. The certificate is delivered digitally signed and does not guarantee the absence of asbestos in hidden or uninspected elements.

To request a visit in Barcelona and province, use our usual service request form.

José Luis Blázquez Romero
Technical Architect · CATEB registration no. 14.103
EFITECNIC

Information reviewed on 10/10/2026 in accordance with the official sources listed. Administrative and professional-body clarifications must be distinguished from the law itself and its implementing regulations. This article provides general information and does not replace the technical or legal assessment of a specific transaction.

Official sources:

• Law 8/2026, Article 21 and applicable provisions
• ARC basic certificate template
• ARC FAQs · current version
• CATEB professional clarifications
• Royal Decree 1000/2010 on mandatory professional body endorsement

05.10.2026 · AGÈNCIA DE RESIDUS DE CATALUNYA

The ARC expands its clarifications on the asbestos certificate

The Agència de Residus de Catalunya has updated its FAQs on the certificate of the presence or absence of visible asbestos. The new document specifies several aspects that had been raising questions among owners, technicians, estate agencies and professionals involved in sales and lettings.

The update confirms that, until the implementing regulations provided for in Law 8/2026 are approved, the ARC's published basic certificate template may be used, based on a visual inspection of visible and accessible spaces and elements of the property. Issuing this basic certificate does not require opening-up works, sampling or laboratory analysis.

Main ARC clarifications

Properties built before 2002

The certificate applies to properties built before 2002. A subsequent refurbishment, even a complete one, does not in itself alter this criterion. Nor does a later change of use: the property's original age is the reference point.

Technical architects among the professionals who can issue it

During this transitional period, the certificate may be issued by the professional categories provided for in the Spanish Building Regulation Act — architects, technical architects, engineers and technical engineers — within their respective competences.

On-site visual inspection

Issuing the certificate presupposes a visual inspection of accessible spaces and elements. The ARC itself confirms that the current template is based on visual inspection and does not require tests or trials before the basic certificate can be issued.

Laboratory analysis is not mandatory

When potentially asbestos-containing material is detected, the certificate can record it as such. The technician may add supplementary information or recommend subsequent verification, but laboratory analysis is not a prerequisite for issuing the basic certificate.

Inaccessible areas

The certificate may be issued even if certain areas could not be accessed. In that case, it must be clear that its scope is limited to the inspected spaces and visible and accessible elements, and that hidden or visually unidentifiable materials may exist.

For flats and commercial premises, the scope is the individual unit

When the transaction concerns a specific home, office or commercial premises, the certificate relates to that individual unit and must not automatically extend to all common elements of the building.

It is not required before advertising the property

The ARC currently considers it sufficient to have the certificate before formalising the sale or tenancy agreement. It is not required before starting marketing or publishing an advertisement.

Detecting potentially asbestos-containing material does not prevent selling or letting

The certificate's purpose is informative. Identifying visible elements that may contain asbestos does not in itself prevent the sale or letting of the property.

The ARC template remains a basic transitional template

It must not be confused with the future definitive regulatory template. Law 8/2026 provides for the certificate's characteristics to be developed through regulations; until then, the ARC's published template allows the minimum content required by law to be documented.

Other important clarifications

The ARC also confirms that there is currently no specific validity period for the certificate and that it may be reused in successive tenancy agreements provided the property has not been altered.

The absence of the certificate is not expressly regulated in Law 8/2026 as an automatic ground for invalidating a sale or letting. Similarly, the ARC states that the buyer or tenant may waive their right to receive it.

Regarding penalties, the law classifies failure to comply with the obligation to deliver the certificate in the specified cases as a minor infringement, but the specific chapter on penalties will enter into force when its implementing decree is approved.

It is also clarified that, pending implementing regulations, no specific mandatory procedure is established for the technician to notify the Administration of every certificate issued.

What does this mean for owners and professionals?

The ARC update provides greater certainty about the current procedure: it confirms the visual, on-site and non-destructive nature of the inspection, clearly defines the scope of certificates for homes and commercial premises and resolves many practical questions arising since Law 8/2026 took effect.

At EFITECNIC, we carry out the inspection personally and issue a documented, digitally signed technical report limited to the area actually inspected, expressly recording any potentially asbestos-containing elements and existing access limitations.

Information reviewed in accordance with the FAQs of the Agència de Residus de Catalunya, updated 05/10/2026.

Read the official ARC FAQs

30.09.2026 · AGÈNCIA DE RESIDUS DE CATALUNYA

The ARC publishes the basic template and clarifies its application

ARC information limits the certificate to properties built before 2002 and clarifies the scope of visual inspection during the transitional period.

The guide distinguishes the basic template from future implementing regulations. For an individual unit, the certificate relates to that unit; it does not automatically extend to all common elements of the building.

Read the original ARC information · ARC FAQs · current version

What changes when deciding to commission it.

First check age, use and transaction. If you do not know the year, we review it. If the property dates from 2002 or later, the checker guides you towards verifying your circumstances instead of automatically offering a purchase.

Asbestos Radar.

José Luis shares videos and updates on EFITECNIC's official Instagram.

Basic template · Law 8/2026.

Sources: Agència de Residus de Catalunya: basic template, ARC FAQs · current version and Law 8/2026, Article 21, BOE. Regulatory information reviewed on 20/10/2026. The approach will be adapted to implementing regulations and new official clarifications.

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