Works in Private Elements of a Community: What You Can Do Without Permission and What Needs Authorisation

## Works in Private Elements of a Community: What You Can Do Without Permission and What Needs Authorisation Changing the living room floor, renovating the bathroom, knocking down a wall or installing air conditioning. All of these can be done in a private flat — but when do you need to inform or ask permission from the homeowners association? The answer is in **Article 7 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (LPH)**. --- ### The Key Distinction: Private vs. Common Elements **Private elements:** everything inside your flat for your exclusive use: interior walls, floors, ceilings (interior face), your own installations. **Common elements:** facade, roof, staircases, landings, lift, building-wide installations (main pipes, common electrical systems). --- ### What Works Can You Do Without Permission? Internal works that don't affect common elements can be carried out without notifying anyone in the community: changing flooring, painting, renovating kitchen or bathroom (without touching common pipes), knocking down non-structural interior partition walls. --- ### What Works Need Authorisation? - Installing an external air conditioning unit on the facade. - Opening holes in structural or load-bearing walls. - Modifying common downpipes or pipes. - Enclosing terraces or balconies. - Installing elements visible from outside. --- ### What Happens if a Neighbour Does Works Without Permission? The community can demand they stop and restore any damage. If they refuse, the community can go to court under art. 7.2 LPH and claim damages. --- *IgeraFincas answers these queries instantly, citing the exact article from the bylaws or LPH. [See demo →](/igerafincas)*