Neighbour Law in Spain: Noise, Quiet Hours and Comunidad Rules

There is no single nationwide quiet-hours rule in Spain: the times are set by the region and the municipality. On Mallorca, the Balearic noise act sets night-time quiet hours from 11 pm to 8 am, and that is also what applies in Palma, every day including weekends and public holidays. Some municipalities set different times, so what counts is your own municipality's noise ordinance. Stricter noise limits apply at night, but being considerate towards your neighbours is required around the clock, and your Comunidad de Propietarios can add its own quiet periods in its Estatutos or house rules, for example for the pool. How the Comunidad works and what else applies between neighbours is covered in the topic guide on neighbour law on Mallorca.

Arguments with the neighbours are one of the most common conflicts residents on Mallorca deal with. Late-night party noise from the flat above, a pool that runs outside the permitted hours, a dog that barks until the early morning: Spanish neighbour law has clear rules for all of it, and most newcomers only learn them the hard way. So what applies to noise, what does the Comunidad de Propietarios actually control, and what can you do when a friendly word does not help?

What Spanish neighbour law covers

Spanish neighbour law is the set of rules that govern living together in apartment buildings, urbanisations and between adjoining property owners. It combines national law, Balearic regional law and the ordinance of your own municipality.

The key statute for owners' associations is the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (LPH) of 1960, updated many times since. It sets out how decisions are taken in the Comunidad, which costs all owners share pro rata, and which uses of an individual unit the community can prohibit. Tenants are bound by the same rules through their landlord.

Alongside the LPH, noise is covered by the national noise act Ley 37/2003 del Ruido. It sets minimum standards for noise levels, and individual municipalities are free to impose stricter limits. The exact times are in your municipality's noise ordinance (Ordenanza de ruidos), which you will find on your Ajuntament's website.

Quiet hours and noise limits: what applies when

Quiet hours are not set uniformly across Spain. National noise law divides the day into periods with different noise limits, and the Balearic Islands and each municipality set the exact times:

• National default (Real Decreto 1513/2005, Annex I): night from 11 pm to 7 am, and the competent authority may shift the times
• Balearic Islands (Ley 1/2007 contra la contaminación acústica, Art. 9): day from 8 am to 8 pm, evening from 8 pm to 11 pm, night from 11 pm to 8 am. The act allows municipalities to shorten the evening by one hour, in which case quiet hours start at 10 pm
• Palma (Ordenanza municipal reguladora del ruido y las vibraciones, Art. 7): quiet hours from 11 pm to 8 am every day, with no separate rule for weekends or public holidays
• Calvià (Ordenanza municipal de protección del medio ambiente contra la contaminación por ruidos y vibraciones, Art. 7 and 31): evening from 8 pm to midnight, and the night period for noise limits only runs from midnight to 8 am. Moving house, moving furniture and DIY in homes are banned there from 10 pm to 9 am, though, unless it is urgent
• Building work in Palma (Art. 26 of the same ordinance): noisy work only on working days from 9 am to 8 pm, and from 1 May to 30 October only from 11 am to 7 pm in areas with heavy tourist traffic

How loud it may get at night is set in decibels: in Palma, noise reaching your flat from a neighbouring flat or from outside may not exceed 30 dB(A) in living rooms and 25 dB(A) in bedrooms at night. These are the same values that the national regulation Real Decreto 1367/2007 sets for homes, and 30 dB(A) is roughly a quiet whisper. In practice that limit is structurally exceeded in plenty of older buildings and apartment blocks on Mallorca.

Things that typically lead to complaints at night: music audible through walls or ceilings, loud conversation on balconies and terraces, DIY work, and running washing machines or dishwashers where the walls are thin.

Does this apply to holiday guests too? Yes. Units let to tourists are subject to exactly the same noise rules. If a landlord knows his guests are breaching them repeatedly and does nothing, the Comunidad can hold him responsible.

The Comunidad de Propietarios: rights and rules

Anyone living in a building with several owned units, or in an urbanisation, is automatically part of the Comunidad de Propietarios. This body has real powers. Its Estatutos (statutes) can set rules on noise, keeping pets, pool use, garden maintenance and the exterior appearance of balconies, and those rules can go beyond the legal minimum.

The Junta General Ordinaria has to be held at least once a year. It covers the budget, the management and any current complaints. Every unit has a vote, weighted by its ownership share (Coeficiente de Participación). As an owner you can put items on the agenda and you have the right to inspect all meeting minutes.

Your most important rights in the Comunidad at a glance:

• Attending and voting at every Junta
• Inspecting the community's minutes, bank statements and Estatutos
• Requesting an extraordinary Junta when a problem is urgent
• Complaining to the president about breaches by other members
• Suing the community if the board fails in its duties

For the full picture of how a Comunidad is organised and which costs come with it, see the guide to property management and the Comunidad de Propietarios.

Common flashpoints and how to approach them

The conflicts that come up most often among residents on Mallorca are about:

• Noise (music, parties, dogs, heavy footsteps in buildings with no impact insulation)
• Pool use outside the hours set in the Estatutos
• Pets kept without the Comunidad's approval or against the house rules
• Balconies and terraces (awnings in unapproved colours, laundry hung towards the street)
• Parking on shared areas or access roads

The recommended first step is always a direct, calm conversation, as long as that feels safe. A lot of problems sort themselves out once both sides understand what the other finds disruptive. If that does not work, the next step is a written complaint to the president of the Comunidad. He is obliged to respond and to put the matter on the agenda of the next Junta. Ignoring a complaint can itself count as a breach of his duties.

What to do when talking and the Comunidad both fail

For acute noise disturbance you can call the Policia Local. The officers can measure the noise and produce an official report. That document matters later as evidence if you have to take legal steps.

For structural conflicts, such as a Comunidad that repeatedly ignores complaints or a neighbour who permanently breaches the Estatutos, the civil courts are the last resort. Since April 2025, however, you have to show that you tried to settle out of court before filing a civil claim, for example through mediation or documented negotiations with the other side (Ley Orgánica 1/2025). You can act either against the neighbour causing the problem or against the community as a whole. In cases like this it is worth consulting an English-speaking lawyer on Mallorca first.

Conclusion

Spanish neighbour law gives you more tools as a resident than most newcomers realise. The Comunidad de Propietarios, the Policia Local and, if needed, the courts are available in that order. What matters is knowing the local quiet hours and the Estatutos of your own community, and documenting complaints in writing from the very first one. For a broader overview of your rights and obligations as a neighbour, see the topic guide on neighbour law on Mallorca.