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WHAT CHANGES IN SPAIN

What changes about life in Spain in November 2023

A new high-speed rail link to the north, a public holiday, chestnut season, important dates for self-employed workers and a possible new government, this and plenty more is what to expect in November 2023 if you live in Spain.

Published: 24 October 2023 09:22 CEST
Updated: 1 November 2023 08:06 CET
What changes about life in Spain in November 2023
What changes in Spain in November 2023. Photo: Clémence Taillez / Unsplash, Oscar del Pozo / AFP and Marquise de Photographie / Unsplash

November 1st is a public holiday

November 1st in Spain is known as All Saints’ Day or Día de Todos los Santos and is a public holiday across the country – this year it falls on a Wednesday. Major shops are closed, kids stay home from school and many businesses are shut too.

The most traditional activity to do on All Saints’ Day is to go to the local cemetery. Many Spanish families gather together at the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried.

Thursday November 9th is also El Día de la Almudena in Madrid, but it’s only a day off in the capital and not in the Community of Madrid.

 
Sánchez to try and gain support
 
Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will use as much of November as possible to negotiate his investiture votes and seek the support of the lower house to form a new government, in order to avoid any other possible investitures. The negotiation is expected to last the first three weeks of November, right up until the deadline.
 
Despite this, hardline Catalan separatist party JxCat, which emerged as kingmaker from Spain’s general election, said recently that it was “far” from reaching a deal to back Pedro Sánchez for another term as PM. 
 
On Tuesday October 24th, PSOE and hard-left party Sumar announced they had reached an agreement to form a coalition government, a key step to reinstating acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez for another term.
 
However, the likelihood of another general election being called for January 2024 is still high. 

November is chestnut season in Spain

La Castañada season or Castanyada in Catalan is held across Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Aragón and coincides with All Saints’ Day and Halloween, even though it’s a separate celebration. Around this time you’ll find chestnut sellers on street corners, roasting shiny brown chestnuts and big pumpkin-coloured sweet potatoes.

The Basque Country and Navarre have their own versions of it which is known as Gaztañerre Eguna or the ‘día de las castañas asadas’, the day of the roast chestnuts. It is typically celebrated on November 2nd. 

More November festivals and events

There isn’t a month in Spain without some type of festival or celebration going on somewhere in the country, and November is no different. November is the time for film festivals in particular with events being held in Seville (24th-29th), Alcalá de Henares (2nd-12th), Huelva (10th-18th), Almería (17th-26th) and Gijón (17th-25th).

There are also several food festivals to enjoy including the Jornadas del Olivar y del Aceite in Baena – events celebrating olives and olive oils; the Orujo Festival in Potes (Nov 10th-12th) in Cantabria where locals show their love of the strong spirit; and the autumn folklore festival of San Martín, or the Humanitarians’ in Aller, Asturias (November 11th).

Squatter demonstration in Barcelona

The okupas or squatters of Plaza de la Bonanova in Barcelona have announced a series of protests on November 30th, the date police have set to vacate both El Kubo and La Ruina buildings. A local judge has ordered the imminent eviction of these two controversial buildings, which have been home to squatters for years.

La Ruina and the adjoining El Kubo building became electoral weapons on the eve of the May 28th election campaign, when representatives of the PP, Valents, Vox and Ciudadanos went to the plaza to show their support for the neighbours, while anti-squatter company Desokupa announced that they would evict the squatters by force.

READ ALSO – Okupas: What’s the law on squatting in Spain?

Asturias to get its first high-speed train to Madrid

Transport Minister Raquel Sánchez recently announced that the high-speed rail network will finally arrive in Asturias on November 29th. Trains will officially begin to offer services from November 30th. Adrián Barbón, president of the Principality of Asturias, has described it as “a milestone in the history of Asturias”.

That’s partly because Asturians have been waiting for many years for the high-speed network to reach their region. The work has taken almost two decades and €4 billion has been invested.

There will be five links a day (in both directions) with Madrid and the travel time – which is currently more than 4 hours – will be reduced by an hour and a quarter. The duration of the journey will be even further reduced when the León-La Robla section is adapted and the Avril trains are incorporated, which can reach speeds of 300 km/h.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the new Madrid-Asturias high-speed train link

Major cities to switch on Christmas lights

The Christmas lights may already be up in some of Spain’s major cities, but they have yet to be switched on. Many cities will wait to do this towards the end of November, while some won’t turn them on until the beginning of December.

The Galician city of Vigo will be one of the first to switch them on, on November 18th. This will be followed by Barcelona and Madrid, both on November 23rd, just before Black Friday.

Málaga will wait until Friday, November 24th itself.

Important dates for the self-employed  

From the start of 2023, autónomos or self-employed in Spain have had to pay social security payments according to their net income, as opposed to a flat rate. In order for the authorities to help determine how much they should be paying, autónomos can submit their projected earnings for each quarter, various times per year.

Two important dates to remember up until the end of the year will be October 31st – the last day for reporting activities and, where applicable, participation in companies for self-employed workers who were registered before January 1st, 2023.

November 1st will be the other important date to mark in the calendar when a new period will open and you can set a new contribution base. In this case, it not take effect in 2023 and will come into force in January 2024.

READ ALSO: Will you pay more under Spain’s new social security rates for self-employed?

Roadworthiness workers to strike in Valencia region

Unions representing workers for Valencia’s Inspección Técnica de Vehículos or ITV, Spain’s roadworthiness test (similar to MOT in the UK) have called for several days of strikes.

The walkouts are due to occur from October 22nd to November 6th. There will be a number of talks and meetings in the run-up to the stoppages, but if they go ahead, it’s likely that many in the Valencia region will have trouble getting their ITV certificates renewed if they need to during this time.

READ ALSO – ITV: How to pass Spain’s roadworthiness test (and the changes for 2023)

Clocks go back
Technically, the clocks change on Sunday, October 29th at 3am, but it’s in November and the rest of winter that we’ll benefit from the lighter mornings, meaning no more going to work in the dark. 

Unfortunately, it also means less light in the evenings, so sunsets will be around 6pm in mainland Spain in November instead of the 7pm that it is now.

Black Friday deals

Although Spain doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, it does celebrate the sales on the following day known as Black Friday, on November 24th. This typically means big discounts from some of the world’s biggest brands.

Large retailers participating this year include Amazon, Media Markt and Pc Componentes. Depending on the store or brand, many items can be bought for 40 percent and, in some cases, they even reach 90 percent.

Remember, it’s important to do your research ahead of time to ensure you’re really getting the best deal. Some companies are known for increasing their prices specifically so that they can lower them again for Black Friday.

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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