More rights and support for people with disabilities and care needs

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The law equates dependency with disability for legal purposes: dependency grade I counts as a 33 percent disability and grades II and III as 65 percent. This equivalence does not apply for tax purposes.
2. The rights of women, girls and boys with disabilities are reinforced, with special protection against violence, and the right to family, home and personal relationships of people with disabilities is recognized.
3. Universal accessibility becomes a right, and a State Program for the Promotion of Universal Accessibility is created to fully or partially pay for improvements to public environments and services. Fines under the law will go to these programs.
4. In the dependency system, telecare becomes a right for all people in situations of dependency, at any grade, and a new service providing assistive products through loan or temporary transfer is created.
5. The use of physical, mechanical, pharmacological or chemical restraints in care is prohibited, except in exceptional cases of vital emergency, with a medical prescription and informed consent case by case.
6. The catalog of dependency services is expanded to include care and support in shared homes, allowing people to live in ordinary apartments or houses with comprehensive support, and residential care is redirected toward a home-like, inclusive setting.
7. Anyone who wants to work in jobs involving regular contact with people with disabilities or dependency in the field of care must prove they have no criminal record in the registries for sexual offenses, human trafficking or domestic violence.
8. Accessibility work in homeowners' associations is reinforced: if public aid covers 70 percent of the cost, carrying out the work becomes mandatory. Discrimination against people with disabilities when buying insurance is also banned.

Who it affects

• People with disabilities and their families: They gain new rights: universal accessibility as a right, stronger protection against violence, family rights and protection regarding artificial intelligence.
• People in situations of dependency and their caregivers: New services such as telecare, expanded personal assistance and home-based care, plus rights for family caregivers and care free of restraints.
• Homeowners' associations: A stronger duty to carry out accessibility work, with public aid and mandatory execution when aid covers 70 percent of the cost.
• Care companies and professionals, and the insurance sector: New obligations: checking staff criminal records, zero-restraint plans and a ban on discrimination in insurance.

Words worth knowing

Texto refundido (consolidated text)

A law that gathers and organizes several earlier laws on the same subject into a single text.

Ajustes razonables (reasonable accommodations)

Changes to the environment or conditions needed so a person with a disability can exercise their rights on equal terms. Refusing them counts as discrimination.

Accesibilidad universal (universal accessibility)

The condition that environments, products and services must meet so all people can use them autonomously and safely.

Urgencia vital (vital emergency)

An exceptional situation with an imminent risk to a person's life or safety, in which action without consent is allowed.

Desinstitucionalización (deinstitutionalization)

The shift from care in large institutions to community-based support that respects each person's wishes.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries