The reform of the dependency and disability laws is now definitively approved. Congress has closed its processing this Wednesday after voting on the amendments incorporated during its passage through the Senate, culminating one of the largest modifications of the system since the approval of the Dependency Law two decades ago.
The new framework changes aspects that directly affect users, families, and caregivers: benefits that were previously incompatible can now be combined, the legal deadline for granting them is reduced from six to three months, home assistance can be extended outside the home, and teleassistance becomes a right for all people with recognized dependency.
The reform also connects the recognitions of dependency and disability, creates new services to facilitate that users remain in their homes, and reinforces accessibility obligations.
These are the main keys of the new regulation.
Benefits that were previously incompatible can now be combined
One of the most significant changes is the elimination of the incompatibility regime introduced in 2012.
The modification will allow the combination of services and aids for people who continue living in their homes. Thus, for example, a person can attend a day center and receive home assistance at the same time or receive a benefit for care in the family environment and also access certain services.
The autonomous communities must adapt their regulations to this new model before January 1, 2030.
The legal deadline for granting the benefit is reduced to three months
The reform also aims to reduce the time that elapses between the application for dependency and the effective arrival of assistance.
The legal deadline from when the application is submitted until the benefit is granted is reduced from six to three months. In addition, an urgent procedure is created for those cases in which there is a situation of special vulnerability duly justified.
The effective application of this reduction will now depend on the capacity of the administrations responsible for processing and managing the benefits.
Dependency and disability will be automatically connected
Another of the innovations aims to prevent a person from having to go through different administrative procedures to certify related situations.
The reform establishes that people with grade I dependency will automatically have a 33% disability recognized, while those with recognized grade II or III will obtain a 65%.
A single window, in-person and electronic is also planned, from which to centrally manage requests, benefits, and services related to dependency and disability, reducing administrative duplicities.
Home assistance may leave the house
Home assistance will no longer be limited exclusively to the interior of the home.
The service may include actions in the nearby community environment. In practice, this will allow a professional to accompany the dependent person to carry out certain daily activities, such as going to the doctor or doing the shopping.
The modification responds to one of the principles that run through the reform: to facilitate that people can decide how they want to receive their care and, when they wish, to remain longer in their home, their neighborhood, or their municipality.
Teleassistance becomes a universal right
Teleassistance becomes a right for all people who have a recognized situation of dependency.
This will allow the incorporation of users who until now could be excluded from the service, including certain people with dementia, according to the explanation provided by the Ministry of Social Rights.
In addition, teleassistance will have a complementary nature: it must be combined with other services and not used as the only benefit. The reform also contemplates the use of advanced technologies and devices, such as geolocation systems.
New services to continue living at home
The catalog incorporates a new service of care and support in homes, regardless of age and degree of dependency.
It may be developed in homes shared by several dependent people or through coordinated support between different nearby individual homes.
The provision of support products for personal autonomy through loan or temporary transfer is also included. Among them, articulated beds, electric wheelchairs, or walkers may be found. The minimum common catalog must be agreed upon in the Territorial Council between the autonomous communities and the Ministry.
A transitional benefit while the requested resource arrives
The new law introduces a solution for people with grade II or III dependency when the resource they have chosen and are entitled to is not immediately available.
In those cases, they will be able to temporarily receive another service or an economic benefit according to their preferences, instead of having to definitively accept an alternative they do not want or remain without care.
For example, a person waiting for a spot in a certain residence may receive home help in the meantime.
Friends and close people can be caregivers
It also changes who can receive the benefit for care in the family environment.
In addition to relatives, people belonging to the relational environment, such as an unmarried partner or friends, can take on the care. Exceptionally, it will not be necessary to live together when there is a commitment to care without economic compensation and the two people reside in nearby homes.
The reform also legally recognizes the figure of the primary caregiver, identified as the one who dedicates more time to the supports and is listed as such in the individual care program.
Administrations must ensure the continuity of care when this person suffers a serious illness or has to be hospitalized.
Working and receiving a dependency benefit will be compatible
Another novelty is the possibility of reconciling a job with a benefit or service for dependency care.
The existing incompatibility was especially an obstacle for people with disabilities who, despite needing certain supports for their daily life, could develop a professional activity.
The reform eliminates that barrier and allows maintaining supports even if the person is working.
Residences must move towards care without restraints
The new regulation establishes care free of physical, mechanical, pharmacological, or chemical restraints.
People cannot be immobilized or sedated as an ordinary mechanism to control agitation situations. These actions are only contemplated in cases of vital urgency and with medical prescription and supervision.
The purpose of residences is also redefined to orient them towards spaces where people can live in an environment of trust, well-being, and characteristics closer to a home.
Universal accessibility becomes a right
The reform adapts the legislation to the new article 49 of the Constitution and recognizes universal accessibility as a right, which will allow for its enforcement.
In the field of the General Administration of the State, a program will be created to finance accessibility interventions in public spaces and buildings, from the installation of ramps to the incorporation of pictograms.
The law also incorporates a reinforced protection of the rights of women and girls with disabilities and regulates the figure of the procedural facilitator, who will serve as a link between people with disabilities and legal operators during judicial proceedings.
More obligations to install elevators and ramps
The reform also modifies the Horizontal Property Law to strengthen the cases in which it will be mandatory to undertake accessibility works in private buildings, such as the installation of elevators or ramps.
When an owner presents information about available subsidies to undertake the works, the community of owners will be obliged to request them. If the mandatory actions are not carried out, the affected party may go to the courts.
Day centers will also be able to serve those living outside
Day centers are also opening up to their environment. They will be able to offer certain services to people who continue living in nearby homes and need support, both in their homes and in other nearby spaces.
The change is particularly relevant in rural environments, where concentrating certain services in one center can facilitate the care of people living dispersed across different municipalities or areas.
The State will have to assume half of the funding
The deployment of all these changes will be conditioned by the funding of the system. The new regulation requires the General Administration of the State to contribute 50% of the certified expenditure by all the autonomous communities, which are responsible for managing dependency.
The reform also comes with the Government's commitment to mobilize 6.2 billion euros between 2026 and 2027.
The approval of the law now opens the application phase. The administrations will have to translate the changes into the daily functioning of the system so that the new rights translate into compatible benefits, fewer procedures, shorter deadlines, and greater capacity for dependent individuals to decide how and where they want to receive their care.