The new article 20 ter of the Consumer Act: a cap on price increases in emergencies

Royal Decree-Law 32/2026, of 3 November, known for the aid to victims of the Urda rail accident, contains a second pillar with its own and permanent reach: a reform of the consolidated text of the General Act for the Defence of Consumers and Users (Legislative Royal Decree 1/2007) creating, for the first time on a general basis, a legal limit on price increases in contexts of urgency, risk or need for consumers.

It is the regulatory response to a familiar phenomenon: when an emergency cuts infrastructure or abruptly displaces demand, some operators drive up the prices of transport, accommodation or similar services. The reform applies from now to services affected by the interruption of the Madrid-Andalusia rail line, but its wording is designed to last.

What exactly article 20 ter prohibits

The new provision, introduced by article 9 of the royal decree-law, prohibits increasing the final sale price of the goods and services to be determined in contexts of urgency, risk or need. And it defines the increase precisely: any price above the maximum price at which that good or service, or one of a similar nature, had been offered during the thirty days prior to the unforeseen situation.

The rule adds three technical corrections that operators and their advisers should know:

• If the maximum price offered in those thirty days exceeds the period's average price by more than fifty per cent, the reference becomes that average price increased by fifty per cent. This prevents an anomalous one-off offer from serving as an alibi.
• Increases deriving from a verifiable rise in the costs of placing goods on the market are respected, as are those demonstrably necessary to bring in new goods or services that mitigate the supply-demand disruption caused by the emergency.
• For goods and services with a marked seasonal character, the reference may be the price of the same period of the previous year updated according to the CPI.

Services with regulated tariffs or under contracts with the administration are automatically deemed compliant, since the operator does not set the price freely.

When the limitation is triggered

Article 20 ter.2 distinguishes two activation scenarios. The first is automatic: the declaration of an area seriously affected by a civil protection emergency, under Law 17/2015 on the National Civil Protection System. The second is discretionary: accidents, technical emergencies, force majeure or other unforeseen circumstances not attributable to users that exceptionally alter supply and demand, which will require a Council of Ministers Agreement.

That Agreement must specify the start and end dates of the measure, the goods or services affected and the applicable reference. It may also impose on marketers the obligation to state the average and maximum price of the previous thirty days in their offers, a reinforced transparency burden for as long as the emergency lasts.

The civil sanction: automatic refunds

The consequence of non-compliance is not only administrative. Section 3 grants the consumer or user a right to automatic refund of any amount charged above the applicable maximum price, without prejudice to the applicable sanctioning regime. In practical terms, every charge above the cap generates an individually enforceable refund obligation, which multiplies litigation risk for non-compliant operators and opens a field of predictable-amount claims for consumer lawyers.

The reform is completed with the amendment of article 20.1.c) of the LGDCU: where the price has been personalised through automated decision-making, the trader must clearly disclose this in distance or off-premises contracts. And the final price offered must comply with the applicable price regulation, with express reference to it and to the parameters used.

Immediate application to the Madrid-Andalusia corridor and the European safeguard

The fifth additional provision deploys article 20 ter, without waiting for a Council of Ministers Agreement, over the services affected by the Urda accident and the rail connections that remain suspended because of it. Its operation must be read together with the sixth additional provision: it cannot be said that all alternative transport is automatically subject to the cap.

The validity of that immediate application is bounded: under the second transitory provision, the limitation on the affected services operates from the entry into force of the royal decree-law and until 10 November 2026, a period that may be extended, if necessary, by a Council of Ministers agreement.

The sixth additional provision introduces a jurisdictional safeguard: measures that may affect pricing freedom in air transport or other modes with fixing mechanisms regulated by European Union law will not apply until expressly authorised by the European Commission.

Consistency with the rest of the legal order

The statement of reasons justifies the technique chosen. The thirty-day reference period is not an isolated invention: it replicates the objective and consolidated criterion of article 20 of the Retail Trade Act 7/1996, which uses the same period to determine the previous price in price reductions, bringing coherence and legal certainty to consumers and operators alike. The reform also unifies in a single provision all the regulatory content on price limitations in emergency situations, previously scattered, and expressly prohibits practices that may be abusive in those contexts. On the European front, the requirement of prior Commission authorization connects with Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008 on common rules for the operation of air services, which protects pricing freedom in air transport.

Practical keys for advice

For firms advising platforms, transport companies, accommodation providers or retailers, the reform requires a review of dynamic pricing systems: the algorithm must be able to freeze the reference when an emergency is declared. For consumer lawyers, the automatic refund right simplifies the claim: the overcharge must be established against the applicable maximum, taking account of cost exceptions and special reference rules. In both cases, keeping the offer history is essential, as it becomes the key evidence of the dispute.

The debate over how far public price control can go in exceptional situations is not new in Spanish law - housing legislation itself has tested it with rental - and will foreseeably lead to regulatory developments and interpretive litigation. The sector will discuss it in forums such as the VIII National Consumer Congress of ICAM and AEDC.

Two operational details deserve attention from in-house counsel. First, the automatic-refund right accrues per overcharge, so each invoice above the cap is a standalone claim with a predictable amount; keeping the thirty-day price history documented before any emergency hits is the cheapest compliance investment an operator can make. Second, the trigger design matters for contract drafting: the automatic activation through a severely-affected-zone declaration under Act 17/2015 removes any discretion, while the second route requires a Council of Ministers agreement that will define the covered goods and services case by case, so sector counsel should monitor the Council's agenda in any developing emergency.

Frequently asked questions

Can a platform raise prices if its costs increase during an emergency? Yes, provided the increase derives from a verifiable rise in the costs of placing goods on the market or is demonstrably necessary to bring in new supply that mitigates the shortage.

Which price serves as the reference for the cap? The maximum price at which the good or service, or a similar one, was offered in the thirty days prior to the emergency, with a correction when that maximum exceeds the period's average price by fifty per cent.

What can a consumer do if overcharged? They have a right to automatic refund of the amount charged above the applicable maximum price, in addition to filing complaints with consumer protection bodies.

Is the limitation already in force? The decree-law entered into force on 4 November. Application to affected services initially runs until 10 November, with possible extension, and remains subject to the European safeguard in the sixth additional provision for the transport services it covers.