Replying is not optional
Ley 39/2015 imposes on the administration a duty to issue an express decision and notify it in all procedures, including those started at a person's request. Not answering is not a legitimate way to manage workload: it is a breach.
The Defensor del Pueblo reminds administrations of that duty routinely, precisely because silence is among the most frequent complaints it receives.
What administrative silence actually means
There is a widespread misunderstanding worth dismantling: many people believe that if the administration does not answer, they have lost. It is the other way round.
Negative silence is a legal fiction with procedural effect. On the Supreme Court's own reasoning, it exists to stop the administration using inactivity to block a citizen's access to the administrative courts. Put plainly: silence does not close the door, it opens it.
Silence also does not extinguish the duty to resolve. The administration remains obliged to answer even after the deadline has passed.
Before escalating: make sure it is on the register
The difference between a complaint that progresses and one that does not usually sits here. A phone call, a message in a municipal app or a comment on social media leave no usable record.
What counts is a document filed through the register, with a file number and a date. If so far you have only phoned or used the reporting app, that is the first missing step rather than the last.
The ladder, in order
- Refile through the register, citing the earlier document by number and date. A second filing that references the first is hard to shelve without a trace
- Expressly request an express decision, invoking the duty to resolve under Ley 39/2015
- Go to the council's own suggestions and complaints commission if it has one. Large-population municipalities are required to
- File a complaint with the relevant ombudsman: the Defensor del Pueblo or your autonomous community's equivalent
- Where there is an express decision or settled silence, consider an administrative court appeal. That is where advice is worth having
The ombudsmen, free and under-used
The Defensor del Pueblo can supervise administrations and remind them of their legal duty to resolve. It does not issue judgments or fines, but its resolutions carry weight and the file obliges the body to explain itself in writing.
Several autonomous communities have their own equivalent under different names: Defensor del Pueblo Andaluz, Procurador del Común in Castilla y León, Síndic de Greuges, Ararteko, Justicia de Aragón, Valedor do Pobo, Diputado del Común, among others. For a purely municipal matter the regional one is usually faster.
The procedure is free and needs no lawyer.
What makes a complaint strong
On cleaning, waste or public space, what decides the outcome is not the tone of the letter but whether you can show two things: that the problem exists and that it persists.
A report with a photo, a date and coordinates, and above all a series of reports on the same spot over time, turns "this has been like it for months" into a checkable fact. That is what separates a complaint from a file with a basis.
CleanSpot does not replace the municipal register and we do not present it as if it did. It is the evidence that accompanies the filing, and it is the part that is usually missing.
Sources
How long does a council have to reply?
It depends on the procedure. Each has its own maximum period, which the administration must tell you when the file opens. What does not vary is the duty to resolve expressly and notify it.
If it does not reply, have I lost?
No. Negative silence is a procedural fiction that exists to open your access to the courts, not to close it. And the administration remains obliged to resolve even after the deadline.
Is the Defensor del Pueblo any use?
Yes, and it is free and needs no lawyer. It does not impose penalties, but it supervises, requires written explanations and reminds the administration of its duty to resolve. For municipal matters the regional ombudsman is usually quicker.
I only reported it through the incidents app. Does that count?
For getting it fixed, sometimes. For complaining formally, usually not: you need a filing through the register with a date and a file number. It is the step most people skip.