First, the warning that makes the rest useful: for accommodation and residential care, much of what can be demanded is set by each autonomous community, and it differs from one to another. This guide covers what is common across Spain and the European Union, citing the rule so you can check it yourself, and points out where you have to consult your own regional legislation. If someone sells you "regulatory compliance" without asking where your property is, be suspicious.
Labelling: it binds whoever places it on the market, not whoever uses it
The rule is Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 on textile fibre names and labelling. Article 14.1 says textile products "shall be labelled or marked to indicate their fibre composition whenever they are made available on the market", and that the labelling must be "durable, easily legible, visible and accessible".
The part almost nobody quotes is Article 14.2: labels or markings "may be replaced or supplemented by accompanying commercial documents when the products are supplied to economic operators within the supply chain". In a business-to-business purchase, the composition can travel on the delivery note or the invoice instead of on a sewn label.
Two practical consequences. First, the obligation falls on whoever markets the product, not on the hotel or care home using it; nothing in the Regulation requires you to keep labels sewn into linen in service. Second, if you buy B2B, keep the commercial document stating the composition, because it is your evidence of what you bought. The Regulation also reaches items many people do not think of as textiles: Article 2 includes "mattress covers" where at least 80% of the weight is textile.
Fire: what the building code actually requires
This is the sector's most expensive misunderstanding. The Basic Document SI of Spain's Technical Building Code, section SI 1, clause 4, sets reaction-to-fire conditions, and the point that mentions textiles concerns decorative and furnishing elements in public-assembly premises. What it names is specific:
- Fixed upholstered seating forming part of the project "in cinemas, theatres, auditoriums, function rooms, etc.", which must pass the tests in UNE-EN 1021-1 (ignition source: smouldering cigarette) and UNE-EN 1021-2 (match-equivalent flame).
- Suspended textile elements, "such as drapes, curtains, hangings, etc.", which must be "Class 1 in accordance with UNE-EN 13773:2003".
What the clause does not name matters just as much: sheets, towels and duvet covers do not appear. In other words, the building code imposes no reaction-to-fire class on the bed linen in a guest room. If your property has a function room, a banqueting hall or a theatre, that is where you do have curtains and seating with a requirement.
"M1" and the European classes: two languages that coexist
In technical textiles you will meet two ways of expressing reaction to fire. On one side, the "M" classes (M0 to M3), which come from the Spanish standard UNE 23727:1990, "Reaction to fire tests for construction materials", which UNE's catalogue still lists as current; it is the reference many technical textiles in Spain are tested and declared against, which is why it appears on so many data sheets. On the other, the European system of Euroclasses, which the building code uses for construction products, and which for suspended textiles points to a standard of its own: Class 1 to UNE-EN 13773.
For a buyer, the practical consequence is not to pick a side but to know which language you will be asked to prove compliance in, because that depends on the building's use and on the regional rules that apply to you. And what never changes is which document counts: the test report, with its laboratory, its standard and its date. Ask which one is required of you before buying, and keep the corresponding report.
Fire certificates have a date, and on a building site they expire
This is the detail that prevents the most trouble. Royal Decree 842/2013 requires tests and classifications to be carried out by "laboratories accredited by an officially recognised body in accordance with the Regulation on the infrastructure for quality and industrial safety, approved by Royal Decree 2200/1995", and, for construction elements and products without CE marking, sets an expiry on their use: their supply and receipt on site "may not take place more than five years after the date of the test reports, where these concern reaction to fire, nor more than ten years" where they concern fire resistance.
The building code repeats it for products without CE marking supplied to a building site: test and classification certificates "must be less than 5 years old where they concern reaction to fire and less than 10 years old where they concern fire resistance".
So the right question to a supplier is not "is this fire-retardant?" but: which accredited laboratory issued the report, to which standard, and on what date? That five-year expiry applies to delivery on a building site; for a curtain or upholstery bought for premises already open, neither text sets one, but an old report may no longer match the fabric you are being supplied.
Pools, spas and gyms: the finding that surprises people
Royal Decree 742/2013, which sets the technical and health criteria for swimming pools, is the rule everyone cites in this area. We read it in full: it contains not a single mention of towels, textiles, linen or bathrobes. What it does require is water and air monitoring and records: Article 4 obliges the operator to "record the data relating to self-monitoring and situations of incident and non-compliance, with the corrective measures adopted".
The honest conclusion: there is no national pool regulation obliging you to a particular towel weight, colour or change frequency. What an inspector can ask for there is your self-monitoring records, not your terry data sheets.
Accommodation and care homes: here your region decides
This is the part we cannot settle for you, and we would rather say so than invent it. Conditions for tourist establishments and residential centres are set by regional decrees, and they vary: some communities set minimum change frequencies for sheets and towels by category, others only require that a laundry service exists. Two examples of what you may meet, so you know what to look for: some communities set minimum change frequencies for sheets and towels by category in their hotel regulations — Galicia is the most detailed case we know of — and some residential-care rules require bed linen that does not ignite readily, as in Castilla-La Mancha, whose Decree 2/2022 says that "bed linen must not be readily flammable". We do not reproduce every region's articles here, so confirm it for your own region: look up your community's decree, or ask the tourism or social services body that covers you.
For care homes specifically, we gathered what we could verify in this dedicated guide, which makes the same point: the rules depend on your autonomous community.
What an inspection can ask for, and where it comes from
| Document | Where it comes from | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre composition: label, or commercial document in a business-to-business purchase | Regulation (EU) 1007/2011, arts. 14.1 and 14.2 | EU-wide |
| Reaction-to-fire classification report, from an accredited laboratory (less than 5 years old if the product is received on a building site) | RD 842/2013 and CTE DB-SI | Spain |
| Class 1 (UNE-EN 13773) for curtains and drapes; UNE-EN 1021-1 and -2 tests for fixed upholstered seating | CTE DB-SI, SI 1, clause 4 | Spain, public-assembly premises |
| Water self-monitoring records | RD 742/2013, art. 4 | Spain, swimming pools |
| Linen change frequencies and equipment levels | Your autonomous community's decree | Variable |
How to ask your supplier so you do not have to look later
- Exact composition on the delivery note or invoice, not only on the website. It is valid B2B and it is your evidence.
- A classification report with laboratory, standard and date, whenever you buy curtains, drapes or upholstery for public-assembly areas.
- A care data sheet with maximum temperature and whether bleach is allowed — which your laundry will ask for even if an inspector does not.
- No loose abbreviations. "Fire-retardant", "M1" or "suitable for hospitality" with no report behind them prove nothing.
With that filed, an inspection stops being a shock and becomes a folder. And if your region requires more, you will know before you buy, which is while you can still choose.