Information on property owner responsibilities

Dear BeLegal.

I've been looking for ages for a site that will explain to me what responsibilities owners have for the condition of their property in Spain. I've spent ages looking at the Civil Code and other sites but I can't find anything that lists the things I'm looking for exactly. I want to know about things like who's responsible for holes in the roof, collapsing walls, or anything else that is the equal responsibility of all owners of a property if it needs to be repaired or replaced.

Thanks.
Simon.

Codigo Cvil Articulo 348 and onwards lays out the rights and responsibilities of owners. Basically every owner is equally responsible for the condition of the building. Juzgados de Paz is a good place to go because they have copies of the Codigo Civil and if you're really lucky they will show you or explain the rulings under it. Obviously each property has its individual problems but I think its pretty easy to prove responsibility. It's equally divided between owners. Look at the horizontal postings if there's more than 2 owners. Better information from one of the lawyers would help.

Dear Sir,

You won't find any lists and responsibility will depend very much on the specific circumstances of your case.

As a general rule, you should try to ascertain the damage and then allocate the responsibility to the person(s) who caused it. If your damage was caused by communal property, then the Community as a whole will be responsible as they are the owners of the "object" which caused the damage. For example, you live in an appartment on the top floor of your building and a problem with the communal roof causes damage to your ceiling. In that case the community is responsible.

If, on the other hand, one of your pipes or bathtub burst and causes damage to the ceiling of the neighbour below you, then you are responsible to pay for his damage as you own the defective pipe.

Often, when insurance companies are involved, they will allocate the risks between themselves in accordance with the Law and any problems will (hopefully) be resolved with much ease. But as I said, you will not find a 1,2,3 guide for this as it all depends on the specific facts of your case.

Kind regards,

if you are talking baout rentee , than it should be mentioned in the contract that who will be responsible for the damge , if it is not stated , than the damge will fll over the owner .