Dear Sir/Madam,

We have purchased a ground floor apartment on the Costa del Sol and have owned it now for a few months.
The rains started and upon returning to our apartment we discovered water coming through our ceiling to such an extent that the apartment is uninhabitable. Directly above our ceiling is a terrace of the neighbor above.

Our first port of call was talking to our insurance company who were very kind and helpful. They informed us that the insurance would cover the costs of the ceiling but they would not help us financially until the owner of the above apartment fixed the cause. The insurance company also told us that should the owner refuse then they would take the owner to court.
That is all well and good providing we can get in contact with the owner in the first place!

We spoke to the inhabitants of the apartment above and found they were renting from the owner through an agent (who is actually the developer - who still owns many apartments and not paying community fees - but that is another matter!), the renters have been very rude and refuse to help keep the terrace covered and give us any details of the owner or agent they are using for renting.

We then approached our Management Company and they said they would inform the owner and ask them to call us. 2 Months has passed with no contact from the owner above and times are getting desperate.

It has come to our attention that the terraces of each apartment are in-fact communal areas and therefore the responsibility of the Management Company, does this sound correct?

There is a slight twist, the owner has re-tiled his terrace once already due to it leaking in the past and now the Management Company know this they refuse to take responsibility for it as it has been altered. My point of view on this particular matter is that nevertheless the Management Company are still responsible for communal areas and therefore need to take this up with the owner for changing the tiles etc but still have a duty to fix all defects.

What we would like to know in addition to the communal area issue is what powers do we have and how can we progress in order to get a solution to the problem.

Any advice would be welcome.