Damp and Mold in Spanish Rental Properties: Who Pays?

Q: Is the community of owners obliged to repair aesthetic damage inside my flat if the leak was communal?

Yes. The obligation of the Comunidad de Propietarios under Article 10 of the LPH is not limited to repairing the general pipe that broke; it also includes the obligation to return the damaged private elements (your ceiling, your walls, plaster moldings, etc.) to the exact state they were in before the incident occurred.

Q: Can I demand a rent reduction while the works to fix the damp last?

Yes, under certain conditions. Article 21.2 of the LAU establishes that if the work to repair the damp cannot be deferred until the end of the lease, the tenant must tolerate it. However, if the work lasts more than 20 days, the rent must be reduced in proportion to the part of the dwelling of which the tenant is deprived. If the works affect the entire dwelling and make it uninhabitable, the tenant has the option to suspend the contract (not paying or living there while the works last) or terminate it.

By the AbogadoAI editorial team · Updated 18 July 2026 · 14 min read

🇪🇸 Read the original in Spanish

Damp, mold, and water leaks are among the most frequent problems and, at the same time, one of the biggest sources of conflict between landlords, tenants, and community of owners in Spain. The appearance of mold stains, peeling paint, or constant dripping not only affects the aesthetics and habitability of the property, but can also pose a risk to the health of those who live there. Determining who must assume the cost of the repair — whether the landlord, the tenant, or the community itself — requires analyzing the technical origin of the leak and precisely applying the current legal framework. In this article, we will analyze Spanish regulations in depth so that you know exactly how to act, what deadlines you have, and how to claim successfully.

The legal framework in Spain: Who is responsible according to the law?

To resolve a conflict involving damp in a property, the first step is not to look for culprits, but to identify the technical origin of the problem. Spanish legislation distributes responsibilities based on the cause of the damp and the legal regime of the property.

1. The responsibility of the landlord (owner)

In the context of rental contracts, the reference regulation is the Ley 29/1994, de Arrendamientos Urbanos (LAU) (Urban Leasing Act). The key article is Article 21.1, which establishes that the landlord is obliged to carry out, without the right to raise the rent for it, all repairs that are necessary to preserve the dwelling in habitable conditions to serve the agreed use.

Structural damp, damp caused by capilaridad (capillary action/rising damp from the subsoil), or leaks from the roof or facades, fall squarely within this concept of habitability. The owner must pay for the repair of the cause and the fixing of the resulting aesthetic damage (paint, plaster, etc.). This obligation has only two exceptions:

That the deterioration is attributable to the tenant (due to misuse or negligence).
That the dwelling suffers a destruction declared as a ruin.

2. The responsibility of the tenant

The tenant also has strict obligations. Article 21.4 of the LAU points out that minor repairs required by wear and tear from the ordinary use of the dwelling will be the responsibility of the tenant.

However, in the case of damp, the tenant is usually responsible through two different avenues:

Damp due to condensation caused by misuse: If the damp appears because the tenant does not ventilate the property, systematically hangs wet clothes inside the rooms, or does not use the extractor systems, case law considers this to be negligence on the part of the inhabitant.
Breach of the duty to notify: Article 21.3 of the LAU obliges the tenant to inform the landlord, in the shortest possible time, of the need for repairs. If the tenant detects a small damp stain, says nothing for months, and it ends up causing serious damage, the tenant could be held responsible for the worsening of the damage due to failure to protect the property.

3. The responsibility of the Comunidad de Propietarios (Community of Owners)

If the damp comes from a common element of the building (community downpipes, facade, terraces that act as the building's roof, or rooftops), the responsibility falls on the Comunidad de Propietarios (Community of Owners).

Article 10.1 of the Ley de Propiedad Horizontal (LPH) (Horizontal Property Act) establishes that the community is obliged to carry out the necessary works for the adequate maintenance and conservation of the building and its common services, so that it meets the due conditions of watertightness, habitability, accessibility, and safety.

4. The Civil Code and extra-contractual liability

When the damp comes from a neighbor's flat (for example, a broken pipe in their bathroom), the applicable framework is Article 1902 of the Código Civil (Civil Code), which establishes the principle of extra-contractual liability: "He who by action or omission causes damage to another, involving fault or negligence, is obliged to repair the damage caused". In this case, the upstairs neighbor (or their home insurance) must pay for the repair of the breakdown and paint our ceiling.

Types of damp and their cost allocation

To know which door to knock on, it is essential to know the type of damp:

Practical step-by-step steps to claim

If you discover damp in your home, do not act impulsively. Follow this legal and practical protocol to secure your rights:

Step 1: Immediate graphic documentation

Take high-resolution photographs and videos of all affected areas. Do it close up to see the detail of the mold or peeling paint, and from a distance to locate the damage in the room. Also document if there are damaged furniture, clothes, or appliances.

Step 2: Formal written communication

Do not limit yourself to a WhatsApp message or an informal phone call. Send a communication by a means that leaves a record of the date and content.

If you are a tenant, send an email with read confirmation or, if the owner does not cooperate, a burofax (certified registered mail) with acknowledgment of receipt and certification of text.
If the source is a neighbor or the community, contact the Administrador de Fincas (Property Manager) in writing, providing the photos.

Step 3: Report to the home insurance

Notify the incident to your home insurance company within a maximum period of 7 days from when you became aware of it (in accordance with Article 16 of the Ley de Contrato de Seguro / Insurance Contract Act). Your insurance's perito (loss adjuster/expert) will come to carry out an inspection and determine the origin of the damp. Their expert report will be your best piece of evidence.

Step 4: The technical expert report (if there is a conflict)

If the owner, the neighbor, or the community denies responsibility, you must hire an independent perito (expert surveyor/architect). This professional will draft a technical report that will determine with exact accuracy the cause of the damp. This document is vital if the case ends up in court.

Step 5: Legal action (last resort)

If the amicable route fails, a civil lawsuit must be filed. Depending on the amount of the damage claim, the procedure will be processed through a Juicio Verbal (Oral Trial - if the claim is up to 15,000 € after the latest reform of the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil / Civil Procedure Act - LEC) or through a Juicio Ordinario (Ordinary Trial - if it exceeds that amount or if the termination of the rental contract is requested).

Deadlines, amounts, and key figures you must know

7 days: This is the maximum legal period to communicate the incident to your insurance company from the moment the damage is detected.
15,000 €: The economic limit that marks the difference in the Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil (LEC). Claims for damp damage below this figure are processed through the Juicio Verbal, which is faster. If the claim is less than 2,000 €, it is not mandatory to appear with a lawyer or procurador (court representative), although it is highly recommended.
5 years: This is the limitation period to claim damages for contractual liability (Article 1964.2 of the Código Civil) in contractual relationships, applicable for demanding repairs from the landlord.
1 year: The limitation period to demand the extra-contractual liability of Article 1902 of the Código Civil (claiming against the upstairs neighbor for their broken pipe). The period begins to run from when the injured party knew of the damage and it was completely healed (that is, when the final scope of the damage is known).
3 years / 10 years: Warranty periods of the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (LOE) (Building Regulation Act) if the property is a new build. You have 3 years to claim for habitability defects (damp due to construction failures) and 10 years for structural failures, starting from the date of the signing of the acta de recepción de la obra (building reception certificate).

Concrete examples of conflict resolution

Example 1: The case of condensation in María's rented flat

María rents a flat in Madrid for 950 € per month. Six months after moving in, black mold stains appear in the corners of the master bedroom and the bathroom. The landlord, arguing that María does not ventilate the flat, refuses to paint and to solve the problem.

María decides to hire a perito técnico (technical expert), whose cost amounts to 350 €. The expert report concludes that the origin of the damp is a "severe thermal bridge" due to the absence of thermal insulation in the building's facade, aggravated by single-glazed aluminum windows without a thermal break.

Resolution: As this is a structural defect of the property that affects habitability (Article 21.1 LAU), the landlord is obliged to pay for the insulation of the wall or the improvement of mechanical ventilation, as well as to repair the aesthetic damage. Furthermore, María has the right to demand the reimbursement of the 350 € for the expert report and, if the room remains unusable during the works, a proportional reduction of the rent in accordance with Article 21.2 of the LAU if the works last more than 20 days.

Example 2: The broken flexible hose of the upstairs neighbor

Carlos lives in a flat he owns. One Tuesday afternoon, he notices that his kitchen ceiling is dripping intensely. He goes up to talk to his upstairs neighbor, Luis, who checks that the flexible hose of his kitchen sink has broken, flooding his floor. The cost of repairing Carlos's ceiling and painting the entire kitchen is budgeted at 1,200 €.

Resolution: Article 1902 of the Código Civil applies. Luis (or failing that, his civil liability insurance) must take charge of 100% of the cost of repairing Carlos's kitchen. Carlos reports the incident to his own insurance, which sends a painter to repair the damage and subsequently Carlos's company repeats (claims the amount of 1,200 €) against Luis's insurance company. Carlos does not have to pay anything.

Mistakes you must avoid

Withholding rent as a pressure measure: This is the most serious mistake a tenant can make. Even if the property has severe damp, the obligation to pay rent and the landlord's obligation to repair are independent. If you stop paying rent, the landlord can file an eviction lawsuit for non-payment, and the judge will not accept damp as a justification for not paying rent. The correct approach is to legally claim compliance with the contract or its termination, but always keeping payments up to date.
Carrying out repair works on your own without written notice: If you are a tenant and decide to hire a builder to solve the damp without having previously and reliably notified the landlord, you will lose the right to claim reimbursement of the costs, unless it was an urgent repair to avoid greater damage (Article 21.3 of the LAU), which must be very well justified.
Constantly cleaning the mold before the expert visits: It is natural to want to live in a clean environment, but if you clean the damp stains with bleach just before the insurance perito or the judicial expert arrives, you will be destroying the proof of the severity of the problem. Take detailed photos before carrying out any emergency cleaning.
Ignoring damp in new build properties thinking "it will dry out": If you buy a property off-plan or newly built and detect damp, you must claim immediately by burofax to the developer and builder. The deadlines of the Ley de Ordenación de la Edificación (3 years for habitability) are expiration deadlines (caducidad) and are not easily interrupted; if you let time pass, you will lose the opportunity to demand repairs that can cost tens of thousands of euros.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Can the tenant terminate the rental contract early because of damp?

Yes. If the damp is of such severity that it makes the dwelling unhealthy or uninhabitable, the tenant can request the termination of the lease contract without any penalty, under Article 26 of the LAU and Article 1124 of the Código Civil (due to breach of the landlord's obligation to maintain the dwelling in habitable conditions).

What happens if the damp damages my furniture and appliances? Who pays for them?

Material damage to personal property must be paid for by the party responsible for the origin of the damp. If the damp is due to a lack of maintenance by the landlord, they (or their insurance) must compensate the tenant for the value of the damaged goods. If the origin is a common pipe, the Comunidad de Propietarios insurance will pay. It is vital to keep purchase invoices for the damaged objects or replacement budgets.

The landlord says it is my fault for not ventilating, but I ventilate every day. How do I prove it?

The burden of proof in these cases is resolved through a technical report. A judicial or private perito will measure the relative humidity of the indoor air, the temperature of the walls, and look for thermal bridges with thermal imaging cameras. If the report proves that the wall lacks thermal insulation, the landlord's defense will fail, as it will be considered a construction defect and not a lack of ventilation.

Is the community of owners obliged to repair aesthetic damage inside my flat if the leak was communal?

Yes. The obligation of the Comunidad de Propietarios under Article 10 of the LPH is not limited to repairing the general pipe that broke; it also includes the obligation to return the damaged private elements (your ceiling, your walls, plaster moldings, etc.) to the exact state they were in before the incident occurred.

Can I demand a rent reduction while the works to fix the damp last?

Yes, under certain conditions. Article 21.2 of the LAU establishes that if the work to repair the damp cannot be deferred until the end of the lease, the tenant must tolerate it. However, if the work lasts more than 20 days, the rent must be reduced in proportion to the part of the dwelling of which the tenant is deprived. If the works affect the entire dwelling and make it uninhabitable, the tenant has the option to suspend the contract (not paying or living there while the works last) or terminate it.

In summary

The landlord is responsible for structural damp, rising damp (capilaridad), and lack of insulation (habitability, Art. 21.1 LAU).
The tenant is responsible for damp caused by inappropriate use, such as lack of ventilation, or for not warning of the appearance of the damage in time.
*The Comunidad de Propietarios is responsible* if the water filters from common elements such as facades, roofs, community terraces, or general downpipes.
Never stop paying rent as a protest; always use written claim channels, expert assessments, and legal claims in an orderly manner.
The limitation periods vary between 1 year for claims against neighbors and 5 years for contractual claims against the landlord.

General legal information, not personalised legal advice. For your specific situation, ask your question for free at AbogadoAI — answers grounded in Spanish law (BOE), in English.

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This is general information, not legal advice. Verify on the BOE or consult a lawyer for your specific case.