What can I do if water from my neighbour's roof falls onto my patio?

Question

José Manuel Alburquerque · Accepted Answer

You can require your neighbour to stop discharging it and to repair the damage it has caused you. In Catalonia, rainwater from roofs can never fall onto the neighbouring property, so your neighbour must collect it with gutters and downpipes and channel it onto their own land or into the drainage system. If they do not, you can first make the claim in writing and, if no agreement is reached, take it to court. To claim compensation for the damage, such as damp or seepage, you have three years from when you become aware that the water is falling onto your patio. What the law says The “Código Civil de Cataluña”, the Catalan Civil Code, says that rainwater coming from the roofs of buildings may not, under any circumstances, run off onto the neighbouring property. This rule should not be confused with the one for water that flows over the ground: Rainwater that flows down naturally from a higher property to a lower one does have to be accepted. That natural flow may not be obstructed or altered so that it causes more harm. Water falling from a roof has its own rule, the one that prohibits discharging it onto the neighbouring property. You do not have to put up with it even if your patio is lower. This only changes if there is an easement, in this case the right to discharge water onto someone else's property. In Catalonia it would have to be set out in a title, such as a deed. If there is one, you would have to abide by what it says. In most of the rest of Spain, the Spanish Civil Code (“Código civil”) requires roofs to be built so that the water falls onto the owner's own land or onto the street, never onto the neighbour's. Even if it falls onto their own land, the owner must collect it so that it does not harm the property next door. The result is similar, but the Catalan rule is more categorical. How to make the claim Talk to your neighbour. If they do not fix it, ask them in writing, for example by “burofax” (a certified letter with proof of content), to install or repair the gutters and downpipes and to pay you for the damage. Gather evidence. Photos and videos taken on a rainy day showing where the water falls are useful. So is a report from a qualified professional on the damp and its cause. Check whether your home insurance covers that damage under the policy. Also ask your neighbour for the details of theirs. If no agreement is reached, you can sue them so that they correct the way the water runs off and compensate you. Beforehand, the law generally requires an attempt to reach an agreement, for example through a written proposal or mediation. The claim to make them stop discharging the water can be brought for as long as the problem lasts. The claim for compensation for the damage becomes time-barred three years after you become aware of the disturbance, that is, after you know that the water is falling onto your patio. If you live in a building divided into flats and the water comes from the building's own roof, that is a different matter, which is for the owners' association (the “comunidad de propietarios”) to deal with.