Needless to say that this part of Spain is prepared for the Sun but not for the rain, so many buildings suffer from water leaks and damp in the ceilings, the walls and even the floor as a consequence of the water capillarity when the foundations of the houses are not waterproof.

In these cases there are always doubts about who is responsible for the damages caused to the property and for the repairs needed to be done to solve the problem for future.

We should take into consideration that the roof, facade, foundations, water membranes, and all the structure of the building is a communal element, and the community should keep them in would condition to avoid water filtrations.

Anyway, in some situations, when the building in brand new, the communities always try to turn a blind eye considering that this building defect should be amended by the developer or the constructor, so simply tell the owners in pain that they personally should sue the developer and the professionals involved in the construction saying that the community has nothing to do with the problem.

This is wrong, the community should be aware that it is its obligation to maintain the communal elements in good conditions in order to keep private properties free of damps or filtration, so the first one to respond to the owner would be the community who would be responsible for the solution of the problem, no matter if the community claim later for the money to the developer, the constructor or whoever. The community is responsible in any case, so the owner is not obliged to sue the constructor before claiming to the community.

In other cases, when the building is old and there is no possibility to claim to the developer or other people responsible for the building defects, the community try to tell the owner who suffer the damp that the responsibility is for the owner of the above property for a lack of maintenance of the terrace.

Unless the community can prove that the problem arise exclusively as a consequence of the owner above ( Vg. They have just made a construction in the terrace and has just broken the water membrane or the damp comes from a liking of a tap, etc. ) the community would be responsible for the reparation in the communal elements to keep the properties dry.

We should realize that water membranes are not eternal, and every certain time should be replaced or repaired. We know that a water membrane could keep in good use for 20 years but after 40 years nobody should be surprised if the owners of the properties below suffer from damp problems, so the community would be obliged to change it in order to avoid the problem.

In some cases, the negligence of the community to do the repairs after several claiming from the owner affected has resulted in a sentence in which the Court not only rule on behalf of the owner obliging the community to do the repairs but also order to pay a compensation for the damages suffered by the owner, including sometimes the cost for the rent the owner had to pay as a consequence of the inhabitability of the property.  

Anyway, as any case could be completely different, we always recommend to take legal advice.