On our return to Spain from the UK we discovered some cement had dropped from under our roof tiles onto our patio. Had this hit us it would have been very serious. It got us looking at the condition of properties on our urbanisation and it is clear that some have cracks in upper cement work and some have actually lost cement too.
While I do not want to alarm anyone, I think it worthwhile to put out a warning to all owners to look at the condition of their homes – bearing in mind we have had severe weather and also earth tremors here. It is also worthwhile checking whether any repair or damage is covered by your individual house insurance or whether you need to amend your insurance to cover such claims. It must be emphasised that our urbanisation insurance does not cover such problems on individual properties.
On the subject of insurance, one owner has had damage done by a vehicle to his wall and gate post which prevented him getting his car from his garage. Our urbanisation insurance covers such damage to perimeter balustrades, etc. provided these have not been modified. The moment an owner does work to their perimeter, such as by replacing the balustrade with a wall, then the urbanisation insurance is null and void, the insurance company assuming that the owner has taken possession and responsibility for that wall. The onus is then transferred to the house owner to modify his home insurance to cover the wall from damage.
Finally, we have had three periods of intense rains in the past year, one in November 2018, another at Easter this year and finally early this month. During these periods water had penetrated into garages and has demonstrated the need for all house owners who have properties above garages to have their patios properly maintained. Failure to do necessary maintenance could result in calls by the garage community for owners to take all necessary action to stop leaks into garages. The court decision taken a few years ago made it clear the onus is on individual owners to properly maintain their patios.