Asking landlords, sellers and neighbours about floods and storm damage

Terms used

• Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros — The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros is the state insurance body that covers flood damage and other extraordinary risks.
• Comunidad de propietarios — The comunidad de propietarios is the owners' association of a building, which shares and pays for common costs.
• Administrador de fincas — The administrador de fincas is the professional who manages a building's community of owners and keeps its records.
• Actas — The actas are the written minutes of a community of owners' meetings.

Key rules

• Written answers: Get the owner's answers about floods in writing, because spoken answers are hard to prove.
• Seller's duty: A private seller need not volunteer past floods, but you may have remedies if they hide a serious defect or lie when asked.
• Hidden defects: A hidden-defect claim has a short deadline: six months from delivery.
• Neighbours and records: Neighbours, the community manager and town hall records often reveal floods that maps miss.

Ask the owner first, and get answers in writing

Maps miss small floods. The people who know are the owner, the neighbours and the community manager. Ask them before you sign or pay anything.

Ask the owner or agent these questions:

• Has the home or the street ever flooded, when, and how deep did the water get?
• What damage was there, what repairs were done, by whom, and do they have the invoices?
• Is there recurring damp, mould or sewage backflow? Does the garage, basement or ground floor take in water?
• Where does the drainage go? Are there pumps, non-return valves or flood barriers?
• Was an insurance claim made, and was the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros involved?
• Has the insurer raised the premium, added exclusions or refused cover?
• Has the comunidad de propietarios discussed floods or paid for works?
• Is the building in a mapped flood zone?

Ask for the answers by message or email, and ask for the insurance policy and its claims history. A spoken answer is hard to prove later. The message template below gives you wording to send.

What the owner has to tell you

No general law makes a private seller volunteer past flooding. But if a seller knowingly hides a serious defect, or lies when you ask, you may have remedies. These come from the rules on hidden defects, good faith and deceit. Professional sellers and landlords face stricter rules, because misleading information is banned in consumer sales and rentals. A landlord must hand over a habitable home.

So ask directly and keep the replies. If the answers matter to you, ask your lawyer to put them into the contract as warranties. A hidden-defect claim has a short deadline: six months from delivery. A lawyer should confirm how the rules apply to your case.

Other people who remember

• Long-term neighbours: ask politely and in person. They often remember the date and the water level.
• Shop and bar owners on the street: they know what happened and how often.
• The administrador de fincas: the community manager can say whether the building has had water claims, pump repairs or special payments. The community's actas (meeting minutes) record them.
• Local police and fire service: they can sometimes confirm repeated call-outs.
• Your town hall: the urbanismo, obras or Protección Civil department may hold flood reports, the emergency plan and drainage works.
• Local press archives and insurance brokers: both can be useful.

Give each one a specific address and date range. Officials may not release incident records informally, so ask for written replies and expect to put a request in writing.

Public records

Check the national inventory of historical floods, part of the national flood-risk mapping system. Also check the flood-risk plans of the river basin authority (Confederación Hidrográfica) and your municipality's emergency plan. Most of these are online and free. Records of minor local floods are often missing, so a clean record does not prove a dry history.

The Consorcio does not usually give a property's claims history to third parties. The owner can request their own, so ask the owner to do it and share the result.

If nobody remembers a flood but you suspect one

Look at the property yourself: damp marks low on walls, fresh paint on lower walls, a musty smell, and tide lines in garages. Ask the owner about them. If doubts remain, have a surveyor inspect before you commit.

Timeline and deadlines

• Ask the owner or agent your flood questions and get the answers in writing: before you pay any deposit or sign

• Put the owner's key answers into the contract as warranties: before you sign

• Make a hidden-defect claim if you find a serious defect the seller hid: within six months of delivery of the property

Documents you need

• The owner's written answers about past floods, damp and repairs, signed or sent by message or email so you can keep them.

• The home insurance policy and its claims history, from the owner or their insurer.

• Invoices for any flood or water repairs, from the owner or the firm that did the work.

• Community meeting minutes (actas) that mention floods, water claims or special payments for works, from the community manager (administrador de fincas).

• Municipal flood reports or the local emergency plan, from your town hall's urbanismo, obras or Protección Civil department, requested in writing.

Checklist

• Ask the owner or agent whether the property or street has ever flooded, when, and how deep the water got.

• Ask what damage happened and what repairs were done, by whom, and ask for the invoices.

• Ask about recurring damp, mould or sewage backflow, and whether the garage, basement or ground floor takes in water.

• Ask whether an insurance claim was made, whether the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (the state insurance fund) was involved, and whether the insurer has raised the premium, added exclusions or refused cover.

• Ask where the drainage goes and whether there are pumps, non-return valves or flood barriers.

• Ask whether the community of owners has discussed floods or paid for works.

• Ask for the answers in writing and request the insurance policy and claims history.

• Talk in person to long-term neighbours and to shop and bar owners on the street about past floods and water levels.

• Ask the community manager (administrador de fincas) about water claims, pump repairs and special payments, and ask to see the community minutes.

• Send your town hall a written request with the exact address and date range for flood reports, drainage works and the emergency plan.

• Ask the local police or fire service whether they have repeated call-outs to the address.

What to watch out for

• A spoken answer is hard to prove: If the seller or landlord only tells you there was no flooding and it turns out false, you will struggle to prove what was said. Ask your questions in writing, keep the replies, and have key answers written into the contract as warranties.

• The hidden-defect deadline is short: A claim for a hidden defect must be made within six months of delivery, so waiting can cost you the claim. Inspect the home closely after you move in and act quickly if you find damp or water damage.

• The owner may say nothing is on record: Records of minor local floods are often missing, and the Consorcio will not usually share a property's claims history with you. Ask the owner to request their own claims history, and also check local press archives and ask neighbours and the community manager.

• Officials may not answer informal questions: Town hall staff may not release incident records over the counter or by phone.

Message template: asking an owner about flood and storm history

Send this by email or message, not by phone, so you have the answer in writing. Fill in the blanks, and delete any questions that don't apply (for example, those about the community if the property is a detached house).

Spanish

Asunto: Preguntas sobre inundaciones y temporales – [dirección del inmueble]

Hola [nombre]:

Estoy interesado/a en [alquilar / comprar] el inmueble de [dirección]. Antes de seguir, le agradecería que me respondiera por escrito a estas preguntas:

1. ¿Se ha inundado alguna vez el inmueble o la calle? ¿Cuándo y hasta qué altura llegó el agua?
2. ¿Se presentó algún parte al seguro? ¿Intervino el Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros?
3. ¿Qué daños hubo y qué reparaciones se hicieron? ¿Quién las hizo? ¿Tiene las facturas?
4. ¿Ha habido humedades, moho o retorno de aguas residuales?
5. ¿Entra agua en el garaje, el sótano o la planta baja?
6. ¿Hay bombas de achique, válvulas antirretorno o barreras contra inundaciones?
7. ¿Ha tratado la comunidad de propietarios el tema de las inundaciones o pagado obras por este motivo?
8. ¿Sabe si el inmueble está en una zona inundable?
9. ¿Ha subido la aseguradora la prima, añadido exclusiones o rechazado la cobertura por este motivo?

Si es posible, ¿podría enviarme también una copia de la póliza del seguro y el historial de partes?

Muchas gracias. Un saludo, [Su nombre y teléfono]

English

Subject: Questions about flooding and storms – [property address]

Hello [name],

I am interested in [renting / buying] the property at [address]. Before going further, could you please answer these questions in writing?

1. Has the property or the street ever flooded? When, and how deep did the water get?
2. Was an insurance claim made? Was the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros involved?
3. What damage was there, and what repairs were done? Who did them? Do you have the invoices?
4. Has there been damp, mould or sewage backflow?
5. Does water get into the garage, basement or ground floor?
6. Are there pumps, non-return valves or flood barriers?
7. Has the comunidad de propietarios discussed floods or paid for works because of them?
8. Do you know if the property is in a mapped flood zone?
9. Has the insurer raised the premium, added exclusions or refused cover for this reason?

If possible, please also send me a copy of the insurance policy and the claims history.

Thank you very much. Kind regards, [Your name and phone number]

After you send it

• Keep the reply. If the answer is vague, ask again in writing.
• If you are buying, ask for the answers to be written into the contract as promises from the seller. A lawyer can word this for you.
• A "no" in writing is useful. If the seller knowingly gave a false answer, it can give you a basis for a claim later.

Frequently asked questions

Does a seller have to tell me about past flooding?

No, Spain has no general duty to volunteer past flooding in a private sale, but a seller who knowingly hides a serious defect or lies when you ask can face a claim. That is why you should ask in writing and keep the reply. If the seller is a developer or other professional, stricter consumer rules against misleading information apply.

How long do I have to claim for a hidden defect after buying?

You have six months from delivery of the property to make a hidden-defect claim. The deadline is short, so act as soon as you find damp, water entry or flood damage.

Will the Consorcio tell me a property's flood claims history?

No, the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros will not usually give property-level claims history to third parties.

What if nobody remembers a flood but I still suspect one?

Search local newspaper archives and the national historical flood inventory, which are mostly online and free. Records of minor local floods are often missing, so a gap does not prove nothing happened. Ask your town hall for a written reply on the address.