Does a community of owners have to pay for the costs of tap water damage in an individual apartment if the insurance only partially reimburses them? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) will examine this question at a hearing on Friday, September 16, 9 am. The case has already been heard by the Cologne District Court (case no. 204 C 171/19) and the Cologne Regional Court (case no. 29 S 146/20).
The facts of the case are as follows: In an apartment in Cologne, tap water damage occurs repeatedly due to defective pipes (copper pipes). In 2018 alone, the costs for this amounted to around 85,000 euros. The community of owners has building insurance that also covers tap water damage - without differentiating between separate property and common property. Up to now, the community of owners has commissioned a company to repair water damage. The costs, including for damage to separate property, were paid from the community account.
However, due to the frequency of damage, the insurance company now demands an excess of 7,500 euros. In the event of water damage, all owners would therefore have to dig deep into their pockets. The owner of a unit in which no water damage has occurred to date has now taken legal action against this. She does not want to pay for damage that has only occurred to the defendant's separate property. As the ruling could result in various advantages or disadvantages for a community of owners or for the owners of individual apartments, it remains exciting.
Source: bundesgerichtshof.de
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