Building & renovation
Water damage in a condo: who pays and what the insurance covers
Short answer
Water damage to the building — including parts of your own unit — is usually settled by the owners’ association’s building insurance; your furniture is only covered by your contents insurance. Unless otherwise agreed, all owners share the deductible by the cost key. Report the damage to the manager immediately and do not commission repairs to common property yourself.
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The first hours
With water damage, the first hours determine how large the damage gets — and whether the insurer covers it in full. You are obliged to keep the damage as small as possible.
Immediately
Stop the water
Close the flat’s stopcock; if water reaches sockets or lights, switch off the circuit breaker. If the leak cannot be stopped, close the main valve in the basement.
Immediately
Document
Take photos and videos of the leak, affected rooms and damaged items before you clean up. Note the time.
Same day
Inform the manager
Via the manager’s emergency number, followed up in writing. Inform affected neighbours above and below. If the flat is let, ask the tenant for access.
Following days
Leak detection and drying
In consultation with the insurer, the manager commissions leak detection, repairs to common property and technical drying.
After drying
Repair and settlement
Screed, plaster and floor coverings are restored; the claim is settled with the insurer and the deductible split by the cost key.
What you should not do: hire a plumber at your own expense to open up walls or replace risers. Emergency measures to avert damage are allowed (§ 18(3) WEG). Repairing the common property itself is a matter for the association — if you pre-empt it, you risk not being reimbursed.
Which policy pays for what
The association’s building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung). It covers damage to the building from mains water, burst pipes and frost, and usually storm, hail and fire too. It insures the whole building, including fixed components of individual units: screed, plaster, floor coverings, sanitary fittings. How far cover extends to unit components is set out in the policy conditions — worth checking for high-end fittings.
Contents insurance (Hausratversicherung). It covers your movable belongings: furniture, rugs, clothing, electronics. Each occupant takes this out themselves; the association does not insure it.
Personal liability insurance (Privathaftpflicht). It pays if an occupant caused the damage through their own fault and is therefore liable for other people’s losses — for instance the contents of the flat below.
Often not covered. Damage from groundwater, heavy rain or sewage backflow is only covered by natural hazards insurance (Elementarschadenversicherung). Many policies also exclude damage from gradually penetrating moisture. No building insurance pays for mould without an insured event.
The deductible
Many associations have building insurance with a deductible, because premiums would otherwise be unaffordable. Who bears it was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (judgment of 16 September 2022, V ZR 69/21): unless otherwise agreed, the deductible is split among all owners like the premium — even if the damage occurred solely within one owner’s unit.
The association can change this. Under § 16(2) sentence 2 WEG, it can resolve that in future the deductible is borne by the unit in which the damage occurs. Whether that makes sense depends on the building: with old pipework, it is often pure chance who lives below the leaking riser.
When claims pile up
Several water damage claims within a few years are a warning sign — for the building and for your cover. After every insured event, either party may terminate the policy (§ 92 VVG). Insurers use this to raise premiums and deductibles sharply or to end the contract. Finding a new insurer for a building with a claims history is hard and expensive.
The answer is almost never another one-off repair, but a survey of the pipework: material, age, location of past leaks. That leads to a choice between pipe relining and full riser replacement — a maintenance measure the association resolves on, usually financed from the reserve or a special levy. How large the reserve should be is covered in our article on the maintenance reserve.
What landlords also need to know
If the flat is let, your tenant must report the damage without delay (§ 536c BGB). For as long as the flat can only be used to a limited extent, the rent is reduced by law (§ 536 BGB). Many building policies cover loss of rent for a limited period if the flat becomes uninhabitable. Ask the manager whether your association’s policy includes it.
Coordinating the tenant, contractors and loss adjuster is the landlord’s job, not the WEG manager’s. If you want to hand that off, you need unit management (Sondereigentumsverwaltung); if you are unhappy with your current one, see changing your unit manager.
In short
Stop the water, make the electrics safe, photograph everything
Inform the manager immediately and follow up in writing
Report damage to your belongings to your own contents insurer
Only emergency measures on common property — no repairs on your own initiative
If the flat is let: inform the tenant and ask the manager about loss-of-rent cover
After repeated claims, put a survey of the pipework on the meeting agenda
Ravenica takes damage reports around the clock and coordinates leak detection, drying and the insurer for the association, so water damage does not turn into months of building site.
Frequently asked questions
Who reports the damage to the insurer?
The policyholder of the building insurance (Wohngebäudeversicherung) is the owners’ association, represented by the manager. The manager reports the claim and coordinates leak detection, drying and the loss adjuster. Damage to your belongings you report yourself to your own contents insurer.
Who bears the deductible?
Unless otherwise agreed, all owners according to the general cost key — even if the damage occurred only within one unit (Federal Court of Justice, judgment of 16 September 2022, V ZR 69/21). The association can resolve to use a different key, for example charging the affected unit.
Does insurance pay for leak detection and the electricity used by the drying equipment?
Many policies cover the cost of leak detection and drying, sometimes up to a cap. Electricity for drying equipment is often reimbursed at a flat rate. The association’s policy conditions decide; the manager can show them to you.
Is my neighbour liable if their washing machine hose burst?
Damages generally require fault. If the neighbour left the machine running unattended or failed to replace a visibly defective hose, their personal liability insurance may pay. The damage to the building itself is usually settled by the building insurance regardless.
Can my tenant reduce the rent?
Yes, for as long as the flat can only be used to a limited extent because of the damage (§ 536 BGB). The reduction applies automatically by law. Many building insurance policies cover loss of rent for a limited period if the flat becomes uninhabitable.
About the author
Julius Launhardt
Founder, owner & managing director of Ravenica · Dipl.-Ing. (TUM)
Graduate engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) and M.Sc. in Management from the Technical University of Munich, IHK-certified property manager, TÜV-certified sustainability manager and long-standing member of the volunteer fire brigade. As founder and managing director of Ravenica in Nuremberg, he is responsible for day-to-day business, processes and long-term strategy. Knows building services, refurbishments, energy and inheritance cases first-hand, and owns several properties himself.
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