Community Insurance in Spain vs Home Insurance: What's Covered (and What's Not)
If you live in an apartment in Spain, you'll hear 'the community has insurance' all the time. But that doesn't mean you're covered.
Key Takeaways
Community insurance covers shared parts of the building, but not your apartment contents or personal liability. The safest setup is: community policy (shared areas) + your personal policy (contents, liability, private interior).
- Community insurance (comunidad) covers shared parts of the building—not your apartment contents or personal liability
- The biggest confusion happens after water leaks: who pays depends on where the leak started and what it damaged
- The safest setup is: community policy (shared areas) + your personal policy (contents, liability, private interior)
- Always ask the administrator for the community policy details before assuming you're covered
What "Community Insurance" Is in Spain
A community of owners (comunidad de propietarios) is the shared legal entity that manages the building: common areas, building maintenance, and fees. Many communities buy a policy that typically focuses on:
Common Areas
Hallways, stairs, lifts, roof, façade
Shared Infrastructure
Often communal pipes up to a certain point, depending on the building and policy
Community Liability
For accidents in shared spaces
What community insurance usually does not cover is what's inside your apartment: your furniture, your upgrades, and your personal responsibility for damage you cause.
What Your Personal Home Insurance Usually Covers
Your home insurance (as an owner or tenant) is normally the policy that covers:
Furniture, electronics, clothing, valuables
From insured events, depending on policy terms
If your leak damages a neighbor, for example
Emergency assistance, legal cover, etc.
As an owner, you may also have building cover (continente) for your private part of the property (fixed installations, floors, built-in kitchen elements, etc.). As a tenant, you usually focus on contents + liability.
Where the Confusion Happens: What's "Community" vs "Private"?
The line is not always the same in every building. Some communities insure more, some less. What changes everything is where the leak starts and what it damages.
Typical Gaps Where People Assume They're Covered (But Aren't)
This is why "the community has insurance" is not a plan. It's a starting point.
Water Leaks in Apartments: Who Pays What (Common Scenarios)
Leaks are the number one reason owners and tenants get stuck in back-and-forth. The outcome usually depends on:
- Origin of the leak (communal pipe vs your private pipe/appliance)
- What was damaged (common area vs neighbor's home vs your belongings)
- Who is liable (community vs owner vs tenant)
ACommunal pipe leaks and damages your ceiling
If the leak comes from a communal pipe, the community policy may respond for repairs that fall under the community's responsibility. Your own policy may still matter if your belongings were damaged.
BYour washing machine hose leaks and damages the neighbor below
This often becomes a personal liability issue. The community policy may not be involved at all, because the origin is inside your home. Your personal home insurance liability cover is usually what you want in this scenario.
CWater damages a staircase or lobby area
That's typically a community area. But if the leak started in your apartment, liability questions can still appear. This is where the claim can turn into a blame game unless your coverage is clear.
How to Check What Your Community Actually Insures
You don't need to guess. Ask for the policy details (the administrator can provide them). Keep it simple:
Questions to Ask the Administrator
Once you have this, you can set your personal policy to cover the gaps instead of paying twice for the same thing.
Best Setup for Expats in Apartments
If you want fewer surprises, focus on these basics:
Personal Liability
Make sure you have coverage that covers damage to neighbors
Realistic Contents Cover
Work laptops and electronics add up fast
Private "Building" Cover
If you own the apartment, ensure your private interior is reflected (not the whole building)
Save Policy Details
Keep the community policy summary somewhere accessible—claims don't happen when it's convenient
If you want help matching your personal cover to what the community already has, contact our team
Expert reviewed
Written and reviewed by licensed insurance agents Maya Kallio and Marco Elsinger, who have helped over 15,000 expats in Spain since 2012.
Maya Kallio
Licensed Insurance Agent
Since 2012
Marco Elsinger
Licensed Insurance Agent
10+ years
Languages: English, Finnish, Spanish, German
Frequently asked questions
Still have questions? Check these answers or get in touch.
Does community insurance in Spain cover my apartment?
Usually not in the way people assume. Community insurance is mainly designed for shared parts of the building and community liability in common areas. It may help if a problem comes from communal infrastructure (like certain shared pipes), but it typically won't cover your belongings, your private interior upgrades, or your personal liability if the incident starts inside your home. To avoid gaps, you normally need your own home insurance that covers contents and liability, and (for owners) the private part of the building.
If my neighbor's ceiling is damaged by my leak, who pays?
If the leak originated in your apartment (for example, an appliance hose or a private pipe), it often becomes a personal liability situation. That's where your own home insurance liability cover matters. The community policy usually focuses on communal property and may not cover damage caused by a private incident. The fastest way to keep it clean is documenting the origin, reporting quickly, and letting insurers deal with liability rather than trying to negotiate directly with the neighbor.
Can I rely on community insurance if I'm a tenant?
As a tenant, relying only on community insurance is risky because it doesn't usually protect what you actually own: contents and personal liability. Even if the building is insured by the community, your laptop, furniture, and personal items aren't covered under that policy in most cases. Also, if you cause damage to others (a leak, accidental fire, pet incident), community insurance is not designed to cover you personally. A tenant policy is typically built around contents + liability.
How do I find out what my community policy includes?
Ask your building administrator (or community president) for the policy summary or key terms. You're looking for what is insured as common property, whether communal pipes are included and up to which point, the deductible, and liability limits. It's also useful to ask about exclusions related to gradual leaks or maintenance. Once you know what the community covers, you can set your personal home insurance to cover the gaps instead of paying for overlap or discovering missing protection after a claim.
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