{"id":10935,"date":"2026-10-15T06:14:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T06:14:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dpcon.es\/structural-damage-building-pathologies-how-to-claim\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T08:02:54","slug":"structural-damage-building-pathologies-how-to-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dpcon.es\/en\/structural-damage-building-pathologies-how-to-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Structural Damage and Building Pathologies: What They Are, Examples and How to Claim Against the Building Contractor or Developer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A crack that widens every winter, a door that suddenly no longer closes, a floor slab that sags or a garage with spalling concrete and exposed reinforcement. Behind many of these symptoms lie structural damage and building pathologies<\/strong>: defects that originate in the design, in the execution of the works or in the materials and that, if not tackled in time, compromise the safety of the building and the value of your home.<\/p>\n

The good news is that, if you bought your home from a developer, the law protects you. Law 38\/1999, the Spanish Building Act (Ley de Ordenaci\u00f3n de la Edificaci\u00f3n, LOE), imposes liability lasting 10 years<\/strong> for structural damage, 3 years<\/strong> for damage affecting habitability and 1 year for defects in finishes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

At DPcon<\/strong> we know these situations inside out, which is why we have put together this article to help people who are experiencing this kind of structural damage first-hand, so that they know how to identify it, who to claim against, the time limits that apply and other relevant aspects that we will clarify drawing on our extensive experience in court claims for construction defects<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

What are building pathologies?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In construction, pathology<\/strong> is the study of the defects in a building: what causes them, how they develop and how they are repaired. By extension, we speak of \u201cpathologies\u201d to refer to the defects themselves: damp, cracks, hairline cracks, detached material, corrosion, deformation or condensation. As in medicine, the same visible defect (for example, a crack) can have very different causes, which is why a technical diagnosis is essential before carrying out repairs or making a claim.<\/p>\n

Technical experts usually classify defects into three families:<\/p>\n