Defective repairs: how to legally force a contractor to redo the work and compensate for damages

Damage during renovation: who pays and how to protect your rights

Cracks or leaks on the property? Who is to blame – the contractor or the owner, and how to quickly get compensation

Responsibility for defects that arise during construction work never lies solely with one person. It is shared between the customer, the contractor, and the work manager (direttore dei lavori). All damage caused during renovation to third parties or to the common property of the building is subject to mandatory compensation. In this context, the homeowner is primarily responsible as a custodian of the property (custode del bene) under the Italian Civil Code, while the construction company is liable for damages for material errors or poor performance by workers. The designer and construction manager, for their part, are liable for insufficient supervision or errors in the design.

Types of damage during renovation work

Construction work inside a building or an individual apartment is always associated with technological risks. Damage resulting from repairs comes in various forms and falls into three main categories:

Structural and wall damage: Almost always caused by heavy mechanical impacts, improper excavation, demolition of partitions, or prolonged use of high-vibration equipment (e.g., jackhammers). Such work results in microcracks, deep fissures, and crevices in load-bearing walls or ceilings. In the most serious cases, foundation or supporting structure subsidence may occur, threatening the stability of the entire building, as well as sudden collapse of plaster, construction debris, or façade cladding.
Hydraulic and electrical system failures: These manifest themselves in the form of leaks and water infiltration due to accidental damage to existing pipes or defects in the installation of new utilities and waterproofing membranes (especially common in bathrooms and terraces). Failure to properly slope the drain or poorly sealed joints cause moisture stagnation and the subsequent development of persistent mold. As for electrical systems, incorrect drilling of grooves or walls without checking the utility diagrams often leads to damage to cables and failure of meters.
Aesthetic damage and surface defects: These affect the visual perception and finish of the premises. These include damage to valuable floor coverings (parquet, marble, majolica) or stone thresholds due to the fall of heavy tools, as well as oil stains or splashes of indelible paint on windows, doors and furniture left on the property without adequate cover with thick cardboard or film.

Who is responsible for damage caused to neighbors?

If renovation work in an apartment results in damage in adjacent or lower-lying premises, Italian law applies the principle of joint and several liability (responsabilità solidale) between the client (the owner who ordered the renovation) and the contractor (the construction company).

This guarantees the injured third party the right to demand full compensation for damage from any of these two persons, without waiting for them to determine the degree of fault between themselves. The legal distribution of liability is as follows:

Liability of the owner / client

The owner retains the status of custodian of the property and is liable in accordance with Article 2051 of the Italian Civil Code (Codice Civile) for damage caused by the property in his custody. The case law of the Court of Cassation (ruling no. 20943 of June 30, 2022) established that the transfer of work to a contractor does not relieve the owner of this liability. He can be released from it only by proving the fact of force majeure (caso fortuito) - that is, an exceptional and completely unpredictable event.

In addition, the owner can be imputed fault in the choice of contractor (culpa in eligendo) if he hired a knowingly incompetent company, as well as fault in insufficient supervision (culpa in vigilando) if he interfered with the progress of the work and gave erroneous instructions to the workers.

Liability of the construction company / contractor

The contractor is the direct performer of the work and bears non-contractual liability on the basis of Article 2043 of the Civil Code. By directly managing the site, the company is responsible for any negligence, technical inexperience, or errors by its workers (for example, improper use of demolition equipment or accidental damage to a main pipe).

From a financial perspective, damage caused by construction workers is generally covered by third-party liability insurance (RCT), which every professional company must have. If the owner decides to pay compensation directly to the neighbor in order to maintain good neighborly relations and speed up the process, they retain the full right of recourse (diritto di rivalsa) against the contractor for the return of the amounts paid (provided that the damage was caused by defects in workmanship). Therefore, it is extremely important to clearly set out in the contract the procedure for settling possible damage to property or third parties.

How to challenge poorly executed construction work?

Challenging work performed with defects, deficiencies, or deviations from professional standards (regole dell'arte) requires strict adherence to the statute of limitations established by the Civil Code.

Failure to act or failure to meet these deadlines leads to the irrevocable loss of the right to have the defects corrected or compensation provided. Statutory deadlines vary depending on the type of contract and the severity of the problem:

Ordinary defects and deviations in contracts (Article 1667 of the Italian Civil Code): These concern defects in finishing, improper tiling, or window installation. The defect must be reported to the contractor within 60 days of its actual discovery. The limitation period for filing a claim in court is 2 years from the date of delivery of the property.
Work performed by private craftsmen (Article 2226 of the Italian Civil Code): When engaging self-employed craftsmen without the status of a legal entity (for example, one painter or electrician), a statement of defects must be filed within 8 days of discovery, and a claim to court - within 1 year.
Serious structural or construction defects (Article 1669 of the Italian Civil Code): Refers to large-scale problems affecting the strength and durability of the building (extensive leaks, cracks in load-bearing walls). The warranty extends for 10 years from the date of completion of the work. The application must be submitted within 1 year from the date of official discovery, and the lawsuit - within 1 year from the date of filing the application.

Important: if the defects were obvious and visible at the time of acceptance of the property, and the apartment was accepted without formal reservations, it will be impossible to make claims in the future.

How to officially file a claim

To act correctly, it is necessary to conduct detailed photo and video recording of all discovered defects and be sure to involve a qualified specialist (engineer, architect or surveyor) to draw up a technical report. After this, a formal claim is sent via e-mail to PEC or by registered mail with notification (Raccomandata A/R).

The claim must describe in detail each defect identified, indicate the violated points of the contract and set a strict deadline (usually 14-15 days) within which the company is obliged to correct the defects at its own expense.

Based on Article 1668 of the Italian Civil Code, the customer has the right to demand:

correction of defects at the company's expense;
proportionate reduction of the contract price;
termination of the contract in the most severe cases;
full compensation for all associated damages (for example, hotel accommodation costs during English: repairs).

How to Obtain Compensation for Damages

The process of obtaining compensation for poor construction work or damage to third parties requires a systematic four-step approach:

Recording Evidence and Assessing Damages: Before starting any repair work, it is necessary to record the current condition and not make any changes to the site. An independent specialist must prepare a Technical Report (Perizia Tecnica di Parte — PTP), containing an analysis of the causes of the damage and an estimate of the costs to fix it.
Formal Claim (Messa in mora): A claim is sent via PEC or registered letter to the company and (for notification) to the work manager. The letter contains a demand to correct the defects, pay monetary compensation, or deduct the amount of damage from the final payment under the contract.
Negotiations with the insurance company: If the contractor has a civil liability policy (RC), he will notify his insurer. An insurance expert will inspect the site together with the client's specialist to agree on the payment amount.
Legal and protective measures: If the company refuses to admit guilt, and the insurer offers an inadequate amount, you should contact a lawyer. The first mandatory step by law is civil mediation (Mediazione Civile) to attempt a peaceful settlement. In urgent cases (for example, if there are persistent leaks that make the home uninhabitable), a lawyer files a claim for a pre-trial technical assessment (Accertamento Tecnico Preventivo — A.T.P. according to Article 696-bis of the Italian Civil Procedure Code). The court appoints an independent expert (CTU) who will formally establish the causes and extent of the damage. His or her opinion will serve as a binding basis for obtaining compensation in court or concluding a settlement agreement.