Criminal defence throughout Spain · offices in Madrid and Alicante
Damage is by far the property offence that most often goes unreported: the injured party reckons the procedure costs more than the destruction is worth. Yet the civil liability is resolved within the criminal proceedings themselves, which makes a well-drafted complaint the cheapest recovery route there is.
In brief. Four hundred euros mark the border between the minor offence and the Article 263.1 offence, and that figure is fixed by expert valuation, not by the victim. Damage by gross negligence is an offence only above eighty thousand euros. And the insurer can answer as direct civil respondent within the criminal proceedings (Art. 117 CP).
Damage is by far the property offence that most often goes unreported, always on the same seemingly reasonable calculation: the procedure will cost more than the destruction is worth, nobody will find the culprit, the insurance will fix it anyway. Three facts change that calculation. Many policies require the complaint before paying. If the company pays, it subrogates into the insured’s position (Article 43 of the Insurance Contract Act) and claims against the causer anyway, only without you inside and without your real losses being discussed, such as the lost profit of premises closed for three weeks. And the civil liability arising from the offence is resolved within the criminal proceedings themselves, making a well-drafted complaint the cheapest existing route to recover a repair.
On the other side stands the investigated person, whose miscalculation is symmetrical: many receive a damage summons convinced it is an administrative trifle, fail to attend or attend without a lawyer, and discover at the hearing that the figure the complainant brings converts what they thought a symbolic fine into a prison request. The valuation is the heart of these cases.
| Conduct | Article | Penalty framework | Key factor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intentional damage over €400 | 263.1 | Fine 6 – 24 months | Expert valuation fixes the border |
| Minor damage (up to €400) | 263.1 II | Fine 1 – 3 months | One-year limitation from the fact |
| Aggravated damage | 263.2 | 1 – 3 years + fine | Revenge, corrosives, public property, ruin |
| Computer damage | 264 | 6 months – 3 years | Serious result on data or systems |
| Damage to systems | 264 bis | 6 months – 3 years | Interruption of another’s system |
| Fire or explosion | 266 | Higher ranges | Danger to life raises the response |
| Gross negligence | 267 | Fine 3 – 9 months | Only above €80,000; complaint required |
| Family exemption | 268 | Civil liability only | No violence, intimidation or abuse |
Penalty ranges are indicative and set out the ordinary framework; the sentence actually imposed depends on the circumstances of each case.
The 400-euro border and the final penalty depend on expert evidence, not on what either party asserts. A summary police estimate made from photographs weighs less than a technical report with an itemised breakdown of parts and labour; both parties can and often should bring their own valuation, and the difference between 380 and 900 euros is the difference between a minor offence and the basic offence. On the recovery side, dating the fact conditions everything, because the minor offence becomes time-barred one year from the fact, not from its discovery: utility consumption, neighbours’ notices, cleaning-service records and the last photograph of the property in good condition fix the date.
And on the defence side, early reparation is the most effective lever: paying or consigning the amount before trial supports the mitigating circumstance of Article 21.5, which can be held highly qualified, usually leads the private prosecution to withdraw and opens a negotiated judgment with a reduced fine. Its mitigating value shrinks the later it arrives.
Damaged premises, dwellings and vehicles: dating, valuation, insurance coordination and full recovery including lost profit.
Those summoned over broken property: contest of the valuation, of authorship and early reparation where appropriate.
Computer damage by departing employees or attacks: Articles 264 and 264 bis and forensic evidence.
Seasonal dwellings vandalised months earlier: fixing the date of the fact against the one-year clock.
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