# Property damage

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Property_damage
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Property_damage.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_damage
> Source revision: 1354846400
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Topic in insurance and criminal law}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2024}}
[[File:2020augderecho-damaged-ag-structures-Marion-IA-2.jpg|thumb|Agricultural storage and processing structures in [Marion, Iowa](/source/Marion%2C_Iowa) damaged by high winds of the [2020 Midwest derecho](/source/2020_Midwest_derecho)]]
{{Criminal law}}

'''Property damage''' (sometimes called '''damage to property''') is the [damage](/source/damage) or destruction of [real](/source/Real_property) or [tangible](/source/Tangible_property) [personal](/source/Personal_property) [property](/source/property), caused by [negligence](/source/negligence), [willful](/source/Willful_violation) destruction, or an [act of nature](/source/Act_of_God). 

'''Destruction of property''' (sometimes called '''property destruction''', or '''[criminal damage](/source/Criminal_damage_in_English_law)''' in [England](/source/England) and [Wales](/source/Wales)) is a subset of property damage that involves damage to property that results from willful misconduct and is punishable as a crime.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Hörnle |editor1-first=Tatjana |editor2-last=Dubber |editor2-first=Markus D. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Criminal Law |date=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |location=Oxford, UK |isbn=978-0191654602}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=property damage |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/property_damage |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wagon |first=Tina |date=2024-04-09 |title=What is Considered Criminal Damage to Property |url=https://wheldonlaw.co.uk/what-is-considered-criminal-damage-to-property/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=Wheldon Law |language=en-GB}}</ref> Destruction of property encompasses [vandalism](/source/vandalism) (deliberate damage, destruction, or defacement), [building implosion](/source/building_implosion) (destroying property with explosives), and [arson](/source/arson) (destroying property with fire), and similar crimes that involve unlawful infliction of damage to or destruction of personal property or real property.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wright |first1=Richard |last2=Jacques |first2=Scott |title=Property Crime: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide |date=2010 |publisher=Oxford University Press, USA |location=St. Louis, MO |isbn=9780199805709 |page=11}}</ref>

== Insurance claims ==
Property damage also refers to loss of tangible property in insurance loss claims, related to residential and commercial buildings, as well as motor vehicles.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-06-04 |title=Loss of Use as Property Damage |url=https://www.irmi.com/articles/expert-commentary/loss-of-use-as-property-damage |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=www.irmi.com |language=en-US}}</ref> In motor vehicle accidents, typically there may be loss to structures, personal items, and vehicles, which would be referred to as property damage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Is Property Damage Handled in an Auto Accident? |url=https://vaughanandvaughan.com/faqs/how-is-property-damage-handled-in-an-auto-accident-claim/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=vaughanandvaughan.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Toney-Butler |first=Tammy J. |title=Motor Vehicle Collisions |date=2025 |work=StatPearls |url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441955/ |access-date=2025-05-21 |place=Treasure Island (FL) |publisher=StatPearls Publishing |pmid=28722984 |last2=Varacallo |first2=Matthew A.}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Mischief](/source/Mischief)
*[Damages](/source/Damages)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Criminal law
Category:Property insurance
Category:Vandalism
Category:Problem behavior
Category:Property crimes

{{criminal-law-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Property damage](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_damage) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_damage?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.