ᐅ Water Ingress Through Ventilation System: What to Do and Liability Issues?

Hello respected community,
this topic has probably been discussed before, but I couldn’t find anything specific.

We moved into our newly built house in September 2018 and are very satisfied.
During the recent storms, however, we repeatedly experience water ingress through the decentralized ventilation system on the weather-exposed side.
The builder keeps reassuring us by saying “force majeure,” and the construction company is unresponsive.
We have never encountered this problem before, only since the recent storms (Sabine, etc.).

What is the situation here regarding liability and responsibility?
We have now privately purchased 4 of these weather protection covers for a mere 260.00 €.
Luckily, we only plastered the interior walls, not wallpapered.

Can you help me with what we can do here?
Thank you for your support.

Best of luck
Maik

Are you tenants or owners?

We are the owners, sorry, I forgot to mention that.

I would guess that this is just a case of bad luck. If a hurricane had torn off your roof, the roofer (assuming the work was done properly) wouldn’t be to blame either.

Was the ventilation system installed correctly, or are there construction defects? It sounds like that is not the case with you.

Well, from what I have read, it is quite possible that if the ventilation system was not properly sealed, the responsibility lies with the builder. That’s exactly why I am asking—I would like to know who is accountable. If that is the case, then it’s fine.

If something was not installed properly, you are right. Can you prove it, though, when the system has been working without issues for almost 1.5 years under normal weather conditions? Or why do you suspect that?
The likelihood clearly favors the storm.