Property damage (or, in England and Wales,
criminal damage) is damage to or the destruction of public or private
property, caused either by a
person who is not its
owner or by natural phenomena. Property damage caused by persons is generally categorized by its cause: neglect (including oversight and human error), and
intentional damage. Intentional property damage is often, but not always,
malicious. Property damage caused by natural phenomena may be
legally attributed to a person if that person's neglect allowed for the damage to occur.