Leak into flat below

oldtrout

I can't see how one person can be liable for another person's excess. What if the other person has set a really high excess to keep their premiums low? I'd let the insurance companies sort it out.

jee

Hi I've had this problem before.
Contact your management company as you should have the same building insurance and they can start the ball rolling with the insurance company.
You can claim for damages as well- that is the cost of damage from the leak and from accessing the leak if it was behind a wall. You have to pay for the plumber.
The excess is normally covered by the service charge.

Richard__G

macman wrote: »

The sinking fund is for communal repairs and maintenance. It would be quite unreasonable for the other leaseholders to have to share the cost of the excess-what has it got to do with them?
You are not liable for the excess, the flat below is-what his insurers agree with your insurers is between them.
Your neighbour may take the view that you 'morally' owe him the excess, but that does not oblige you to pay it.

Apologies if I'm being slow here - quite prepared to believe that that's the case!

The claim would be from the buildings insurance, which all four of the leaseholders have paid for out of the service charge. This isn't anything to do with his own home/contents insurance, or indeed my own. That's my reading of the situation anyway.

So someone has to pay the excess. If this is a buildings insurance issue, does it matter that the pipe that went kaput happened to be in my flat?

That's the reason I was thinking that the excess should be split between the four leaseholders.

macman

You are moving the goalposts-earlier you said could it be paid from the 'sinking fund'. Now you are seeking it from the buildings insurance? Totally different things.
If there is a joint buildings policy then your leasehold details should specify how it is to be paid or divided.
The inevitable result is that you'll all suffer, as the premium will be hiked at next renewal.

Richard__G

I meant that the excess would be paid from the sinking fund i.e. it would be split four ways.

macman

If that's what your leasehold and buildings policy provide for, then presumably yes.
Which will make you unpopular with the whole block, not just your neighbour downstairs...
But this is all theoretical, you need to review the paperwork.