My neighbour flooded me!

kiwi07

I have my bathroom flooded by the tenants upstairs and I contacted their landlord who sent the plumber to sort out the leak. The plumber came yesterday to my neighbour and sorted out the leak. I hope the problem is sorted now but what about the cost of re-decoration? The seiling in my bathroom looks awful and in yellow marks... Who shoud pay for the cost of redecoration? This is leesehold flat. I am the owner. I do not have a home insurance.

Tr1pp

this is exactly what you have home insurance for.

you could try chasing (sue) the landlord and or tennant for damages (not sure who would be liable though) but id be surprised if you could get anything from the landlords insurance, even less likely from the tenant.

Torry_Quine

The chances are that you will have to pay for it yourself as you don't have insurance. :eek: Hope you've got some now.

Unless you could prove negligence by the upstairs neighbour then no one else is liable.

kiwi07

Thank you all who replied. I've been thinking of contacting the management company and asking for an advice but how can they help if it's inside of my flat... Can I involve them?

pinkteapot

Did the upstairs flat just have any work done on the bathroom? If so, the plumber may be liable.

If something just started leaking due to age/wear and tear, no-one else will be liable and you'll have to pay. Is the ceiling bulging or is it just yellow marks? If it's just yellow marks, it'll only need repainting. Though search on here first about painting over water marks - you can get special products to seal them first, otherwise they'll just show through the paint you get.

I once flooded the flat below me when my washing machine leaked at the back (where the hose enters the machine). I'd just had it installed by the shop I bought it from. They had bodged the installation and gave their insurance details to the flat downstairs for any repairs. I felt awful about it; fortunately downstairs were just about to redecorate so they didn't mind.

The management company won't be interested in interior decor I'm afraid. They might if there's structural damage to the building (i.e. to the floor between the flats) as they'll be the ones with building insurance (on behalf of the freeholder).

ic

Do you pay a monthly management fee? This should include the cost of buildings insurance which will cover the whole building. I would expect this would also cover the problem you've had.

If you have a mortgage, there is probably a condition in the mortgage that you must have buildings insurance - you really should look into this.

Leif

Years ago the washing machine flooded the floor, and leaked through to the flat below. I am sure the people below claimed on the landlord's insurance. I find it odd that you could not claim if it was not negligence. You can claim against another driver when they drive into your car even if they were not negligent e.g. a tyre burst. And as said, if you have a mortgage, chances are you were forced to buy buildings insurance. A mortgage lender would not risk losing capital due to a fire.

kiwi07

pinkteapot wrote: »

Did the upstairs flat just have any work done on the bathroom? If so, the plumber may be liable.

If something just started leaking due to age/wear and tear, no-one else will be liable and you'll have to pay. Is the ceiling bulging or is it just yellow marks? If it's just yellow marks, it'll only need repainting. Though search on here first about painting over water marks - you can get special products to seal them first, otherwise they'll just show through the paint you get.

I once flooded the flat below me when my washing machine leaked at the back (where the hose enters the machine). I'd just had it installed by the shop I bought it from. They had bodged the installation and gave their insurance details to the flat downstairs for any repairs. I felt awful about it; fortunately downstairs were just about to redecorate so they didn't mind.

The management company won't be interested in interior decor I'm afraid. They might if there's structural damage to the building (i.e. to the floor between the flats) as they'll be the ones with building insurance (on behalf of the freeholder).

Yes, it's just big yellow marks. I believe it's just need repainting. I can obviously go and buy the paint but it's still en expense which is a bit unfair as it was not my fault.

I think something is constantly leaking due to age/wear and tear. It's not the first time it has happened and I had to contact them before to let them know that there is a leak somewhere. Hopefully it sorted now.

kiwi07

Leif wrote: »

Years ago the washing machine flooded the floor, and leaked through to the flat below. I am sure the people below claimed on the landlord's insurance. I find it odd that you could not claim if it was not negligence. You can claim against another driver when they drive into your car even if they were not negligent e.g. a tyre burst. And as said, if you have a mortgage, chances are you were forced to buy buildings insurance. A mortgage lender would not risk losing capital due to a fire.

Luckily I do not have a mortgage.

kiwi07

ic wrote: »

Do you pay a monthly management fee? This should include the cost of buildings insurance which will cover the whole building. I would expect this would also cover the problem you've had.

If you have a mortgage, there is probably a condition in the mortgage that you must have buildings insurance - you really should look into this.

Yes, I pay a monthly management fee of £93:eek:
Shell I contact a management company and ask for an advice? Please note this is a leesehold property.

Tr1pp

lucky18 wrote: »

Yes, it's just big yellow marks. I believe it's just need repainting. I can obviously go and buy the paint but it's still en expense which is a bit unfair as it was not my fault.

I think something is constantly leaking due to age/wear and tear. It's not the first time it has happened and I had to contact them before to let them know that there is a leak somewhere. Hopefully it sorted now.

It wont be a simple matter of just painting over the stains.

You may still have excess moisture within your ceiling cavity which will need to dry out. As the ceiling dries it will likely cause cracks to appear along the joints of the plater board, this will need to be raked and refilled. After that you will need a stain block then you will be able to paint. - i know this because my roof has leaked recently and damaged my ceilings.

Not trying to depress you, just dont want you to spend time and money painting over the ceiling then find cracks and stains reappear in a few weeks time