leak from my home caused damage on downstairs flat

geordie28

Hi folks

i was wondering if i could get some help and advice from regulars on the board or anyone who has experience of such things.

before contacting my home insurance company etc and getting involved in any meaningful dialogue with landlords i would like to try and find out my responsibilities and where i stand on a couple of things.

I bought my flat last october and have lived here pretty much problem free since. 2 weeks ago after having a shower in the evening the lad downstairs knocked on the door and told me there was a lot of water coming through the ceiling. the next day the estate agents rang me and told me that there was quite a bit of damage and rang me to inform me. i went straight home from work to turn off the water. Since this time i have not been home as i have been house sitting for my parents who were on holiday. i have a letter from the estate agents advising me they have got a quote for the repair which is around £420 which could be more when they pull down the cladding.

i am totally new to this so not sure what my first steps should be. I would really appreciate advice on the following points

1. Firstly would this all be covered by my home insurance and would it be worth it? would i be better off just paying myself if this is the case?
2. the letter from the estate agents tells me that this has been an ongoing problem but this is the first time i have been informed of this. Surely a leak is a leak and i feel as though if i was notified earlier i could have taken remedial action straight away before the problem got so bad that i am being asked to pay at least £420. Have the tenants downstairs failed on their part and have they a duty to report such things. How can i demonstrate my point and negotiate this? i cannot afford to go legal and i also want to keep the issue on a sensible and fair level.
3 Can i bring in my own people to do the work?
4. How do i know that the ceiling was in a good condition before?

many thanks in advance for any help i get here

keystone

Its a buildings insurance issue not a contents insurance issue. Do you pay for buildings insurance via your service charge or do you have your own policy?

The person suffering the loss claims on his own insurance who then deals with yours. You don't have to do a thing.

Tell the EA to butt out - it's nothing to do with them. Why are they involved?

Cheers

bryanb

keystone wrote: »

Tell the EA to butt out - it's nothing to do with them. Why are they involved?

Cheers

Perhaps they are the agent for the landlord of downstair flat?

keystone

bryanb wrote: »

Perhaps they are the agent for the landlord of downstair flat?

In that case they would be the managing agent not an estate agent surely. Oh - perhaps thats what the OP means? Thank you.

Cheers

geordie28

sorry. just to confirm the are the letting agents so are either the landlords or more than likely acting for the landlords.

i also have buildings insurance.

thanks

keystone

Right I understand now.

OK I'll ask again. Is your buildings insurance part of your rent (or service charge if you pay it) or do you take it out separately on a personal basis?

Cheers

edwardw

As above, let them claim on their insurance, their insurance will then persue yours for the money!

vaio

and your insurer will only pay out if you are liable.

For you to be liable you must have been negligent (in the legal sense), generally this means you knew about the leak and didn't take steps to prevent damage (this is what the "ongoing problem" bit in the EA letter is trying to establish)

If it was just an unexpected leak that you fixed as soon as you became aware then you haven't been negligent and so aren't liable

dacouch

vaio wrote: »

and your insurer will only pay out if you are liable.

For you to be liable you must have been negligent (in the legal sense), generally this means you knew about the leak and didn't take steps to prevent damage (this is what the "ongoing problem" bit in the EA letter is trying to establish)

If it was just an unexpected leak that you fixed as soon as you became aware then you haven't been negligent and so aren't liable

Is the correct answer

keystone

and the Agent has no right to write to you demanding any sort of sum to cover the cost either. It will be for the assessor for the other party's insurer to determine the rectification work cost, then they appoint someone to do it (or give the third party a cheque to that value) and then (and only then) will your insurer pay out to their insurer if your insurer agrees you are liable one they've had their little chat about it.

Cheers

vaio

I'd say the agent is perfectly entitled to write as it is their managed property that has been damaged but I'd put money on it being a fishing letter.

What would really make their day is if the OP wrote back saying something like "it had only been leaking for x days/weeks" or "we knew but didn't think it was that bad". Either would likely be enough to establish negligence