Advice please - am I liable for this?

urban_chaos

Dear all

I don't post much but I do appreciate the good advice on these boards and I'm not sure where to go for advice in this situation. Sorry in advance for the long post - I just want to know if what I've been told sounds plausible and if I am liable for this as I have absolutely no idea...

I bought a brand new (I was the first person to live here), shared-ownership, 1 bedroom flat nearly 3 years.

A couple of weeks ago I was in the bathroom standing in front of the sink when the floor underneath me partially collapsed. I tried to lift up the lino to see what had happened but the lino just flaked off into my hand.

The wooden bits of the "false" floor were totally rotten also which is what had caused the partial collapse. I contacted building management who got the plumbers out for me.

It turns out that my toilet has been leaking since the building was built over 3 years ago and the wooden floor, lino and tiles behind the toilet (stupid system really - the tiles had to be smashed to access the back of the toilet!) all have to be replaced.

The building management have told me that the building insurance will cover the wooden floor, lino and tiles but I have to pay for the new toilet as the "wrong sized one was put in originally".

Firstly, is it possible to put in a "wrong sized toilet"? Isn't there some sort of standard pipe/toilet size in the UK?

Secondly, if the toilet is the wrong size why aren't the Housing Assoc liable as they sold me the flat in the first place?

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated even if it's just letting me know where I should be looking for more info

Thanks

urban

evoke

Who owns the lease to the flat?

New properties come with a 10-year NHBC warranty. You (or the leaseholder) needs to use that to put things right. If bits are not in compliance with building regulations then the NHBC warranty should be used.

You need to clarify several things:

1. Who is the landlord (i.e. the owner of the entire block)?

2. Who is/are the leaseholder(s)?

The management company won't give a toss about anything. They are there to collect money from the leaseholders. That seems to be the sole purpose of management companies. They act solely in the interests of the landlord (unless you kick them out after several years and run things yourself).

The bottom line is this: whoever put in 'the wrong toilet' needs to put in the right one.

-taff

I think toilets are actually sometimes covered by buildings insurance but because the excess is more than the cost of a toilet it's not used....don't take my word for that, I heard it at a management meeting about insurances....