Flat Flooded - No Contents Insurance. What Can I Do?

nunnygirl

Until Sunday 2nd March I was a tenant of a housing association first floor flat. Unfortunately I was contacted by my lodger while I was out to let me know that there was water pouring from all of the light fittings, smoke alarms and behind the boiler (basically anything that had been drilled through the ceiling) through the entire flat, surprisingly bar the bathroom! After immediately informing him where the fuse box was to turn off the electricity to prevent any shocks/risk of fire, I contacted my housing association to ask what could be done (i.e. plumber, electrician etc) to be told that there was nothing they could do until they knew the cause of the water leaking from the ceiling. They were not prepared to send anyone out!

Upon returning to my flat, my lodger had been to the property upstairs to find that it was a leak from under their sink (a broken pipe which could not be stemmed by turning the stopcock off as when he was turning it, the weld on the back of the pipe was snapping away, causing a faster water flow and more flooding). I re-called the housing association who told me there was nothing they could do until the flat the flood was coming from had reported the fault themselves. This was despite the severity of the leak being explained (the pouring water was filling up anything we had underneath them in a matter of minutes, risk of ceiling collapse and the water having leaked to the flat below as well). The HA still refused to send anyone to the property, claiming that the flat above had called and said they did not need anyone to come out as it was accidental damage - this was not true as the flat above had not even been in contact with the HA as the tenant was stood beside me while I was on the phone!

The tenant then called the HA themselves while we began frantically calling as many friends as we could to help us move as many of my possessions as we could. Given this was 9pm on a Sunday evening we managed to get a few people to help.

It took 90+ minutes for someone to arrive at the flat from the HA, and at least another 3 hours before they could find the external water cut-off to the flat above. In the mean time the strip light in the kitchen had fallen from the ceiling due to the amount of water it was holding; almost injuring my boyfriend. All in all from the moment my lodger first realised the water was dripping to the time we were told to leave the property was more than 6 hours! At no point were we asked if we were OK or given any explanation of what was happening. It wasn't until a duty manager arrived that I was told we could be put up in a hotel the following day onwards and to call the office at 9am the next morning and speak to my housing manager. Luckily I was planning to stay at my BF's parents anyway so had somewhere to stay that night.

The HA were aware at the office that I was in the notice period of my tenancy as I was going to be moving in with my BF to a new rental property the following Monday (10th March) to which my BF had only just received the keys as I was still responsible for my flat. As per the duty manager's instructions I contacted my housing manager to discover he wasn't yet in the office and to call back in 15-20 minutes. In the mean time someone else from the HA got in touch with me and only then was I asked if I was OK. I was asked if I had anywhere to stay, which I replied that thankfully BF's parents had been kind enough to let me stay despite it being a slight inconvenience to them. I informed the lady I was in the last week of my tenancy and was moving on the Fri/Sat anyway. In the next phone call I was informed that my tenancy had been terminated a week early. The way it was described it sounded as if she was doing me a favour by letting me off with the last weeks rent! At no point was any alternative accommodation offered, contrary to the duty manager's comments the night before. I was asked if the lock on my front door could be broken so they could gain access as I couldn't get back to the property due to being in a different town and she said she would call me back once she had been in to give me details on the flats standing, so to speak.


A few hours later she rang again and we were told the ceiling luckily hadn't collapsed but there was still a lot of water everywhere but we could return to collect the large items we had no choice but to leave the night before as soon as I could. At this point I felt I was being rushed and forced to leave the property once she knew about the new house and the end of the tenancy and she kept asking when the flat would be empty (I had plans in place to move on the Fri/Sat which I was having to now bring forward at an added expense).

Unfortunately I have no contents insurance. Only working 2 days a week (the reason I had to take a lodger in the first place) meant I had no funds to afford it and live as well. My carpets that I was going to be taking to the new house are ruined and are still sodden 4 days later, I have had to spend a lot of money for transport backwards and forwards for the larger items (bed, fridge, sofas etc) and travel for myself as I do not drive.

What are my rights regards this? Can I claim anything from the housing association for damage, unreasonable expenses and the stress and inconvenience this has caused both myself and my lodger given this was a third party leak.

Note - I still have had no contact from my housing manager!

Bantex_2

Unless you can prove that the HA caused the leak to happen due to negligence or similar, they have no liability.

AnnieO1234

Someone will be along shortly to advise with more information, in the first instance I would have thought that if the leak was the fault of the housing association or neighbour it is their problem not yours.

I don't usually like begging stories as it were, but you might want to contact your local paper, run an appeal on a facebook etc for any necessities you require that have gone with the flooding. Was it just one room or everything?

I really wish that insurance was mandatory like car insurance.

Xx

Bantex_2

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

Someone will be along shortly to advise with more information, in the first instance I would have thought that if the leak was the fault of the housing association or neighbour it is their problem not yours.

I don't usually like begging stories as it were, but you might want to contact your local paper, run an appeal on a facebook etc for any necessities you require that have gone with the flooding. Was it just one room or everything?

I really wish that insurance was mandatory like car insurance.

Xx

Even mandatory third party car insurance requires blame before it will pay out. (Something many cannot seem to understand).

moneyistooshorttomention

I am surprised at your Housing Association taking the view that the only person who could report the fault was the tenant of the flat it originated from.

(Many) years back now I was living in a housing association property and the same thing happened there. That time, it was my flat that had the problem and I hadn't been aware of it. The first I knew was when a workman was banging at my door demanding entrance, as the tenant below had rung up the Housing Association complaining about the water cascading through from my flat.

Cue for various workmen running in and out of my flat dealing with it until the problem was sorted out.

The point being that the Housing Association were right on the case the second the affected neighbour reported there was a problem. I certainly hadn't contacted them, as I hadn't realised at that point.

When you say "the Housing Association", my suspicion is that you were speaking to just one lowly (and not particularly bright) little cog in the wheel and that this may be where your problem lay. That being that "dim little cog in wheel" was too concerned with protecting their own personal little backside to action anything. I suspect someone higher up and a bit brighter in said HA would have got on the case no matter who reported it.

moneyistooshorttomention

BTW = There may be a clause in your tenancy agreement forbidding you taking in a lodger. Be aware of that fact, as you may need to keep a bit quiet about the fact you did so.

Finst

I have been on this situation from the other side. My boiler sprung a leak and flooded my uninsured neighbour below.

I am sorry to tell you that in that case and in all the research I did, the answer was the same. Unless that you can prove that the flood was due to negligence (eg poor maintenance or leaving a tap running), you cannot claim anything from anyone else, except where you have insurance (you don't have contents, but do you have buildings insurance through the housing association?).

Would you be able to claim it was negligence to take 6 hours to turn off the leak? Maybe, I don't know. I would guess probably not, but if you have the energy, it might be worth trying.

moneyistooshorttomention

I do hope that OP will be able to claim for this, as I certainly never thought for one minute when the situation happened to me those years back that there would be any problem whatsoever with tenant below getting reimbursed one way or another via the Housing Association.

It was THEIR housing that had caused the problem to the tenant below and therefore it meant that it was THEIR responsibility to cover the cost (not tenant below on the one hand or me on the other hand).

I do hope OP can manage to get HA to cover the costs of this. It would be utterly wrong for anyone (or any organisation) to be able to inflict financial damage on some unrelated person and get away with it.

Fingers crossed for OP.

It may prove necessary for OP to scream Negligence at the top of their voice, as in perhaps to the local media. The handle to hang this on being Thick Little Idiot at the HA that refused to do anything about it on the excuse of the neighbour in flat concerned not having contacted them.

Personally, if I were OP, I would be contacting my MP about this if I had any problems with reimbursement from HA (as I believe HA's get given some money from a Government direction).

OP = my estimate is that you might have to be a bit persistent...but you will win this (but keep your blimmin' mouth shut about the lodger!).

Building_Surveyor

I come accross this scenario all the time at work. Whilst I'm sympathetic at the same time the fact you have no insurance is a problem for you not the HA the lodger or your neighbour.

At my work if the HA does not attend within agreed timescales set out in our policies (not dictated by the tenant) I.e emergency 24hours, urgent 7 days, routine 28 days then we would look to compensate the tenant.

In this scenario if you were one of our tenants, no you would not be compensated. A goodwill gesture at best.

If this wasn't something the HA could envisage or prevent then sorry, it's a loss you will have to swallow.

The post from Finst is spot on apart from the timescales bit, you need to check what the policy states

I_have_spoken

I re-called the housing association who told me there was nothing they could do until the flat the flood was coming from had reported the fault themselves.

The angle to peruse is that having informed the HA about the leak, they failed in a general duty of care but not acting sooner to minimise your loses.

You should tot-up your loses, write down the times of calls etc. and get this agreed by the upstairs tenant then write a 'letter before action' to the HA with the next step being a small claim. If you're on benefits or have a low income you may not have to pay fees for the small claim.

moneyistooshorttomention

Building_Surveyor wrote: »

I come accross this scenario all the time at work. Whilst I'm sympathetic at the same time the fact you have no insurance is a problem for you not the HA the lodger or your neighbour.

At my work if the HA does not attend within agreed timescales set out in our policies (not dictated by the tenant) I.e emergency 24hours, urgent 7 days, routine 28 days then we would look to compensate the tenant.

In this scenario if you were one of our tenants, no you would not be compensated. A goodwill gesture at best.

If this wasn't something the HA could envisage or prevent then sorry, it's a loss you will have to swallow.

The post from Finst is spot on apart from the timescales bit, you need to check what the policy states

I must admit I am shocked by that:eek::eek:

In my mind its quite quite obvious the causative body or person pays up.

Still think its worth OP pursuing this with media and/or their local MP if necessary. It would be absolutely totally unfair for her to have to pay up because of something that was nothing to do with her.