Water damage to laminate floor - who is liable?

eyelashwishes

Hello,

I need some advice please. I am a tenant in a rented property and recently I discovered that the inlet pipe on my washing machine has been slowly dripping since I moved in last August. The washing machine was moved from my previous property and installed at my current one by a third party 'man with a van'. The slow drip has soaked the underlay beneath the laminate flooring in the kitchen/dining area and has rotted some of the beading and the woodwork on the bottom of the kitchen units. My insurance have advised that they will not be covering the costs of having the repair work done as the laminate is classed as a fixture and fitting and is not covered under my contents policy. They said that there is a section in my tenancy agreement which means that the landlord is responsible for insuring the building and any insured risk that may occur, an escape of water being one of them.

My landlord's insurance, however, have told them that I am responsible. They haven't, as far as I'm aware, put in an official claim yet, but I just wondered if anybody has any experience of this and can shed any light. The work to the floor has already begun, the old laminate and underlay has been ripped out and my landlord has got a quote for the new floor ready to go ahead once the concrete foundation has dried out thoroughly from the leak.

Please advise

Modgepodge

I would think, and I'm no expert, that the landlords buildings insurance would cover it, but you may be required to pay the excess as it was your washing machine? Do you know why the washing machine was leaking?

eyelashwishes

There wasn't a washer on the inlet where there should have been. I don't know if it was there when I moved in and has since disintegrated, or if it was never there to begin with. We'll likely never know unfortunately.

Kirstyb1987

This happened to me when I was a tenant but it was tiles that needed to be replaced. Unfortunetly I had to pay for this as apparently "I should have noticed before it got to that point". However I was a lot younger and didn't argue with this.

eyelashwishes

Thanks, I reported it as soon as it became obvious that the water was coming up from beneath the laminate. Previously I had noticed that the laminate was often wet, but because it had always been in the area by the sink, and only what appeared to be 5p sized splashes of water, I assumed for weeks that it had occured while I'd been washing the dishes. It was only when I saw it by the back door as well that I realised it could be something more serious

Tyler_Du

Did you pay the man with a van to install the wm ? If so I'd be inclined to say that its your responsibility to pay for the damage, I wouldn't expect a fitted washer to disintegrate in the time scale you've mentioned either I'm afraid.

eyelashwishes

I didnt ask him to install it, everything got moved over by them and the washing machine was plumbed in. I had no reason to believe there was an issue, neither did the landlords. I tend to agree with you about the washer except that it had been in use for two years previously in my old property, so it may be a possibility, I don't know!

Annabee

Exactly the same thing happened to us two years ago. In our case, our contents insurance paid up because it included 'tenant's liability cover'. Does your insurance not have this? The total claim came to about £500.

They had to get dehumidifiers in to dry the floor out properly before the new flooring could be fitted. The landlord ended up with some rather nice thick ceramic tiles instead of the laminate that was there before, so I think it was maybe ultimately to his advantage! I don't think laminate is suitable for kitchens and bathrooms, really.

I suppose the moral is to always pay a plumber to fit a washing machine in for you! But I know a lot of removal people will do this. Could you argue that the man in a van was responsible, at least partly, as he didn't install it properly? I think in our case the insurance company classed it as accidental damage.

eyelashwishes

I'm not trying to contest liability, it's just that my insurance are saying I'm not liable and they won't cover it. It's a difficult one, not really sure what to do. Waiting to hear back from my landlord with regards to what their insurance say