Denied claim for neighbour's water leak

sramdeen

Afternoon all

Would really appreciate some help with this one. My parents have been suffering with a water leak from the neighbour's house for 4-5 years. The houses are terraced and so the leak from the neighbour's bathroom has been coming into my parents living room every few months. The tenants next door complain to the managing agent and eventually they send a plumber around to 'fix' the problem. After years of this pattern repeating itself and part of a wall in my parents living room being void of wallpaper, we wrote a letter threatening the managing agent with legal action (an empty threat at the time). A completely new bathroom suite was fitted and so far so good - no new leaks. However, the mess that the previous leaks caused has still to be rectified. I emailed the landlord directly but he more or less ignored me and in broken English replied with 'what is the problem, the leak has been fixed'. He has no desire to make good my parents living room.
Giving up with this direct approach I phoned my parents contents insurers and asked for them to send out a claims form. I explained the problem briefly and I was told one would be put in the post. A few hours later my father received a call from them saying that the damage wouldn't be covered as the leak did not originate in my parents house. In order for any insurance claim to go through we would have to ask the landlord to claim on his insurance. I'm sure this can't be right?

In the 'What is covered' section of the policy booklet it states that:
"Water or oil leaks from any fixed heating or domestic water equipment, washing machines, dishwashers or fish tanks"

and

"Storm or flood"

Although it does not specifically mention baths, showers, sinks etc, I would have thought that insurance would cover this type of incident?

There is malicious damage cover as well, could it be argued that a recurring leak that has gone on for 4-5 years is malicious damage seeing as the managing agents were made aware of the leak numerous times?

Many thanks, I'm at a loss as to what to do next.

Regards

HappyMJ

Do you have legal assistance on your insurance?

InsideInsurance

As you are claiming on contents, what are you actually claiming for?

I dont see an issue with the source of the water being from the neighbours but more of an issue of this being a gradual thing and not a one off event

sramdeen

HappyMJ wrote: »

Do you have legal assistance on your insurance?

Yes, I gave them a call and was told that they were unable to advise on the specifics of a particular policy or insurer as they are an independent company. They said that if the damage was less than the insurance excess it would be worth just paying up and getting it done privately. The adviser also mentioned that I should provide the owner with three quotes and let him know that if he refuses to pay for the cheapest one within 14 days I will put it through the small claims court. All seems a bit silly for some wallpaper, but it's the principal of the thing and the fact that the useless owner/landlord has been so negligent for so long.

Thank you

sramdeen

InsideInsurance wrote: »

As you are claiming on contents, what are you actually claiming for?

I would guess the wallpaper and cost to rehang replacement paper?

InsideInsurance wrote: »

I dont see an issue with the source of the water being from the neighbours but more of an issue of this being a gradual thing and not a one off event

Sorry, I don't fully understand what you mean when you say more of an issue that it is a gradual thing and not a one-off event. What do you mean by that?

Many thanks

InsideInsurance

sramdeen wrote: »

I would guess the wallpaper and cost to rehang replacement paper?


Sorry, I don't fully understand what you mean when you say more of an issue that it is a gradual thing and not a one-off event. What do you mean by that?

Many thanks

Wallpaper comes under Buildings not Contents.

Many insurers have clauses that exclude gradual deterioration or "gradually operating causes". So a bath splits whilst full and brings down the ceiling below that is covered because its a catastrophic one off event. If the sealing around the bath is a bit dodgy though and it means a bit of water is getting though every now and then and you notice a bit of water staining on the ceiling below and as time goes on that grows and then a few months later the stain goes black with mould you couldnt then claim for the ceiling because its the gradual effect of an ongoing problem and not a single catastrophic/ one off event.

You'd need to check the wording of the policy to see if theirs have this exclusion or not. However it is a bit of an aside as ultimately the insurers havent given this as the reason for declining and you only need to address the issues they have raised.

eddddy

Hi sramdeen

In your position, I would make a claim against the neighbouring landlord for damages resulting from his negligence.

I would say his negligence began once you made him aware of the problem, and he failed to take reasonable steps to fix it. (i.e. you could claim for damage caused since you first told him about the leak.)

I would do the following:

- Get a quote for repairing the damage.
- Send a letter of claim to the LL telling him to pay you the quote amount (explaining that the damage was the result of his negligence)
- If he doesn't pay, send a letter before action
- Make a claim in the small claims court

If it gets as far as the small claims court, you will need to gather appropriate evidence.