Water Leak - Property management company

civerius

Hello,


I leave as a tenant in a flat, there was a water leak that the property management company finally arranged to fix but now they don't want to take responsibility for the water bill caused by the leak.


The leak didn't happen in the flat or even in the building, it was located on the outside garden.


Is there a law/ dispute resolution firm that could help me to chase them?


By the way, I live in the area of Maidenhead/ Reading.


Many Thanks,


Pedro.

dimbo61

Where is the water meter? Inside the property?
"water bill caused by the leak"
If Leak was outside you will not get a bill for water loss

eddddy

Hi pedro

So are you saying that the leak was reported to the mgmt co (or freeholder)...

...but they didn't deal with it in a 'reasonable' timescale...

...and as a result of them not dealing with it in a reasonable timescale, you have had to pay a higher water bill?


If so, you should be able to make a claim against them for negligence, for your losses (i.e. the extra water bill).

(But if nobody told them about the leak, or they dealt with it in a reasonable timescale, you wouldn't really have a claim against them.)

civerius

Hello,


I certainly let them know asap, the landlord as well.


The thing is that my landlord and leaseholder also has difficulties dealing with the property management company, for instance, they are not submitting to him the title deeds and other paperwork. Instead, the property management company just shift any responsibility to the landlord without providing any evidence and then ignores any request.


That's the reason that I think that the only way forward is finding a solicitor or dispute resolution council.


Thanks,


Pedro.

eddddy wrote: »

Hi pedro

So are you saying that the leak was reported to the mgmt co (or freeholder)...

...but they didn't deal with it in a 'reasonable' timescale...

...and as a result of them not dealing with it in a reasonable timescale, you have had to pay a higher water bill?


If so, you should be able to make a claim against them for negligence, for your losses (i.e. the extra water bill).

(But if nobody told them about the leak, or they dealt with it in a reasonable timescale, you wouldn't really have a claim against them.)

G_M

Where was the leak in relation to the mains supply tap/water meter?

If the leak was outside beyond the main tap/meter then
a) repair was the responsibility of the water company and
b) there would be no increased water usage charge

If the leak was within the main tap/meter then
a) repair was probably the responsiblity of the leaseholder (your landlord)
b) IF he was unreasonable in responding, you could claim off him, assuming you can prove how much extra water was lost as a result of the delay and what cost that represents.

Did you report the leak, in writing, to the landlord, at the address provided "for the serving of notices"?

eddddy

Sorry, I mis-read your original post. I thought you were the leaseholder, but I now see you are a tenant of the leaseholder.

In that case, you claim from your landlord for damages for negligence. (It is not your problem that the leaseholder has issues with the freeholder.)

You don't need a solicitor. If your landlord refuses to pay, you can take your claim to the 'small claims court'.

Google 'small claims court' for more info.


If you do instruct a solicitor, you wont normally get the cost of the solicitor back - and the solicitors fee may end up being higher than the amount you are claiming.


But the problem is that your landlord may then see you as a 'trouble maker', and start the process of evicting you with a section 21 notice.

domcastro

Contact the water company. I had a massive leak, which I didn't know about until the bill came in. The water company were great and reduced bill by £155

stator

Many water companies offer a "one time only" write off when there is a leak and it is fixed. So check their policy and you might be lucky.

Otherwise you might have a struggle to claim it back off your landlord.

agarnett

dimbo61 wrote: »

Where is the water meter? Inside the property?
"water bill caused by the leak"
If Leak was outside you will not get a bill for water loss

The biggest water losses caused at blocks of flats are often through faulty (corroded) ballcock valves in the flats. This is the direct responsibility of the owner of the ballcock valve i.e. the leaseholder but if he/she is remote, they are the least likely to know there is a problem until someone tells them and identifies exactly what it is. These sometimes lead to quite rapid outflows (into the garden!) via the overflow pipe.

Is that what we are talking about here ? Because if it is, the water company aren't easily going to be up for rebating anything.

Also, believe it or not, many blocks of flats share a single water bill, and quite often, management companies write for months to leaseholder landlords and residents and meantime the water just pours and pours and pours out of the overflow (into the garden - where else!). Thousands of litres a week. Sometimes the management company have no choice but to give up on writing and instead go to expensive trouble of obtaining legal entry via other means. They might then quite rightly charge the landlord (leaseholder) for their trouble on behalf of all the other leaseholders who are a bit more clued in as to how their plumbing works and most of whom might quickly establish what that constant sound of running water might be and whose overflow pipe it is coming from! It is however amazing how many people walk on by or are clueless.

Is that what we are talking about here, in roundabout language? If it is, the crazy thing is that the valves can often be replaced for a fiver by a DIYer in a quarter of an hour