Is gradual water damage covered on house Insurance?

blackcloud

Hello all,

I am just wondering if gradual water damage over a period of a few months is covered by house insurance? ie damage to floor boards, ceiling, plasterboard, painting? or if its covered in any-other way in insurance?

Hintza

If it is maintenance related then probably not but if it is from say a slow leak that could not be seen then probably.

phill99

You need to be more specific. What has caused the damage?

blackcloud

Our landlord came to do an inspection in June. He noticed some small marks on kitchen ceiling and asked me what they were? I said I dont know and ask him what they were? He said he doesnt know, he said he would investigate them. He did not.

6 Weeks later while having a shower, water began pouring our kitchen ceiling where those said marks were. I moved some furniture around in the bathroom and other objects and saw water marks on bathroom wallpaper where water from shower was leaking out due to faulty caulking.

I called landlord and he sent someone out 6 days later to repair caulking. Hes now blaming me for the damage saying if I had notified him sooner about the water mark stains outside the shower and on the kitchen ceiling then the damage would not have got worse, so therefor I am responsible.

My defence is that

1) I had furniture in bathroom and other bathroom objects which blocked my view to seeing the water stains on bathroom wall, but as soon as I saw them I reported them

2) The stain marks on the kitchen ceiling I hadn’t noticed before the landlord saw them when he visited in June but he did not investiage them, so I presumed it must not be anything important. Now those stain marks were obviously the begining of the water leaking from shower upstairs into kitchen below.

My question is

a) Am I responsible as a tenant to repair this damage?

b) I have been given quotes to repair the damage from people I have contacted who just told me its a small job, nly about £200. Landlord is saying its much much more and I have to pay for the damage. Landlords getting quotes saying more things need to be fixed but the quotes I have got are saying a much smaller amout of things need to be fixed. So whos right?

c) Will LLs insurance pay for this to be repaired? as it was obviously a gradual leak that has been going on for a while?

d) If he makes an insurance claim, then what happens? does he make the claim before any repairs and then gets money from insurance company to make the repairs?

blackcloud

The landlord had a company come out to do a survery

Its a company which specialises in handling property claims on behalf of insurers. They run a builder network that repairs damaged properties for insurers and for policy holders and each year we oversee work with a total value of £15m.

I am worried this company are a profit organisation which will try and say he needs this and this and this done which has nothing to do with damage from actual leak so he can try and blame us for more things beyond the damage as I think this company try to get as much money from the insurance company as possible.

However, how can we get a survey done which simply states the damage and the cost of repair, who wont be in it for a profit etc. So that the estimate is accurate.

How do I find out who LL insurance company is as he wont tell me?

dj1471

The landlord's insurance is not your problem.

The landlord is responsible for maintaining the property and dealing with damage due to leaks etc, assuming you didn't cause the problem. As you've stated the landlord was aware of the water marks and failed to investigate and you reported the leak as soon as it was apparent you've met your obligations. It is your word against his though as you have nothing in writing.

The landlord may well choose to evict you if you refuse to pay, but you're not responsible for the damage or cost of repair. He may try to deduct the cost from your deposit when you leave but you can contest this and almost certainly win.

If you want to stay in the property you could offer to pay half as a compromise, it sounds like he'll only be paying the insurance excess not the full cost anyway.

blackcloud

the deposit is in a deposit scheme.

The argument of the landlord is that "OK maybe my shower was faulty causing the leak, but because you did not report it, the damage has built up for months, hence you are responsible for the damage! "

Our argument is simply that we did not notice the damage as we had furniture up in bathroom and the kitchen ceiling that had a small water stain on the LL saw in June when he inspected the property and did not investigate it. He also did not notice either the water damage in bathroom then either. Then in August water began leaking though the kitchen ceiling where those stains were.