Flooded flat from upstairs neighbour! Still flooding as I type this. :(

sinclairzx

Hello there, I’m hoping you can give me some advice.

48 hours ago we noticed water dropping from our Kitchen ceiling, it’s now started to take down some of the ceiling. We contacted the upstairs neighbours who are renters and checked to see if they had a leak. We couldn’t see any leak/water, however as their kitchen floor is tiled so they could not lift it to take a look under the floorboards. The neighbours contacted their letting agency to advice of the situation.

The letting agency contacted their plumber who arrived to have a look. He has advised to the letting agent that they would either have to take more of my ceiling away to have a look or take up the neighbour’s floor to find out where the leak is coming from. This was yesterday at around 4pm.

The plumber said they would be in contact first thing this morning to let me know what was happening.
Today I’ve received no news so I’ve just phoned my neighbors letting agent who has advised me that they sent the owner of the flat an email and could we wait till tomorrow for an answer. After pressing the urgency of the issue as I’m currently being flooded they said they would phone them and get back to me. They have now called me back saying they have left the owner a message and they will be back in contact tomorrow morning. I’ve asked if there is any kind of emergency stipulation within their letting agreement that would allow them to take action after a period of time without the owners approval however they said no. So I’m stuck with water coming in from upstairs and I can’t do anything about it…

I also don’t know whose insurance this falls under. The upstairs letting agency have already stated it’s my problem to claim on my insurance even though they haven’t identified the root cause of the problem. I’m confused as to how I would have to pay the excess as the damage is coming in from another flat…

Taking what they said on board I decide to cover myself and phone AA insurance. On explaining the situation they said I don’t have accidents insurance so it wouldn’t be covered... although I do have buildings and contents insurance. This all sounds somewhat bonkers, can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks for your time.

Quentin

If you have no insurance cover then unless you can prove negligence by your neighbours this will be down to you to pay for.

Check your policy wording and make sure that you have been correctly informed by your insurer you aren't covered

FutureGirl

If the ceiling is coming down due to a water leak, then surely this would be an Escape of Water claim, and not an Accidental Damage claim.

bouicca21

If you have buildings insurance - presumably through the management company/freeholder then you need to make a claim for consequential damage.

I have a similar problem - though in my case the leak is in my own pipe work - and the insurance company have made it clear they will cover everything except the actual repair to the pipe. Mind you it is dragging on ...

Sally_A

Trace and Access cover is something that is usually covered by the better property policies - as a resident of a block of flats, and so therefore contributing towards the buildings insurance via the management company (I guess), I'm surprised you've not had details of the policy.