Leak ceiling and the Freeholder says it's not their problem, help please.

irnbru_2

Christal wrote: »

If it is their responsibility, and they are still trying to pushing me off, what can I do/say/write to them to make them understand they have to get the problem solved?

You need the person in the flat above to look at their bathroom to see if they are the source. If they refuse contact the freeholder and if that fails, contact the Environmental Health officer at your council.

I had a similar issue and the EHO has powers to serve notice and carry out repairs.

courtjester

OK, you need to go back a few steps as some of the comments here are incorrect and based on what people think should happen rather than the law.

Firstly, insurance policies do NOT cover plumbing repairs as these are regarded as wear and tear - insurance doesn't cover the cost of maintaining a building or fixing defects. Any building insurance will only cover the unexpected water damage, not the pipe repair (the only exception being if the pipe bursts due to freezing).

Secondly, the question of who pays in a shared building depends on the terms of the LEASE, not common law and not who might 'own' the part of the building in question.

Thirdly, contents policies for flats will cover the occupants responsibility for that part of thebuilding demised to them, normally this relates to the interior fabric of the flat, in other words the decorations damaged.

****

So as regards who fixes the pipe - you firstly need to identify where the pipe is that is leaking. If it's under your neighbours bath, it is likely that the pipe is part of their installation and hence they will have to pay to fix it and stop the leak, otherwise you would have a claim for negligence for any future leakage (now that the problem is established).

Only if in the lease does it say that the landlord is responsible for all plumbing installations throughout the building, would the freeholder be responsible for fixing the pipe - this is unlikely unless the plumbing is defined as landlord's fixtures and fittings. If the plumbing for individual flats is part of the definition of demised premises, it is the occupant of that flat that owns and pays for repairs to the pipe.

The water damage below is accidental in cause hence there is no legal right to claim for this against the occupant of the flat where the pipe failed (who didn;t cause the problem) - this damage is down to the occupant of the flat where the damage is. You can claim on your contents insurance for redecoration costs, but not for any structural work that may be required to common parts (again you must refer to your lease). It is likely that you are only talking about decoration costs here.

Depending on your relationship with the neighbour and what the lease says, you might want to split the cost of plumbing repairs and claim on your own insurance for any decorative damage.

But the freeholder is probably right that they are not involved with regards to the buildings insurance unless there is any part of thebuilding that they retain responsibility for (under the lease terms) that has been damaged.

sooz

Have you managed to look in their bathroom upstairs?

It may be something as simple as the silicone around the bath needs replacing, or as others have said, the waste pipe under the bath has become loose (usually happens when two try to share a bath for one ) If you can go up there, look for any small holes or cracks in the silicone, or areas of black mould. If the tenant will help you to remove the bath panel, check to see if the floor is dry under there.

It is probably very simple, particularly if it has not happened before.

Then the internal repairs to your flat will be under your contents insurance.

Put everything in writing, and copy the freeholder in on all correspondance.

benb76

If it only leaks when someone has a bath then it's almost certainly from the waste pipes, i.e. the leak occurs when they let the water out, if it was a leak from the hot/cold water feed pipes then it would be constant.

Good news is that the waste pipes are dead easy to replace, even for someone with limited DIY/plumbing skills, as there are no pressurised joints to make.

Christal_2

Thanks for all the reply guys, good news is I spoke to the upstairs landlord again and he said he will get it repaired, also the freeholder called me this morning, saying the guy upstairs told them he will get it fixed, and they will write to him today to confirm.

My only worry is based my conversation with the owner upstairs yesterday, unless the insurance pays for it, he won't want to pay a penny for the problem........fingers cross either the insuarnce company will pay for it (if it's a big problem), or it's like all you guys have said, just a simple waste pipe think which can be done by his mates.....

But after this I really think I rather have a house than flat now.........at least you won't have leak from your ceiling because of someone else's pipe, whatever happens will be your responsiblity anyway, at least there is no confusion around.

NOVASTAR

Hi Christal
I have just read your post about the upstairs leak. I live in a leasehold flat and this happened to me recently. The flat upstairs leaked and my bedroom ceiling needed part-replacing and re-plastering.
Luckily the owner of the rental flat above is married to a plumber so the leak was fixed immediately.
This was all taken care of by the Buildings Insurance as we have a Management Company which we pay into each year to cover such eventualities. I did not have to pay a penny as a result of this.
I hope that this is of help to you.