Leak in leasehold flat - buildings insurance won't pay

lucyonline

Hi all

I'm in a potentially VERY tricky situation indeed. I own and live in a flat in a block of 36 flats that are all leasehold with share of freehold. We have a management company that manages the building on behalf of all of us and is responsible for the building (including maintenance and insurance). Each flat owner is obviously responsible for what goes on inside their own flat.

There's water leaking into my downstairs neighbour's flat. At the moment no one can find the source of the leak but the management company are saying that if this water is found to be coming from a pipe that serves only my flat, then it is my problem and I will have to pay for it. Since the pipe may well be in the cavity between me and my next door neighbour they are talking about having to rip out my kitchen to get to it...

As the owner of a leasehold flat I only have contents insurance. It is not possible to buy buildings insurance for a single flat (I know, I tried!). The buildings insurance is taken care of by the management company. But they are saying that the terms of the lease (written in 1927) very specifically make the pipes that serve MY flat MY problem, and therefore this problem is not covered by the communal buildings insurance. Nor is it covered by my contents insurance, since pipes (and kitchens) are not contents.

What do I do?! This cannot be the first time this situation has arisen, and yet I can find nothing online about this sort of issue.

Please help! The stress of this is already getting to me and they haven't even started ripping out my nice kitchen (at my expense) yet!

Thanks!

Quentin

The only way you will have to pay for this will be if this has been caused by your negligence.

As it hasn't go back to the agent and point that out to him!

The freeholder would not risk the premises being ruined by s catastrophic flood due to burst pipe etc, and is very likely to be insured!!

lucyonline

Hi Quentin
I'm afraid that is not the case. At least not according to management. Allow me to quote from their last email:

"Dear Lucy,

Whilst the contents of your email is noted, it is nevertheless clear that you have been very clearly advise previously that the leases for our block make pipes that serve only the individual flats the responsibility of each leaseholder. On your specific request, the directors put the issue to the current insurance company who confirmed that as a result of the way the leases are drafted, they will not cover any leaks or damage arising out of leaks that occur from pipes that serve only your flat. This issue was covered in the email chain to which you have referred (although you did not like the response you were given), a meeting that you attended in June of this year, and again at the AGM a few weeks ago (which you did not attend due to work commitment). You ought also to have been advised of the effect of the terms and conditions of the lease by you conveyancing solicitor when you purchased the lease of the flat - if you were not then it is a matter you may wish to revisit with them. You had a choice at that time to agree (or not) to accept the terms of the lease. You accepted the and are therefore bound by them.

Accordingly, if the leak is emanating from pipework that serves only your flat, such as heating or water pipes that are under your floors, or in your walls, then you will be responsible for any attendance, costs and repair works as previously advised. If the situation involved another flat that had caused a leak and sought to pass the costs on to the 35 other flats in the block, I'm sure you would agree that as the terms of the lease make it the individual flat's responsibility you would not want to pay (via your service charges) for a costs that someone else should be footing.

I trust this makes clear the position of the directors for you."

Quentin

The point is that you cannot be liable for damage caused to the downstairs flat unless you have been negligent.

lucyonline

Well that's what I think ought to be the case, but you can clearly see that is not what they are saying. And fighting this legally will end up being way more expensive than just paying for the damn repair! But I really do think this is a totally unfair situation and if, due to the weird terms of my lease and how it's being interpreted, it is actually technically correct, well then it shouldn't be, and needs to be fought so that the law/rules can be changed.

Iguana

Have you had your lease looked at? The Leasehold Advisory service will do this and when they looked at mine there was no charge.

lucyonline

Got a call booked with them on Thursday. I'm no lawyer but my lease does clearly state that I'm responsible for 'all conduits' serving exclusively my flat. But even if it's stated in the lease, how can it possibly be legal?!

Quentin

Irrespective of what the lease says, you cannot be held liable for your neighbours damage unless you have been negligent!

lucyonline

Ok, so assuming that's true, what do I do? You've seen the email from management who insist that I will be held responsible. I don't have the money to fight this with expensive laywers...

mrschaucer

I don't read their email as saying you are responsible for any damage to the downstairs flat - I think they are saying you are responsible for finding and repairing any leaks in your pipes, as per the lease. You have not been negligent, so the downstairs flat owner doesn't have any grounds to expect you to pay for any damage to his flat and needs to claim on his OWN insurance. Although having said all that, I would need quite a bit of convincing that any leak was indeed coming from MY pipes before I started ripping my own kitchen out at my own expense.

Edit to add:
Is this a drain or a supply pipe? Do you have a water meter?

FutureGirl

I don't understand why you can't get buildings insurance to cover your own flat - I've dealt with lots of buildings insurance claims on flats.

Building insurance to cover your own flat would cover the internal buildings IE bathroom, kitchen etc. Whereas surely the building insurance currently in place only does the building structure itself (inc roof) and communal areas?