neighbours light fitting fallen-blaming son

charb56

hope this is the right forum-my son owns a first floor flat on his own for 6 years and lives very quietly with the required carpeting on the floors
he has been emailed by the owner downstairs who lives abroad and rents his flat out, that the chandelier-type light fitting has fallen down and that my son must have caused it. he hasn't changed his lifestyle at all and is very upset. the owner downstairs is very intimidating. the light fixture has been up for years.the block is also on a main road with a lot of vibration.
my son emiled back copying in the managing agent saying his lifestyle and his flat haven't changed and its nothing to do with him, hes waiting to see if there's a reply but is very scared by him-any advice much appreciated thanks

moneyistooshorttomention

I would have thought most likely explanation is something to do with the flat-owner themselves - and not your son.

My assumption would be that some screws or something fitting this ceiling had worked loose over the years - on a "fair wear and tear" basis.

I'd be willing to bet this guy hasn't even shown your son the light fitting concerned and given him the chance for a good look at the ceiling.

If I were neighbour concerned - and it genuinely was down to "upstairs" (which I doubt) I'd be showing "upstairs" neighbour the light fitting and ceiling to prove it.

EDIT; just realised you said this flat is rented out. Put like that - it's just the sort of thing a careless tenant would do to decide to attach something-or-other decorative to a chandelier type light fitting in order to look a bit different/more modern. If so - the weight of the "extra something" might have been "last straw" weight-wise on a chandelier that was coping perfectly well before they did that.

Other thought is that tenant might have been changing a bulb in the light fitting or painting the ceiling and accidentally caught hold of the light fitting - and it wasnt strong enough to bear their weight (ie as well as its own weight).

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Legally of course it is simple - he needs to prove it was something to do with your son. If he can't prove it, he has no leg to stand on.

If your son is scared, why is he scared? What does he think this guy might do?

theartfullodger

But son should do all he can to avoid having to declare a dispute with neighbour when eventually he sells...

charb56

my son lives alone, the relatives of the person living below have been very aggressive and intimidating in the past both to him and other residents, also the owner downstairs is in a long running legal dispute with the management agency for non payment of service charge so he has form for troublemaking

charb56

he is worried he will have to get a lawyer in and just feels completely out of his depth on this when he has done nothing wrong

shortcrust

Ooo I'm furious on your son's behalf. What would you have to be doing to make a properly secured chandelier fall off?! If it were me I think I'd lose my rag. I'd start by telling him where to stick his chandelier.:mad:

The only response that's needed to the chandelier lunacy is to simply state that it's an absurd allegation and he won't dignify it with a response. That's it.

The harassment and intimidation is a different matter. I don't know enough about the circumstances to offer advice but hope someone else can. I will say though that I've had a couple of occasions where I've had very heated confrontations with aggressive neighbours. One ended with me calling the police as a strapping young chap pounded on my door, and each left me shaking like a leaf. But they left me feeling empowered and they sorted out the anti-social behaviour. You've got to guard your castle.

Edit to add: Reading this back it does make me sound quite cross and combative! I should add that reason I'd be livid is that this seems like an act of bullying to me, not a normal neighbour dispute.

eddddy

In legal terms, your son doesn't have to do anything unless/until the neighbour decides to make a claim through the small claims court.

(If that really did happen, your son would just have to prepare a statement confirming that he didn't do anything negligent that caused damage to the chandelier.)

Alternatively, the lease might allow the neighbour to ask the freeholder to appoint a professional building surveyor to investigate. But I'm pretty sure that the surveyor would say your son is not to blame. (And the neighbour would be left to cover the cost of a surveyor's bill, for much more than the cost of the chandelier.)


From a practical perspective, it probably makes sense for your son to politely explain that he hasn't done anything wrong (as he did in his email), in the hope that this defuses the situation. But he doesn't have to say anything, if he doesn't want to.

theartfullodger

Rodney & the chandelier...

davidmcn

theartfullodger wrote: »

Rodney & the chandelier...

Ha! Yes, that's the only sort of activity which might make the upstairs neighbour liable.

charb56

thanks needed a laugh!!