Water damage in new build

phoenixfeather88

I bought a new build house in January, shared ownership (part buy, part rent from housing association). I was responsible for laying the carpets, which I had done a couple of days after I got the keys; I was still staying at my rented flat at this point so I hadn't moved in until after the carpets were laid. I checked the house for "snags" as best I could but didn't think to check for potential flooding from pipes.

I moved everything in and began using one of the bedrooms as a storage room until I had the time to start organising everything. I started tidying and sorting the spare room yesterday as I'd finally sorted the main bedroom and kitchen and living room - so exhausting! That's when I discovered that my bathroom had been leaking into the spare room, at the floor level.

There had been no visible water damage to walls or the downstairs ceilings, and I hadn't noticed the leak because the carpet was acting like a sponge and I had lots of stuff sitting on top of the affected area.

I have had to throw out about £50 worth of stuff (it could have been a lot worse but the worst damage was thankfully to some dismantled tables from Ikea and Argos so it was good stuff but not relatively expensive considering I have a number of musical instruments that managed to escape any damage!) but I think the worst of the cost will be relaying at least part of the carpet in this room. I found out at the weekend that some of my neighbours had the same issue when they moved in (everything from leaky pipes to completely unconnected pipes) so I reckon it's been happening since I moved in, especially considering the amount of mould on the table tops that were lying on that part of the floor. I reckon the carpet underlay is saturated, and probably damp further out from the wall than where the carpet has got wet, and it's possibly mouldy too, but the carpet has been laid so well that I can't get it up by myself to check. So I'll have to pay for the carpet fitters to come out and investigate, and potentially for new underlay, and to get that fitted along with the carpet refitting.

I don't have contents insurance but I don't know whether this would be covered by contents or buildings insurance since it's a building fault. The HA is responsible for the buildings insurance so I will ask them. There is a plumber coming out tomorrow to fix it but the guarantee on the house only covers fixing things that are broken, not dealing with the consequences, so the developer won't send anyone out to help with the carpet investigation.

One of my neighbours was told that they wouldn't compensate for carpet damage (he had to replace his entire carpet and underlay in the same room in his house) and he hadn't got contents insurance either.

How liable are the developer / original plumber? If they refuse to pay, is it worth taking them to court? I've also had two floods in the kitchen but they were easier to deal with - no water damage as it was caught straight away.

There is a certain level of trust that we place in builders/plumbers/developers, and the house should not have been handed over with a fault as bad as that. My neighbour's bath drainage pipe wasn't even connected to anything, and he hasn't been compensated for damage at all.

HampshireH

The developer is under no obligation to replace your carpet. It was daft not to get insurance a d I expect they will rely on this being your responsibility.

However you may (I repeat may) be able to seek some form of compensation if you go through the complaints procedure.

Buildings insurance covers the structure (and sometimes replacement kitchen and bathroom in the event of fire or extreme damage) It doesn't cover minor repairs or replacement of contents (aka carpets). A landlord policy most certainly wont.

I imagine this is a minor repair required. That said have you had the bath panel off to identify the fault? I'm surprised your bathroom flooring also isn't in need of lifting?

DaftyDuck

What exactly was the cause of the leak? Are you sure you didn't strike a nail through a pipe when laying carpet?







Are you sure the builder's plumber wont say he is sure you nailed through a pipe when laying carpet....