Building insurance claims in shared ownership

allsaint78

My home was damaged by a leak in a downpipe in the communal corridor coming from the roof of the building. This has happened twice now and maybe is happening a third time just after the second ones mess was fixed over a year. Waiting for insurance to come and inspect .

I paid the £250 excess but I feel like the housing association should pay and the surveyor told me they should as well. I made a complaint and was told it was just one of those things and they refused to pay me the £250. Surely they should even without a complaint especially as it has happened before with another downpipe 7 years previous.
 

HampshireH

What does your lease say in relation to claimed/communal damage.

eddddy

Which parts of the building was repaired, and who (according to the lease) is responsible for those parts of the building?

• For example, if the walls or ceilings within your flat were repaired, and the lease says that you are responsible for those walls and ceilings - then you would normally pay the excess.

• But if the walls or ceilings of the communal area were repaired, and the lease says the Housing Association is responsible for those walls and ceilings - then the Housing Association would normally pay the excess (and reclaim it via the service charge)

• If it was a combination of both the above - maybe you'd try to find a way of splitting the excess between you and the Housing Association on a pro-rata basis

Unless... the leak(s) resulted from the Housing Association's negligence - in that case you would reasonably expect them to pay the excess.

princeofpounds

I think you can only try claiming for the excess if you can demonstrate liability i.e. negligence on their part, which will obviously be tough to do. But I'm afraid it's not really my area so I'm not sure how it works.