Ceiling leakage from flat upstairs

vemuo

Hi all

I'm in dire need of some advice regarding a recent leakage from the flat above a shop I lease, here's what happened:

1. Main waste pipe from flat upstairs gets blocked, it keeps leaking sewage water in my shop for three days.
2. The airbnb landlord from flat upstairs and the management company for the building finally send plumbers out on the 3rd day to fix the problem, it takes only a few minutes to unblock the pipe.
3. The plumber says that the blockage/leak was not caused by the flat above me, but rather a block in the main pipe for the builder which resulted in water coming out of the loo of the flat and then leaking into my shop.

My question is who is responsible for my damages, such as cleaning costs, damaged stock/tools, damages to the ceiling and electrical wiring, and potential loss of income as we may be unable to open on Monday? I pay for building insurance to the management company, and I have my own content insurance, but since I have no experience with making claims I thought I'd seek some advice first, any tips/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

davidmcn

Buildings insurance would cover damage to the building (including the ceiling). Anything else would fall under your own insurances (to the extent they cover the relevant losses e.g. you'd need to have business interruption insurance for loss of income). I'm assuming that nobody's going to be able to pin the blame for causing the blockage onto a particular party.

Oh, and check your lease to see if rent is abated if you're unable to fully occupy the premises due to insured risk damage

vemuo

davidmcn said:

Buildings insurance would cover damage to the building (including the ceiling). Anything else would fall under your own insurances (to the extent they cover the relevant losses e.g. you'd need to have business interruption insurance for loss of income). I'm assuming that nobody's going to be able to pin the blame for causing the blockage onto a particular party.

Oh, and check your lease to see if rent is abated if you're unable to fully occupy the premises due to insured risk damage

Thanks for your response. Do you know what insurance "cleaning costs" falls under? Is it content insurance?