Who is liable for the damage if a leak in a flat causes damage to the flat downstairs?

joodlemcnoodle

We own a flat and had a new bathroom fitted recently.  There has been a slow leak from one of the pipes in the bathroom and it has caused damage to the ceiling in the flat downstairs and also the ceiling in the hallway.  The building is managed by a local managing agent who we all pay a maintenance charge to. The people who live downstairs are tenants, not owners.  
I have a few questions about who would be liable for the damages:
Can the owner of the downstairs flat make a claim against us directly for the cost of repairs?
Would we have to use our own contents insurance to pay for the damage? Not sure it would cover damage to someone else's flat though?? We obviously don't have buildings insurance becuase the managing agent has a whole building insurance policy.
Would the 'whole building' insurance policy pay for the repairs?  Would we be expected to pay the excess or any part of this?  
We obviously didn't cause the faulty valve and there has been no negligence by us, so would the plumber who fitted the bathroom have to pay off his own business insurance?  He told me that the valve should not have leaked and it was just one of those unexplained things.......
 
Obviously I don't want to end up with a bill for thousands of pounds of damage for something that wasn't our fault - I might be being paranoid but does anyone know how this would work?    Any advice much appreciated.

Thank you

kingstreet

You are only liable if you were told about the leak and did nothing to remedy it.

joodlemcnoodle

We were told about it today by one of the maintenance guys in the building and we called our plumber out immediately so he came and fixed it within a couple of hours.  So would the managing agent's insurance cover the cost then?  

lisyloo

You won't be liable as no negligence.
The owner downstairs would have to put it right possibly via the buildings insurance depending on the extent of the damage.
it's nothing to do with the tenants as long as their contents were affected.

eddddy

If somebody was negligent, then they are potentially liable for the cost of any damage. So...

• It doesn't sound like you did anything negligent.

• But it's possible that the plumber was negligent. If negligence is proven, the plumber may or may not have insurance to cover his negligence. And the plumber may or may not decide to make a claim on his insurance. (For example, he could choose to pay out of his own pocket.)

• The freeholder's buildings insurance might (or might not) include cover for damage caused by escape of water in these circumstances. But there's likely to be an excess - maybe as much as £500.  But buildings insurance almost always excludes damage caused by poor workmanship or poor materials. (TBH, I doubt the building insurers would pay out in this case.)

(Although, I think I recall somebody saying that they had an unusual lease that said that if a water leak comes from their flat, they are liable for any damage caused - even if they weren't negligent. So maybe check your lease. If you are liable, your contents insurance probably includes 'Public Liability' cover - and/or you can sue the Plumber for negligence.)