Council repairs problem -yellow water leaking from ceiling

ex-homelessdude2

Ive had yellow water leaking from my ceiling in front and behind the front door and down the hallway for the past year and once coming from light fixtures and back wall (which is wooden) in bathroom which is about 3 feet back.

Had people from the council out 3 times, every time they come to fix say they cant do anything as leak has stopped and to phone back once it starts. Also had their subcontractors (TSG) have a look at least three times too who last year reinstalled all pipe work and radiators but they deny any wrong doing and say its cos its old building and told me it is coming through electrical pipe work its the council's responsibility.  In fact council were called by tsg  previous Friday but nobody turned up or even called to sort it out.

On Friday it was finally fixed , it turns out it is the the dirty water from above flats bath tub drainage. TSG didnt connect the outlet pipe properly. This is so disgusting, I just wanted some advice on what right i have and what i can do. Ive been complaining to the council for over a year about how bad their repair service is, they assured me they would fix 6 things in my flat but haven't contacted to do any repair work and have useless in fixing this leak.

Theres damage to my bathroom wall aswell as tiles in reception area  and even new front door doesn't close properly.

This is TSG (who are subcontractors of the council) bad work. Can i sue?  Also TSG did some damage to my flat when they installed my radiators/pipe work. How do i get the council to actually do repairs in the future? Theyre impossible to deal with.

HampshireH

Your best bet is to follow their complaints procedure.

Then take it to housing ombudsman once and only once you have exhausted the complaints process and don't have a satisfactory outcome.

Bigphil1474

OP, if it's a council flat, then your best bet is to speak to your local councillor, and see if they'll put some pressure on the Housing office. If you own it i.e. it's ex council now owned by you, you should see if you have legal cover and get legal advice. IME the council will eventually fix their own properties, but they won't prioritise fixing someone else's even if they are obliged to do so. Like everywhere else in the public sector, they won't have the budget and staff to do a proper job now.

ThisIsWeird

Hi 'dude2.

Usually, the communal building's insurance will cover 'structural' damage from things like leaks and fires and stuff. You'd need to read the policy to see how far that goes - does it also cover 'making good' such as repainting? If not, then this will hopefully be covered by your own individual contents insurance.

I would suggest, tho', that if your door is sticking due to the damp from this leak, then that should be 'structural', and covered by them either way.

Regardless of the policies, tho', it would appear that there may have been some degree of 'negligence' here, first by the incompetent plumber, but subsequently by the long delay and fobbing-off of the issue. If you can write out a chronological account of what went on, and how the damage to your property increased with each leak that they failed to locate and repair, then I think you should be on solid ground for a claim.

So please tell me you have contents insurance with Legal Protection included, 'cos that should make life a lot easier.

ex-homelessdude2

i dont have contents insurance no.

however it is rented council property.

ill start by following complaints procedure (didn't realise there was such a thing but looked at their website which details it)then escalating to ombudsman then councillor. 

TBH it there reluctance to fix anything thats the ongoing problem  more than the recent leaks.  They normal just blame tentant or do such a terrible job of repairs. Everyone ive spoken to on this estate has same issue. I told person in charge of repairs team over a year ago i was going to take legal action and she assured me she would oversee the 6 repairs i told her.... and to this date ive not even been contacted.

thanks for the feedback everyone.