who do i claim from

daxx2009

the flat above me is leashold and they had a new kitchen installed and new pipe work to the sink taps, this caused water to come through my hallway celling and make all the plasterboard very wet, ive had to scrap paint off as it was all bubbling, a patch of around 6 feet high by 4 feet wide back to bareboards, i am council tennent, council repair man came to me and could not do anything as it was too wet, he went to the fat above only to find the pipe work had not been installed properly, the lady said a friend of a friend recomended this person to fit her kitchen, she then found out right at the end hes a machanic, the repair man told her to get it fixed asap, he came back to be to tell me what she said, he said he will report back and refer it to the council, this has been a week now and no one bothering to contact me, today i called the council officer only to be told i need to claim off my own insurance, i could mean plasterbord needs replacing, but at a minimum the whole of my hallway now needs repainting after the damage.


any advice please 

Hoenir

Contact your insurers. 

twopenny

Don't do any more to it. For any assessment from your insurers or the council it should bseen as the original damage.
You can clear up debris on the floor but don't do more.

You need your insurers to inspect and deal with the cause.

I would have thought though that if it's a council property (owned by them) they would fix it. But is it privately owned....the building or mixed?

daxx2009

my flat is council owned, flat above was buy from the council last year, would this not claim off the council buildings insurance, as its caused damage.

Bigphil1474

Sounds like the council are fobbing you off. Far as I know, this would be buildings insurance which the council will have, not contents which you should have. I'd pursue your housing office.

ThisIsWeird

daxx2009 said:

my flat is council owned, flat above was buy from the council last year, would this not claim off the council buildings insurance, as its caused damage.

Yes, I would have thought so.

Part of your payment to the Council includes building's insurance, doesn't it? Do you also have your own separate content's insurance?

This is, in the majority of cases (if not all), a 'buildings' claim, since it concerns the fabric of the building, and not the 'loose' interior bits - ie contents. Put is this way, if you were to try and claim for a new ceiling with your 'contents' insurance, I'm pretty sure the vast majority would say 'non'.

That's my understanding.

In your particular case, this, I believe, should be handled by the Council's Housing Dept. I'd go a wee bit further and speculate that the flat above, although 'privately' owned, also pays towards the communal maintenance fund, which will include building's insurance. Put it this way, The council - or the Freeholder of a block of flats - simply cannot have one flat sitting in the middle uninsured. What's more, it sounds as tho' the owner of the flat above has been negligent by not employing a 'qualified' and insured installer for this work, so the leak was more likely caused by incompetence, coupled with the worker not having public liability insurance. In such a case, the building's insurance company may decide to pursue a claim against the owner or installer, but that's their call to do.

The above is my understanding of these situations.

See how you get on with the Council - push this a bit more, and get their replies in a recordable manner so it can be escalated if needed.

Keep us updated, please - there have been a few similar situations recently, and it would be good to see what the 'correct' outcome should be.

daxx2009

Ok so small update, the council are a joke to get hold of or even bother replying to your e mails, i called the council repair lines as they cvame out at first point, basiculy there lead planner has contacted someone in council, its been 3 days and no contact with me, i am the council tennent and the issue is with the lease holder above me, ive collected over 5 liters of water from the leak above, i spoke to someone in the flat via their intercom yesterday who said someone ben to fix the issue but did not sound so sure to me , i still have water dripping and running down plasterboard, the council estate office i caleld 4 days back said claim off my house insurance, i said not its not my fault and that what your buildings insurance is for, he said he will get back to me and has not botherd, not much can be done repair wise until waterhas stoped and it all dry's out, just so frustrating, feel like i am bangging my head against a wall, 

Ganga

Why not get your insurance involved ,thats what you pay it for ,they might get the council or upstairs to pay for it but even if not your premiums will not go up that mutch.

ThisIsWeird

daxx2009 said:

Ok so small update, the council are a joke to get hold of or even bother replying to your e mails, i called the council repair lines as they cvame out at first point, basiculy there lead planner has contacted someone in council, its been 3 days and no contact with me, i am the council tennent and the issue is with the lease holder above me, ive collected over 5 liters of water from the leak above, i spoke to someone in the flat via their intercom yesterday who said someone ben to fix the issue but did not sound so sure to me , i still have water dripping and running down plasterboard, the council estate office i caleld 4 days back said claim off my house insurance, i said not its not my fault and that what your buildings insurance is for, he said he will get back to me and has not botherd, not much can be done repair wise until waterhas stoped and it all dry's out, just so frustrating, feel like i am bangging my head against a wall, 

Do you have Legal Protection included in your policy? If so, call them for advice.

If not, then perhaps call up your contents insurance co and ask them who should be sorting this. If there's water still coming through, then contact the council in a recordable way - eg email - to point out that their procrastination is causing further damage, for which they remain responsible.

daxx2009

myself i only have contents insurance with legal cover, buildings one is via local coucil

ThisIsWeird

Cool. Then let your LegProt guide you.
They are (should be) completely independent of your insurance, and are there for exactly these sorts of issues. Call them up, briefly and concisely explain the situation, and ask them who you should pursue. This shouldn't cost you a penny.