Leak in leashold flat - who is resposible.

thenap80

I have a tenanted flat. The bock of flats is Share Of Freehold. 
My tenant has a leak coming in from above. Managing agent for block told me to investigate myself with plumber. Plumber predicts it is to do with intenal pipes. Although tenant thinks it has something to do with rainwater as leak has coincided with heavy rain twice. 
I have contacted the managing agent as I woud have thought they have a responsibility to help getting this fixed. We pay a service charge and there will be building insurance surely that they have. Am I wrong? Who is in  charge of repair?

In any case, the managing agent are not responding to my emails for almost two weeks. Have sent to three different email addresses but they arent getting back to me. Is this normal with managing agents?  

user1977

More for the House Buying etc board as nothing to do with consumer rights, but the answer is likely to depend on where the water is coming from, and you don't appear to have found out yet.

thenap80

Coming from pipes from within the building walls. According to the plumber who could not see any pace where water was getting in from external. So pipes hidden above the ceiling. 

user1977

But whose pipes? Communal ones or ones serving a particular flat?

anselld

It is highly unlikely to be a communal pipe.  There are very few communal pipes ... mains in and soil out, that is about it.  If either of them was leaking you would soon know about it.  If it an occasional leak from above it is most likely to be a waste pipe or a shower seal upstairs.  You should try to contact the upstairs owner to investigate from their side.

There will be buildings insurance but escape of water often carries a high excess which makes in not worthwhile claiming for a minor leak.  Get the leak fixed and then redecorate.

eddddy

If it's rainwater getting in through the roof...

• That's generally not something covered by insurance (unless you can identify a specific storm, on a specific date/time that caused damage to the roof)

• The lease will say who is responsible for repairing each part of the building. Often the freeholder will be responsible for repairing the roof, and the leaseholder will be responsible for plaster / paintwork / woodwork etc in the flat

If it's water leaking from a pipe...

• Repairing the pipe won't be covered by insurance. But tracing and accessing the pipe might be. But damage to the building resulting from the leak would normally be covered. (But there'd be an excess to pay, which might make a claim uneconomic)

• If the leaking pipe services just one flat, it's usually the flat leaseholder's responsibility to repair it. If the leaking pipe serves more than one flat, it's usually the freeholder's responsibility. But check your lease to make sure.

• Again, the leaseholder is usually responsible for repairing plaster / paintwork / woodwork etc in the flat