Freehold flats - am I liable for downstairs water damage

Hach

Hi, I am after some advice regarding water damage to the flat below.

I own a share of freehold flat (2 flats in the block, I am upstairs), downstairs told me that there was a leak coming into his bathroom so I called plumber who found a leak and fixed the issue the same day. Downstairs told me that due to the water issue they could not turn the light on, it also affected all their lights, I offered to call my electrician to sort the issue out but he said he has a friend who is an electrician and he will get mates rates. 

2 days later I get a message from him saying that the work cost £30 and also sent a screenshot of the new light and price which he had already ordered.

I want to sort this out as amicable as possible so I am happy to pay for the items but I asked downstairs for an invoice for the work done but he said that he paid cash and does not have an invoice for the work, why would we pay without having some sort of invoice? it's not about the amount of money, I just want to know what I am paying for. 

He also mentioned tonight that there is some water damage on his ceiling behind the light in his bathroom which still looks wet and he will monitor it over the next few weeks and if there is further damage he has stated that I am responsible for the cost of the damages. Is this correct am I responsible if I have acted straight away to fix the issue, if I am responsible then I don't really want him to wait a few weeks as it may cause more damage and more costs, I guess he doesn't want to make a claim on the insurance, am I really liable for the damage?

Many thanks 

user1977

No, you'd only be responsible for anything if you had been negligent (leaving the bath running etc). Otherwise it's just one of those things and you each pay for your own costs (and/or claim on insurance).

m0bov

Give him your insurance details or he can claim off his building insurance.

DullGreyGuy

The most common mechanism to make you liable is negligence which means you have either done something a reasonable person wouldn't do or you have failed to do something a reasonable person would have done. 

The average leak doesn't lead to negligence but it really depends on what has happened. If you've been moping up leaks from your washing machine for months then clearly you've known of a problem and not dealt with it. If a pipe spontaneously then it's not your liability. 

£30 for anyone to come out other than an Amazon delivery driver? Its clearly mates rates and cash in hand and would have snapped their hand off for the sake of good relations but having annoyed them its not too much surprise that a bigger bill is in the wings. 

As you own the building with them you can probably expect issues the next time you want to do something and need their consent. Some times it is the amount and not the principle 

GDB2222

There’s liability, and there’s being on good terms … which is more important?

donutandbeer

Honestly I don’t expect handyman to give me invoices. Even ones I found on google map don’t necessarily give out invoices, certainly not for £30.

eddddy

Just one extra thing to check...

It's very unusual, but some leases explicitly say that if a water leak emanates from a specific flat, the leaseholder of that flat takes responsibility for the resulting damage.

But if your lease doesn't say anything like that, then what others say about negligence etc would apply.



Also, is the whole building insured in a single buildings insurance policy arranged by the (joint) freeholders?

If so, and your neighbour wants to make a buildings insurance claim, you'd probably have to cooperate with that. And you'd both suffer from the resulting increased premium in future years.

Plus there might be arguments about who has to pay the insurance excess (the leaseholder or the freeholders) - which might be quite high for escape of water.

Hach

eddddy said:

Just one extra thing to check...

It's very unusual, but some leases explicitly say that if a water leak emanates from a specific flat, the leaseholder of that flat takes responsibility for the resulting damage.

But if your lease doesn't say anything like that, then what others say about negligence etc would apply.



Also, is the whole building insured in a single buildings insurance policy arranged by the (joint) freeholders?

If so, and your neighbour wants to make a buildings insurance claim, you'd probably have to cooperate with that. And you'd both suffer from the resulting increased premium in future years.

Plus there might be arguments about who has to pay the insurance excess (the leaseholder or the freeholders) - which might be quite high for escape of water.

@eddddy, thanks for your reply.
I was just a bit surprised that someone who I don't have a close relationship with, asked me to pay without a receipt because I personally wouldn't do that, no matter how much it was. That's all. I did offer him my electrician to sort out his issue so I was prepared to pay for it anyway.  

As you mentioned, I have read through my lease a few times but I can't find anything in it with regards to what you mentioned.

Of course if something like this was to happen again then I would sort out any issues but I am unsure how I would approach him about not being liable for his damage, any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks