Repeated Leak from flat above

Invs005

I would appreciate any advice in this situation.

In a converted Victorian flat (two flats, one up, one down) with a bathroom refurbished around 2012, my upstairs neighbour's shower has repeatedly leaked into my property throughout the years. For years they have only siliconed a bit the shower or unclogged the pipe without further inspection but I have threatened now with escalating this issue with the council if they do not repair this issue for good. My suspicion is that the water overflows the shower cabin and due to the floor not being hydro isolated, the water finds its way to my flat which is downstairs.

The landlord now claims the only way to inspect or fix the issue is to open my ceiling from below as the waste pipe wouldn't be visible from their bathroom floor, but they haven't lifted their shower or floor to check. I suspect this is a lie to put the blame on me or save on costs, but I cannot prove it, so I would like to get some advice from others who can tell me if this seems to be true or not.

My questions are:

• In your experience, is it typical for shower waste pipes in Victorian conversions to be entirely inaccessible from the flat and only be accessible from the neighbour's flat? if so, can they create a new waste pipe in order to avoid opening my ceiling?

• If they’ve already opened the ceiling but didn’t expose the pipe, does that suggest their solution is not valid?

• Is it reasonable to request that they investigate all alternatives from above (e.g., removing the shower tray or tiles) before asking to damage my ceiling again?

I’d really appreciate insights from anyone familiar with similar cases. Thank you!

sheenas

It’s quite common for shower piping to be under floors and not easily accessible. The normal issue Thu is water getting between the wall and shower tray. Further when the water gets into the flooring and plaster it needs replacing. The tray and  flooring need raising and waterproof underlay and wall panels installing. A competent plumber will be able to install a water proof solution without any need to access your property. 

Invs005

Thank you so much, @sheenas this is what I suspect the problem is.