Leak in a leasehold flat from above

Stanley_C · 18 October 2018 at 9:30PM

Hi guys, if someone who knows much about dealing with a leak in a leasehold flat could spare a few minutes to help me out that would be great. Bit of detail here;
I live in a leasehold flat managed by a company called chamonix estates, they don't own the freehold which is owned by bloor homes. I recently have had an issue with an intermittent leak in my bathroom, which is coming from above. This has become so bad that part of the celling has now fallen in. This confirmed that the leak is not due to any of the pipework in the celling of my flat and is in fact coming through the concrete slabs from above. Now here's where it gets interesting, I raised it with my neighbour when I first noticed a stain on the celling, but it subsequently dried out, but he could not find a leak then. Then it's started raining a lot and now it's got worse and we found water leaking under the bath in his flat. However the source of the leak is behind a boxed in wall. In order to gain access he needs to remove part of the plaster board wall.

I contacted the management company a week or so ago and their response stated that it is not their problem! I quote " We do not get involved with flat to flat leaks, I would advise that you get back in contact with your neighbour as there is quite clearly something leaking in their property. Please also see attached the buildings certificate, please be advised that whoever
is making the claim on this will have to pay to excess so please discuss with your neighbour." Anyways I made contact with the neighbour multiple times and it has been difficult to determine where the leak originates (roof/pipes).
Surely as the management company for the block they should take the lead in ensuring that if a claim is made on the freeholders insurance policy (which they sent to me) they should be managing it as they took out the policy?
They also mentioned by phone that we would need a plumber to provide proof that the leak was not caused by fittings behind the wall in the neighbours flat. Now how on earth can I do that if it is in my neighbours flat? What I'm really concerned about is how can I stop this leak from ruining my celling further?:eek:

eddddy · 19 October 2018 at 11:21AM

Read the terms of the freeholder's buildings insurance policy, and if you think there is grounds for a claim - tell the management co that you want to make a claim, and ask how you should proceed.

The damage is to your property (i.e. your ceiling) so it's reasonable (perhaps even preferable) that you deal with the claim.

I suspect that the management co will want an undertaking from you (or your neighbour) that the excess will be paid.

From a different perspective, if you've told your neighbour about the leak coming from their flat - if they haven't taken reasonable steps to deal with it, you could argue that they've been negligent, and claim damages from them.

Your neighbour could be a bit more proactive...

... for example, maybe the neighbour should tell the management co that they plan to open up the boxed in wall, and ask the management co to agree that they will cover the costs, if the leak turns out to be the management co's responsibility (e.g. leaking roof).

But the neighbour will cover the cost if it turns out to be their responsibility (e.g. a leaking pipe).

pochisoldi · 19 October 2018 at 12:04PM

A multipronged attack is required here...

1) The damage is covered by the block buildings insurance
Tell the managing agent that you want to make a claim on the block buildings insurance to get the damage fixed.
There will almost certainly be an excess to pay for this - keep reading...

2) Check your lease ...
...to see if there is a clause relating to leaks.
For the flat I own there is a strict liability clause which requires the leaseholder to prevent leaks from their own flat, and makes them liable to pay for any uninsured losses (i.e. any excess)
Note that I'm saying look at YOUR lease - you don't need to look at the lease for the leaking flat, because all the leases in a block will have equal rights and duties.

If your lease does have such a clause this will create a financial incentive for the upstairs flat to get their act together.

3) Find a solicitor who will give you a 30 minute free consultation, with a view to taking legal action against the leaseholder. Make sure you take a copy of your lease with you, and to save time put some post-it notes next to the relevant clauses regarding leaks.

Your mission:

1) Get upstairs to address the leak
2) Use the block buildings insurance to pay to repair the damage to the ceiling+decoration. The freeholder/freeholder's agent is not allowed to contract out of providing cover for damage caused by leaks, as this is a "normal residential risk".
3) Get the upstairs to pay for any excess and/or uninsured losses.

PochiSoldi

eddddy · 19 October 2018 at 1:55PM

pochisoldi wrote: »

1) The damage is covered by the block buildings insurance

...

2) Use the block buildings insurance to pay to repair the damage to the ceiling+decoration. The freeholder/freeholder's agent is not allowed to contract out of providing cover for damage caused by leaks, as this is a "normal residential risk".

How can you be sure about this?

The OP says the leak gets worse when it rains - that suggests a leaking roof or similar.

If the roof is leaking due to age or wear and tear, the damage won't be covered by most buildings insurance policies.

Edit to add...

If it is a leaking roof or similar, your points 2 and 3 might not be relevant either.

pochisoldi · 19 October 2018 at 3:15PM

It is not clear whether the original poster is living in a top floor flat (leak from roof), or has a leak from an upstairs flat.

For a top floor flat, the response is "It's the roof stupid - get it fixed".

If there's a flat above, then the OP needs to find out where the water is coming from.
If its rain then there will be water damage to the flat above as well.

If the water is coming from the flat above, then my original post remains valid.

PochiSoldi

Leak in a leasehold flat from above

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