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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

downstairs neighbour getting water in but didnt tell us for a year

46 replies

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 13:43

my downstairs neighbour has had water about 18 months ago so we looked around our bath room and didnt find leaky pipes so told her it might be pipes and rough cast needing replaced that is causeing it as it badly needed done, no relpy. so one year later she is at the door again ( different part area getting water through)so this time we got a plumber out and he looked at pipes nothing so said about pipes and rough cast again and offered to pay all as it is a lot of money and we had it at the mo with no time limit to pay back but she said no and finaly got it done six months later after having to get legal advice (not payed yet). Then this morning about 7 months after she came before her plumber came to our door saying she had water in again and said it prob coming from the shower and the silocone will need replacing. fine we will sort it as we dont want damage to her house but is it just me if she had told use a year ago that it was not sorted the damage would be a lot less and if we have to pay up for it i will not be happy as she left it so long and would have been a simply repair to both houses insted of all the work she now need. there is other things she has done but thats for an other day. any advice anyone

OP posts:

Kladdkaka · 18/04/2012 15:19

You say you tried to fix it and the problem is that she didn't let you know it was still happening. But the reality is you didn't try to fix. The first step in trying to fix a leak is identifying where the leak is coming from. You didn't do this. In fact, from what you say, you didn't actually change/repair/try to fix anything. You just assumed the problem had disappeared without human intervention

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:19

walls tiled and grout fine it is just silocone has come away because bath not fitted prop (last owners).
we have always been happy to fix it and have tryed, if only she had said sooner or just talked face to face about it so we knew where the water was coming in it would have been.

OP posts:

Kladdkaka · 18/04/2012 15:21

You do realise don't you that wall tiles and grout are NOT waterproof?

mynewpassion · 18/04/2012 15:24

If you are happy to get it fixed, then what's the problem? She got it fixed. Now, just pay it.

fluffiphlox · 18/04/2012 15:25

Punctuation is your friend

laughlovelife · 18/04/2012 15:27

Ok OP is not coming across very well, OP has written the neighbour letters as she wont correspond with her verbally, (I assuming that this is the other factors you mentioned in the OP, and legal matters are involved?)

(OP has PM-ed me)

however both of you are at fault, as you didn't get the work done and checked by someone, and the neighbour didn't immediately tell you about the maintenance/problems.

Unfortunately its your responsibility, due to the damage being from the house you own, do you not have insurance to cover you in eventualities like this?

Who owns the neighbours house, does she own it, or is it HA, rent etc...

LIZS · 18/04/2012 15:31

I'd assumed it was flats/maisonette since she mentions "downstairs neighbour" in which case you have to take extra care wth maintenance to avoid just such issues.

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:33

we have always been happy to do the repairs and said this to her (through letters) the thing im mad about is she did not tell us and has made it worse.

we do have insurance but dont know if she has dont the repairs through it or just hired someone (again no info from her)
we both own

OP posts:

laughlovelife · 18/04/2012 15:34

Right OP, stop PM-ing me, I dont LIKE BEING SHOUTED AT, as that is what you are doing, when you are using capitals.

OK so is there a court order to say she needs to pay her half of the costs of the outside repair work, which I am failing to understand, considering she told you NO, and you went ahead and paid it anyway . Or has a solicitor verbally just told you this .

Either way you need to pay for any damage inside her house, and also you need to get insurance for this and you then wont need to worry about cost.

fluffiphlox · 18/04/2012 15:35

From what I remember about living in a flat, water coming from your flat into the downstairs flat is your responsibility.

Can you not knock on her door and ask her to be specific about the whats, wheres and how longs and then get a plumber in to fix it?

I'm not even sure if this was your question/problem as it's all rather stream of consciousness stylee.

Anyway it's better for you if everything is sealed around shower trays and baths because that helps prevent wetting the floorboards in your flat as well as below.

laughlovelife · 18/04/2012 15:38

contact the insurers, it wont cost you anything, expect maybe a fee, or whatever you call it, so Im failing to see your issue, both of you are at fault, you can be mad as hell all you wish, but you didn't properly maintain your property which has now done damage to your neighbours flat, that's your responsibility.

Tbh if you we're my neighbour Id be mad as hell with putting up with constant damage to my house

Kladdkaka · 18/04/2012 15:44

From what the OP has said here (and in a PM) the problem is that the neighbour reported a leak. The OP got a plumber in who found a crack in an outside pipe only and fixed it. The OP informed the neighbour of this and heard nothing more, therefore assuming the problem was sorted.

A year later the neighbour informs her that the problem was never sorted and as a result lots of damage has occured to the neighbours property over that year. The OP is unhappy that she has to pay for all of the repairs to the neighbours property because she feels that much of it is a result of the delay in telling her that the first repair hadn't fixed the problem. Had she been told straight away, it would have been looked at straight away and the costs would therefore have been less.

I don't know anything about a court order .

The OP is clearly agitated and is having difficulty expressing herself properly. Don't hold that against her.

LIZS · 18/04/2012 15:49

The point is that if the neighbour has insurance the only work the op would have to pay for is the finding and fixing of the water leak itself , not consequential damage (and perhaps out of courtesy any excess).

StripyMagicDragon · 18/04/2012 15:49

It's possibly your neighbour hasn't had a constant leak into her flat. I stay in a ground floor flat and 3 times I have had leaks in the past year. Each time a plumber has been out, said no issue, and the leaks have stopped.
The last time, another plumber came out and told us it was a pipe under upstairs bath. The water had been dripping out slowly, collecting, then coming through my ceiling periodically, when too much had collected.
Now all is fixed.

So YABU assuming she has been sitting with an umbrella wondering about a leak.

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:51

thank you kladdkaka that is it, when im mad not very good at saying my point so sorry about that.
and laughlove i didnt know i was shouting at u i was just trying to highligh my point so sorry but also u r taking what im saying and twisting it.

we r the one who maintain the property not her she has left lots of other things to disrepare, that was why we went to a lawer about her

OP posts:

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:56

no she has had it all the time her plumber said which i dont get why she didnt say it was not sorted.
we had all pipes in house checked and was not leak (i mean all floors where up)
and we have not been wondering about it we have asked he is it was sorted but she did not reply.

OP posts:

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 15:57

also i dont know if she has insurance she has not told us but we do.

OP posts:

mynewpassion · 18/04/2012 15:58

If you going to see a lawyer about it, then it will get resolve it in court.

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 16:02

no court needed yet. glasgow has a tenements act that means that owner can fix a prob without the others consent for work done as long as it is bad enough that is causeing damage to the fabric of the building. (we did try and get her consent for the work but said no, so we went to a lawer).

OP posts:

SalopianTubes · 18/04/2012 16:09

Tricky one. Is it worth hiring lawyers and going to court about this? Will the fees quickly cost more than the repairs? Or could you get legal aid.

Also, think carefully before escalating a dispute with the neighbour. When you come to sell you're obliged to disclose disputes to the purchaser, it might make your flat less saleable.

Original poster

michelle2003 · 18/04/2012 16:12

we had no choice and it will be worth it, the damage to the outside of the house came to more then £3000 pound to be split.
we got lots of quotes and this was the best

OP posts:

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