Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6

Original poster

Water in their bedroom, will we have to pay?

147 replies

Fortheloveofgodwhatnow · 09/04/2022 20:14

Holiday home next door to us, they come to stay in their house maybe 3/4 times per year.
They’ve arrived today for Easter and after we came back from a walk, called Dh to come inside. They had people with them with clipboards and cameras.
Dh has come back and said one of their bedrooms is all damp and soaked down the side of their wall. The other side of that wall is our en suite bathroom.

He wants us to check if it’s a burst water pipe, he had people there taken photos etc.
Nothing like this has ever happened before, will we need to pay for this? 🤷🏻‍♀️

OP posts:

Doveyouknow · 09/04/2022 22:32

It is possible it's a slow leak from your pipes. If your side is fully tiled then you might not get water coming through. Have they had a plumber come in and take a look at where the water might be coming from. When we had a water coming through the wall we got a plumber to identify the issue and he identified the neighbour's plumbing as the issue. They paid to fix that an we paid to make good on our side. We didn't involve insurance companies but you should have both buildings and contents insurance really if you own.

Ratatoo · 09/04/2022 22:34

Get insurance asap. It won't help with this but not having any is crazy

VanGoghsDog · 09/04/2022 22:41

@Fortheloveofgodwhatnow

Holiday home next door to us, they come to stay in their house maybe 3/4 times per year. They’ve arrived today for Easter and after we came back from a walk, called Dh to come inside. They had people with them with clipboards and cameras. Dh has come back and said one of their bedrooms is all damp and soaked down the side of their wall. The other side of that wall is our en suite bathroom. He wants us to check if it’s a burst water pipe, he had people there taken photos etc. Nothing like this has ever happened before, will we need to pay for this? 🤷🏻‍♀️

They came back just today and managed to get 'people with clipboards' on a Saturday after they found the damp?

Nah.

I had a leak last year, the insurance company didn't send anyone. I got a plumber, they traced the leak, took the kitchen ceiling down, replaced the pipes (took a whole day, fitted new plasterboard for the hole in the ceiling, I arranged a plasterer and a painter to make good, insurance paid the plumber bill and an estimate (which was more than it cost me) for the making good.

No loss adjusters. c£1k in all. Pain in the bum but not the end of the world.

Anyway, I don't think the people with clipboards were insurance, maybe they are trying to sell and had set up estate agent viewings in advance or something?

User748956 · 09/04/2022 22:42

Water loss generally has a higher excess than the normal excess.

Fere · 09/04/2022 22:52

Log in to your insurance provider's portal.
Che k how you can report a claim.
In my case I had to provide description and as many details as possible le before they spoke to me.
You should have all that info in FAQ.
If not - on Monday morning give them a call.
Your insurer will let you know ow what next steps are.
You should have details about excess you may have to pay but don't worry about it.
Your I surer will explain everything in great details.

Rachie1973 · 09/04/2022 22:54

They want you to pay because I’ll imagine their insurance is invalid.
No one living in the property makes it hard to insure.

We got caught with a burst tank, merrily claimed only to be told policy void as no one in property for a month.

Our fault for not checking small print.

ballsdeep · 09/04/2022 22:57

@VanGoghsDog
If you dont mind me asking, how big was your leak? Our shower was leaking in our en suite and we've just found another leak in ghe sink. We have a small water patch on the ceiling below, but I think its from the. Now fixed shower.

VanGoghsDog · 09/04/2022 23:01

[quote ballsdeep]@VanGoghsDog
If you dont mind me asking, how big was your leak? Our shower was leaking in our en suite and we've just found another leak in ghe sink. We have a small water patch on the ceiling below, but I think its from the. Now fixed shower.[/quote]
I'm not quite sure how you measure a leak!

I'll try......it was the drain from the bath that had got blocked and then come detached, I'd had a shower and rather than draining away the shower water came through the kitchen ceiling. I didn't notice for about an hour because I was upstairs.

The floor wasn't damaged. I guess it was maybe 2m square of ceiling that had to come down - but that was totally dependent on where the pipes ran. The block was behind the unit with the hob in (incredibly) and the plumber replaced an elbow joint which was totally gunged up.

My last house the shower had some sort of leak and the ceiling had a permanent damp patch, but my idiot ex just used to touch it with his finger and say that as it didn't feel wet it wasn't a problem.

msbevvy · 09/04/2022 23:08

@bloodywhitecat

I’m getting worried as Dd, 3, brushes her teeth by the small sink by the wall and often splashes water around, I’m forever putting towels down. Could that cause it?

Not unless she uses an industrial jet wash to clean her teeth and even then, no. No, splashing water around while cleaning teeth will not cause that kind of damage.

Whilst unlikely, I wouldn't totally rule out this possible scenario. We suffered quite extensive damage to our walls and ceilings caused by careless workmen in the flat above us washing tools in a washbasin and splashing water around.

LunaAndHerMoonDragons · 09/04/2022 23:14

[quote Fortheloveofgodwhatnow]@Threeboysandadog It’s okay I have it all in folders in the drawer in the dining room, it as just this one thing for some reason I feel unsure about.
If it is the case I don’t have it anymore, can I literally call them on Monday and start with building insurance?[/quote]
Yes you can and should, but it won't cover you for a pre-existing issue. Mortgage contracts usually say you must have building insurance, it's your responsibility to ensure you have it, not theirs. Not having it means you're in breach of contract. So yes you need to get it ASAP if you don't have it.

For the current issue focus on the immediate need. That's determining if the leak is coming from your property. Turning off the water for a couple hours to see if the metre moves is a reasonable ask, though they should do the same at their house. If it was our house involved one of H or me would be climbing into the roof cavity to look for any drips and water marks. Sometimes water will only come in for example when there's a heavy storm and wings from a certain direction so it's not always possible to see, but if lots is getting in water marks may form. Water can get in higher up and run down the roof struts to the wall too. If there's nothing obvious we'd call a plumber to check out the plumbing on our side. If you have the house plans in your documents from when you purchased you may be able to see where the pipes are. It's possible it's a pipe on their side or if no pipes in the walls their it could be the roof. At this stage if I could find nothing obvious I'd be talking to our insurance company about what if anything we needed to do next.

Womencanlift · 09/04/2022 23:17

If you have had your mortgage for 12 years then you will have had to renew your insurance 12 times. Granted you can auto renew so you may be with the same insurer but surely you would have seen letters coming through saying how much your new policy is?

If you are found to be liable for the leak in your neighbours house then yes you will need to pay and it will either be your insurer who will pay (minus any excess amount) or you directly if you are not covered

ExplodingElephants · 09/04/2022 23:20

@Fortheloveofgodwhatnow

They’ve also said we can’t use the water/flush the loo at night 🤷🏻‍♀️

How can they stop you?

WirlyWillowtree · 09/04/2022 23:22

Ok this is an odd one but happened to me.

We changed our heating to a combination boiler. The installers drained our water tank in the loft. A long time after I noticed a damp spot on the wall, and some months on from that the damp spot got bigger and bigger (not running wet though), apparently it was where the installers had originally cut the pipes to the loft water tank somehow a bit of water got spilt and had over months seeped down the walls. It did eventually dry up and now is all ok. We are semi detached and it was on an adjoining wall and it didn’t affect the neighbours.

Thinkingblonde · 09/04/2022 23:24

Don’t agree to anything just yet.

It could be a blocked vent in the roof causing condensation, this happened to a house my daughter moved into. Once the vent was cleared the excess condensation stopped but she had to hire a dehumidifier to get rid of the damp.
It could be a loose brick or loose pointing between the bricks causing water to get in.

Nennypops · 09/04/2022 23:27

@aliloandabanana

Stop worrying - you haven't been negligent as you weren't aware of a problem. Phone your insurance company and get their advice on what to do. Unless you can easily pinpoint the problem carry on as normal. They don't get to tell you not to flush your loo or use your bathroom!

I don't want to be negative, but that isn't necessarily correct. It's not enough just to say you didn't know there was a problem if it turns out to be something that has happened due to, for instance, lack of maintenance or failure to make normal checks

Malibuismysecrethome · 09/04/2022 23:48

CF’s surely it would be affecting your property if the leak was in your side? Ignore them seems like they want someone else to pay. If a bath overflows in a block of flats it’s everyone’s insurance that pays for their damage.

Painiscrap · 09/04/2022 23:48

You don’t need to wait until Monday to arrange insurance. If you haven’t got any, go online now and arrange it. It won’t cover a pre-existing issue though.

Malibuismysecrethome · 09/04/2022 23:51

Also no property should be left empty for more than 3 weeks on most insurance policies. They may or may not have specialist insurance.

Original poster

Fortheloveofgodwhatnow · 09/04/2022 23:56

Our bathroom wall on the side with their bedroom wall is fully tiled, all the way up. The shower is on the other wall, so too far away.
We do have a chimney breast on the same side.
There’s nothing wrong in our bathroom, no damage/problems whatsoever 🤷🏻‍♀️
The last time they came was end of March I think, so almost two months ago.
I also found it weird they had people out straightaway…on a Saturday, is that normal?
The main guy had a camera and was asking Dh a few things, then neighbour invited him to go into their house to see. There were quite a few women there too, looking smart
I thought it was maybe people coming to sell their house, which I was 😬about as we like having no neighbours there the majority of the time 😂

OP posts:

HollowTalk · 10/04/2022 00:10

You really need to look at your online banking and look at whether you have insurance anyway. If you had it would you be likely to paid annually or monthly? If it's monthly then you'll be able to see quite quickly whether you have it or not. If you always get things like car insurance annually then you might have to look back a few months to see if there's house insurance there too. Please don't try to cut back on this!

VanGoghsDog · 10/04/2022 00:22

The end of March was not two months ago.

EinsteinaGogo · 10/04/2022 00:22

If there is a chimney breast on the 'wet' wall, OP, there is a strong chance that there is some flashing missing / repairs needed to the chimney at roof level.

If it is a joint chimney, they can be responsible for checking it.

If the shower was on the party wall side then the onus is on you. If it isn't, they can check the shared roof as much as you can.

VanGoghsDog · 10/04/2022 00:23

if it turns out to be something that has happened due to, for instance, lack of maintenance or failure to make normal checks

What are these "normal checks"? I don't do any "checks" on my house. I also don't do running maintenance. It's my house, not a commercial property.

StaplesCorner · 10/04/2022 00:48

This is bizarre. I think they saw you and your DH coming from a mile off. They need to get a plumber or builder in themselves to source the leak - as previous posters have said it could be their chimney or roof, your chimney or roof, your pipes/their pipes who knows? but as the leak is on their side they need to get people in. Preferrably with something more useful than clipboards.

Sorry OP but you and your DH sound clueless, please don't start ringing insurance companies as it counts against you even if you never claim. Neighbours can claim on their insurance if they want to.

Original poster

Fortheloveofgodwhatnow · 10/04/2022 00:48

*End of Feb, sorry

OP posts:

Flip

1 2 3 4 5 6