We own a flat in a protected building which is run by a building management company. Above our kitchen is the balcony of the flat above.
Early September we noticed a small dripping coming from the ceiling in the kitchen which we reported to the building manager. He didn't seem that bothered and sent a plumber around who couldn't find a leak.
The leak kept getting worse and worse and we kept reporting it. Every time a different work person came to look and then we didn't hear anything again. So we kept sending video evidence of the damage and informing the company.
The wallpaper from the ceiling fell down and revealed a massive patch of soggy and crumbling plaster and mound. As parts of the ceiling were falling down my dh removed all of the dangerous bits. The wallpaper from the walls started to peel to so he removed that too, and obviously you can't just remove a small piece of paper and now we have two walls completely bare.
The dripping has ruined the floor in one spot and damaged the side of our kitchen units.
Every time we talk to the building manager about speaking to the owner above he says he can't give details and his job is to liaise with all parties. Whenever we mentioned the topic of claiming on insurance he has told us he needs to determine the source of the leak first before any claims can be made. This I understand but it has now been going on for months!
We know the tenants upstairs and they have informed their landlord of what is going on. They also told us a roofer was sent around to resurface their balcony and suspiciously the leak has now stopped for several weeks despite heavy rain and snow.
Our insurance company say anything with the ceiling is the owner above problem so obviously won't pay.
We're going to go back to the building manager one last time and if he won't claim on somebody's insurance I guess we will have to get a lawyer.
But do you know what we can actually claim for if the insurance from above agree to pay? Obviously replastering of the ceiling. Redecorating of the walls? New kitchen? New floor too? Will it just be a basic cover up job or will they consider aesthetics?