I caused a water leakage downstairs, what is fair way to solve it?

[orangeN]

Hi ladies, please help me with this.

Today my downstairs neighbour told me they suspect there is water leak coming from my flat. They called out a plumber and plumber said it’s from upstairs and the callout fee was £70. They said they tried to knock on my door but no one answered, I was at home didn’t hear anything though.

Anyway, when I was informed I went downstairs and looked myself, their ceiling is pretty bad see photo. The ceiling is below my hot water tank storage room, so I went back to my home, the leakage is 100% invisible from my storage room as the carpet is completely dry . However, later I find out there are drops of water coming out from the joint of the tank from the back, but I need to rip off my carpet to know that.

I called plumber straightaway, I’m absolutely happy to pay for fixing the leakage in my flat and pay some towards their ceiling repair.

However my neighbour wants me to pay for everything including the initial plumber call-out fee, but my thought is neighbour let out their flat and damage is clearly developed through a long period of time. Their tenants or management company also have a duty to care and let me know there is water leak sooner, thus the ceiling wouldn’t be so badly damaged. I feel somewhat is unfair for me to pay for everything.

Am I being reasonable ? Any advice would be appreciated

YABU

They need to claim on insurance.

They have a duty to mitigate further damage as soon as the leak becomes apparent, they clearly haven’t done that.

Youve acted as soon as you were made aware.

Pay nothing yet until the insurance company have been involved. To be fair they may even decline the claim due to the fact they’ve let it get that bad. I wouldn’t be paying a penny until they’ve spoken to their insurance company. There is being fair and then there is taking the piss.

Thanks for sharing your experience, good to know how it normally solved!

They claim from their insurance and then their insurers claim from your insurance (if you had any). As a gesture of goodwill, you could offer to pay the excess of the claim (usually £100). If they don’t have insurance either, then morally it’s up to you to pay.

Its in their hot water tank storage room

You are liable for any damage caused to their property by a leak from your property and any consequential loss like them paying for a plumber to come up to ascertain where was was coming from. So either you claim against any insurance that may cover it and pay excess or you pay from your own pocket.

Glad someone sees my points as well. The Dilemma lies if it's worth to involve the insurance company as the ceiling is fairly small (80cmx60cm), it might be cheaper for me to pay for a plasterer . What do you think?

Thanks for clarifying it for me!

But this is assuming that you both have separate buildings policies for your individual flats.
From your previous posts you've indicated there's one block policy for the whole building.
So it might be useful to say which one is the case.
My post earlier was based on there being one block policy for the whole building (which would normally be the case anyway)

No you are not. The expectation is that buildings have insurance to cover damage to them. If the owner chooses cheaper cover by having a larger excess that is their choice. Their insurance may try to recover costs from your insurance including excess but that will be dealt with by the two insurers. Your only liability is fixing the leak.

In this case the insurer for both parties is the same so simpler but all you need to do is contact the insurer and follow their instructions.

Hi I'm confused. We have one building insurance for everyone in the flat block, but it's my neighbour or me need to make the claim?

She is liable under law. Insurance may cover her liability but legally she is liable and remains so! Payment of that liability is a different issue which I also addressed.

Your neighbour would be better really.
Because your neighbour would be able to answer all the questions about what the damage is, when it happened etc etc because the damage is to their ceiling

It is your claim as your leak caused the damage.

However you ask your neighbour to submit what has been damaged and liaise with them regarding this or ask that the insurance company liaise with the neighbour direct about their element of the claim. The insurers may have their own decorators they use to put right damage or may want a quote from the neighbour's own decorator.

No she is not liable for any damage caused by the leak. She is liable for the repair of the leak.

The exception to this is if the damage was caused by negligence on the OP’s part.

Accidental damage cover on the neighbours policy is what will cover the resultant damage from the leak, as his property was accidentally damaged as a result of the leak.

It is usually an add on to a policy, not standard so I urge everyone to check they have accidental damage cover on their buildings and contents policy.

No accidental damage is accidental damage (eg if someone kicks a ball into a window)
This situation that the thread is about is escape of water and will be covered under escape of water. Which should be covered as standard, not an add on. (Unless obviously there is an endorsement saying it's excluded but that's unlikely)

No, the leak is the escape of water.

The resultant damage to property is accidental damage. I worked in buildings insurance for 10 years.

However with water damage it would be that the OP would be deemed negligent not to have kept her property in good repair so that it did not leak. Thus the damage is as a result of negligence. It was not an accident that she didn't keep her property in good repair.

I have worked in it for over 10 years and still work in it. And that screenshot isn't correct. It would be covered under escape of water. But I won't get into toing and froing.

The reality is in your own home you pay for the repair and your insurance pays for subsequent damage.

But when it affects a neighbours property you are legally liable for damage to their property. Whether you have insurance that covers it or have to pay yourself you remain legally liable. People are confusing the difference between liability and who will cover the costs.

You’re assuming that to be the case.

Leaks can be caused through a nail through a pipe, the pipe freezing, something hitting the pipe, or general wear and tear like you said. Resultant damage is generally not declined because a policy holder hasn’t had her pipes replaced regularly, and I believe it to be a tenanted property anyway?

OP this thread has a lot of incorrect advice on it, I am bowing out now because I’ve got work but my advice remains the same - insurance first, you can decide what to do after that if it isn’t covered for any reason.

Just make sure the list of damaged items doesn’t keep increasing and you’re expected to pay for the lot.

I am not even aware there is any water leaking, as i said the carpet is absolutly dry on the surface, its small leakage from the joint at the back of the tank and water goes straight down to them via cracks. when I'm made aware I act straightaway, how I am being negligent?

And I stand by my position as a solicitor that legal liability is with the OP. Who will cover the cost is a different issue but its her or her insurer and not the neighbour.

ARGH no you aren’t!!

The neighbour claims on their insurance. The OP can’t insure something she doesn’t own, therefore her insurance won’t pay out for his damage initially, but his insurance company can look to claim the costs back. Hence he claims on his policy.

The OP is not legally liable to pay for whatever the neighbour says she needs to pay for!

“As a solicitor” did you miss the part where the OP said it was a tenanted property? How is she liable? Many factors are taken into account to prove liability by an insurance company - even if the pipes were in a poor state of repair, it would be the landlord, not the OP.

Honestly I’m out, argue amongst yourselves 😂

OP - Get a copy of your buildings insurance, call them and ask them to explain the appropriate steps. I've been through this and they told me what to do.