Any Legal eagles out there? Leak Damage?
 

I'll try to keep this brief... I'll leave out the substantial history regarding our downstairs neighbours but just furnish you with this thought... they really aggressively 'try it on'... and within the first few months of us moving into the property tried to blame us for historic damage in their flat... and I'm not talking about getting us to poly-fill a few cracks in their ceilings... they wanted us to tear down every ceiling in their property and replace them!! When I first went to visit them to have a look at this, there were a couple of people in the flat shouting at me in a language I could not understand but clearly very aggressively. We did not return to their flat after this encounter unless necessary.

Anyhow... Before we moved in, the previous owner of our flat had leaks from their shower that had gone into a small built in wardrobe in the downstairs flat. When we moved in there was a huge hole in the top of this wardrobe already and substantial water damage/staining... it was pretty disgusting. It had never been repaired and the few times I had been downstairs to investigate leaks, it seemed fittingly unused. There is quite a bit of movement in our building and on occasion the shower has leaked from fissures in the grout which, as soon as we had been notified, we have repaired and resealed the shower the very day or following day (Wife's brother is a builder). Due to the movement in the flat we do have the shower quite regularly checked for gaps and cracks in the grout and we have tried many fillers that are flexible and water tight to try to prevent any further leaks. We think that we do about as much as we can reasonably do to ensure everything is ok on our side....

Now, not having heard from our downstairs neighbours for well over a year, the other day we had an Estate agent showing a perspective buyer our flat when the downstairs neighbour came up screaming and shouting and demanding access to our flat because of a leak. The Estate agent not knowing who they were from a bag of crisps said no, however they persisted and said they would kick the door down. Suffice to say nothing of the sort happened. Needless to say they have scared off any prospective buyers and my wife is adamant that they haven’t the right to do this without some sort of legal consequence? Having spoken to them since they have said there is £20,000 worth of damage due to a leak from our shower!! I visited them yesterday to have a look. The wardrobe is the same mess it was from a few years ago (and I have photos of it from back then) there are probably signs of a fresh water stain or two from the leaks over the years, but comparing the photos, it was disgusting before and it still is now. However, this time there were clothes in the wardrobe that have been damaged (a couple of jackets and quite a few pairs of trainers with mould on them). Why has there been all this damage? It seems they have been on holiday for the last 2 months and no one has checked on the place the entire time?!

So... in the blue corner we have us... we check the shower periodically for any new cracks and act as soon as we have been notified of a leak... and in the red corner, the neighbours, have a wardrobe, which has been a hotspot in the past for leaks over a few years, they have never repaired it (and this damage was from well before our time) there is a gaping hole that does not even have a plastic bag taped over it... leaving anything in the wardrobe completely exposed and unprotected if even a single drop of water comes from our flat.

I personally think much of the damage is largely from their own negligence. This is a holiday home for themselves, family and friends. However, they left clothes in a wardrobe that they know has been a trouble spot for leaks in the pasts totally unprotected as it has never been repaired... and did not check on or have anyone on their behalf do so for 2 whole months.

On a side note, interestingly... there have been communal boiler works in our building... it will be costing all flat owners £20,000 over a period of approximately two years. Call me Mr. Suspicious, but I assume a holiday home would not have your favourite/expensive clothing items stored away? But perhaps sticking a few items in an already heavily damaged wardrobe, once you have noticed a fresh leak and leaving them to accumulate a little damage would, at little or no cost to yourself, be a nice way to make a claim and remove this onus. Any thoughts? I don't know legally whether it is black and white when it comes to water damage between flats so I'd be interested to hear what people think.

Thanks for reading this far!!!

:)

ignore them, show people round your flat when they're not there, sell and move on :)

Erm....Breathe in and out a few times quietly....

Really, though you've had problems fixed when they've occurred, you've stated that problems with your shower persist in making parts of their flat damp/mouldy. Any underlying issues with the installation of the shower have not been fixed.

It does read like they're utter feck-wits to shout and scream at you on the day that you moved in but maybe if there are language difficulties, communication didn't work properly either way. From the reading of it, neither party left that discussion enlightened or encouraged. In that case, why would they replace their wardrobe if they thought it might get damaged again.

It's possible that this issue has always been a thorn in their side and they now can't react normally to a new incident.

It kind of points to you having a long-standing contention with your neighbours too. The sort of thing that maybe, you should declare to any prospective purchaser.

J.

I think technically you now DO have to declare it so it won't help your case. You need to get this sorted asap really if you want to sell. Get them to put up or shut up. Then you can honestly say it is a historical issue....

5t.