House Insurance Claim Help

[boboisared]

Need some advice/info and thought there is nowhere better to go than the hat.

 

On the 14th of May our downstairs neighbour informed me that there was water leaking through a small hole in their roof. I had a plumber friend come out to have a look and he found a leak under the sink which we were unaware of. He also told me this could have been going on for sometime and the plasterboard could be drenched. This would need to be sorted ASAP etc. I passed this info on to the neighbour who informed their letting agency.

 

On two separate occasions our neighbour had stopped me in passing to let me know that the roof was leaking again. I once again told him there is nothing that I can do as the leak has been fixed and that the letting agency will have to have a look at this.

 

I got a knock at the door yesterday from the neighbour to inform me that some of his kitchen roof had caved in. I went and had a look and it was about 3ft x 4ft. I could see the bottom side of our floorboards which were drenched. The carpet on the floor also looks like it's beyond repair.The area next to the damage looks like this will be next to fall. He told me that he had contacted the emergency number for the letting agency who had told him he will need to call back on Monday to sort the damage. They have previously promised to send someone out to have a look (apparently) which has never happened.

 

I'm getting the feeling their tenant wants me to fix this which is obviously out of question.

 

I've taken the number of the letting agency so I can call them on Monday to have a word with them. I've also emailed my home insurance company to make them aware of the damage. My excess for water damage is £250. Would this be all I have to pay? Is there a chance we could have to pay any more? I'm really not willing to pay anything above that as sorted our side of the issue over a month ago whilst the letting agency haven't even bothered to take a look at what I'm led to believe would have taken half a day to fix.

 

Does anyone here work in that side of things or have similar experience? We've recently had our second child (two under one) and could really do without all the stress this is causing the missus.

 

Cheers

[The Boofon]

My limited knowledge of these things is telling me you're both responsible. Likewise if the building roof leaks it's nae the guy on the top floor who pays but everybody under that roof.

[boboisared]

My limited knowledge of these things is telling me you're both responsible. Likewise if the building roof leaks it's nae the guy on the top floor who pays but everybody under that roof.

I'm obviously responsible for the initial leak but we have had that repaired. I'm not willing to pay for a damaged carpet or anything other than the roof when the letting agency haven't bothered to even look at it, never mind repair it.

[dave_min]

Have you considered burning the whole place down?

[The Boofon]

Have you considered burning the whole place down?

It's too wet to burn.

[The Hulk]

Bobo, it is your neighbour who needs to make the insurance claim on their buildings insurance, not you. You are not obliged pay anything at all unless it can be proved you are negligent, and even then that would be unusual. If you took steps to repair the leak, it's pretty difficult to prove that you are negligent.

 

If your neighbour or the owner tries to apportion blame, it might be a sign that they don't have buildings insurance (which would be unusual as it is normally a mortgage requirement), in which case fuck 'em.

 

I reckon you're in the clear. While it is a sign of good faith on your part, don't waste your time going out your way to agents or insurance, it's your neighbour's problem.

[boboisared]

Bobo, it is your neighbour who needs to make the insurance claim on their buildings insurance, not you. You are not obliged pay anything at all unless it can be proved you are negligent, and even then that would be unusual. If you took steps to repair the leak, it's pretty difficult to prove that you are negligent.

 

If your neighbour or the owner tries to apportion blame, it might be a sign that they don't have buildings insurance (which would be unusual as it is normally a mortgage requirement), in which case fuck 'em.

 

I reckon you're in the clear. Don't waste your time going out your way to agents or insurance, while it is a sign of good faith on your part, it's your neighbour's problem.

Another neighbour is friends with the landlord so he gave me the number for her. I've just had a chat with her and she let me know that this happened before just over 2 years ago (we moved in almost 2 years ago).

 

She said previously she was told that her insurance won't cover it unless it's proven that WE are negligent. Looks like the guys we bought from knew there was a problem with the sink and fucked off (it took my mate no time at all to fix). Looks like it could get a bit messy but she was really nice.

 

She told me that she told her letting agency to take care of the works ASAP last month. They've done absolutely nothing. I think they are mostly responsible (aside from my leak). I'd be willing to pay to help her as it's our leak but I'm not paying anything above what I'd be responsible for if it was my fault insurance wise.

[The Hulk]

Another neighbour is friends with the landlord so he gave me the number for her. I've just had a chat with her and she let me know that this happened before just over 2 years ago (we moved in almost 2 years ago).

 

She said previously she was told that her insurance won't cover it unless it's proven that WE are negligent. Looks like the guys we bought from knew there was a problem with the sink and fucked off (it took my mate no time at all to fix). Looks like it could get a bit messy but she was really nice.

 

She told me that she told her letting agency to take care of the works ASAP last month. They've done absolutely nothing. I think they are mostly responsible (aside from my leak). I'd be willing to pay to help her as it's our leak but I'm not paying anything above what I'd be responsible for if it was my fault insurance wise.

 

Couple of questions for you - you say it was a sink (bathroom or kitchen?) that was the prob. 1) Where in the plumbing system was the leak - was it damage to a pipe (mains or waste?) or something else (what was it?), 2) where exactly in your property was the leak located, and 3)where exactly in your neighbour's property did the leak cause the damage (directly below?).

[boboisared]

 

Couple of questions for you - you say it was a sink (bathroom or kitchen?) that was the prob. 1) Where in the plumbing system was the leak - was it damage to a pipe (mains or waste?) or something else (what was it?), 2) where exactly in your property was the leak located, and 3)where exactly in your neighbour's property did the leak cause the damage (directly below?).

Kitchen sink. The leak was coming from a pipe under the sink. The damage in the neighbours property is near enough directly below.

[The Hulk]

Kitchen sink. The leak was coming from a pipe under the sink. The damage in the neighbours property is near enough directly below.

It was the mention of a carpet being ruined that threw me - a carpet in a kitchen!?

 

Was it the waste pipe or a mains pipe? Waste is a common prob, but could it be that the mains were overlooked by the plumber (ie not negligent, but on quickly noticing a leak in waste, maybe mains wasn't looked at). I would doubt that a waste problem (intermittent) from a kitchen sink would cause a ceiling to cave in, I'd always think it's be more likely a mains or supply pipe (constant flow). Either way, I'd get your plumber back (or maybe better another one for an independent opinion) to cover yourself/the negligence aspect.

[boboisared]

It was the mention of a carpet being ruined that threw me - a carpet in a kitchen!?

 

Was it the waste pipe or a mains pipe? Waste is a common prob, but could it be that the mains were overlooked by the plumber (ie not negligent, but on quickly noticing a leak in waste, maybe mains wasn't looked at). I would doubt that a waste problem (intermittent) from a kitchen sink would cause a ceiling to cave in, I'd always think it's be more likely a mains or supply pipe (constant flow). Either way, I'd get your plumber back (or maybe better another one for an independent opinion) to cover yourself/the negligence aspect.

I was surprised when I went down too.

 

It was either the mains or supply pipe. Definitely wasn't waste. Funnily enough we're having a new boiler installed. A different plumber was round today and he told us that there is definitely no leak under the sink. He also said it won't be the washing machine as that would be noticeable without tearing anything apart due to the amount of water.

[The Hulk]

You're clear then I reckon.

 

'kin hell min, can you imagine the years of mankiness embedded in a kitchen carpet?

[boboisared]

I was surprised when I went down too.

 

It was either the mains or supply pipe. Definitely wasn't waste. Funnily enough we're having a new boiler installed. A different plumber was round today and he told us that there is definitely no leak under the sink. He also said it won't be the washing machine as that would be noticeable without tearing anything apart due to the amount of water.

Hope so. Looks like the folk that we bought from did a lot of their own work around the house. A few things we didn't notice until afterwards. You live and learn though.

 

I'm guessing they put it down when their tenants moved in (February) but aye, I agree.