Flooded from Above

[ecs]

My flat was flooded from above due to a faulty washing machine and bad plumbing. This happened on the 23rd Dec and the insurers are still squabbling over who pays for what. I think the repair works to the building stuff (walls and wooden floors) are due to start in a weeks time, all going well. The owner of the property above only just contacted his insurers yesterday regarding replacing my carpets as they're not covered by buildings insurance (as per every insurance policy ever - so it shouldn't have been a surprise to him that he was liable).

So since the 23rd Dec, I've been sleeping on a sofa/mattress on the floor of my kitchen diner as my two bedrooms are out of action due to no carpet and being a bit of a tip. This has been a faff as I'm constantly needing to move stuff about to cook and things. So, I'm not going to suger coat it, can I claim any compensation for this? The washing machine above was 15 years old and hadn't been looked at since the place was converted - I think the owner has been pretty negligent.

[ecs]

I have - as the bathroom and kitchen appliances weren't damaged no alternative accommodation can be provided.

The owner of the property above is an amateur landlord and I've had to deal with everything through the management company. This adds even more complexity because I'm not allowed the contact details of the owner and the management company are incompetent (I've had to get solicitors involved in the past because they haven't maintained the building properly and we as the leaseholders have a bunch of disputes going through the Ombudsman at the moment).

I think that if you're a landlord then you should maintain your BTL, if you don't and it fks up someone else's home then you've been negligent.

[ecs]

Paul Drawmer said:

I've never known anybody who maintains their washing machine. Do you think he should have had it serviced?

He probably should have taken a quick look at the plumbing sometime between now and the previous 15 years.

[ecs]

tex200 said:

Surely your contents insurance will be taking care of your carpets? Or am I missing something?

Upstairs insurance is not likely to be paying for your stuff - unless the washing machine had been leaking for a while AND upstairs were aware of it AND they had chosen to ignore it.

Many years ago I was that upstairs person (leaky plumbing under the bath) . Because I dealt with it as soon as I was made aware of the problem, my insurance co fixed my flat's damage and they told downstairs that they had to claim on their own insurance.

That's not how it works now - the owner of the flat above is under the duty to ensure that water doesn't escape from their flat and flood mine.

[ecs]

The claim for the carpet is below my excess so it's up to me to sort. Management company can't give me the details of the owner and are disinterested in assisting. Guess I'm paying for it all myself.

[ecs]

Thanks for the advice - have spoken with the management company regarding what's covered by buildings and what's covered by contents. It seems like it's this age old rule that carpets are contents and wooden flooring is buildings. It's something I've heard a number of people say before when they've ended up in the same situation as me. I think insurers like to say the word 'movable fixture' because in the olden days carpets were just big rugs which covered the floorboards.

Anyway, I've got the number and email address of the owner above now so I've written to him saying 'oi, I need a new carpet'. I've got legal cover from my contents insurance so I've opened up a claim with them, just need to see if they'll take it on though. Otherwise money claim it is.

Also, to those who still think the owner above is not responsible, why is he paying the excess for the buildings insurance claim for the damage to my property? I don't think it's that responsible to fit a washing machine and just wait for it to fall to bits and then replace it - I know that's what a lot of us do; but if you're in a building where it's possible to flood the guy downstairs then you should probably keep in mind that you could be liable for their losses and damages.

[ecs]

Doesn't seem right that his bad plumbing can fk my place up to the tune of ~£10k and I'm the one who's liable for the repairs though.

[ecs]

sealtt said:

ecs said:

Doesn't seem right that his bad plumbing can fk my place up to the tune of ~£10k and I'm the one who's liable for the repairs though.

That's why you have insurance though, to cover you for such events. Same as if the tree in your neighbour's front garden falls over and hits your car in a storm.

A risk of living in an apartment block / flats, is that your property can be damaged by occurrences (negligent or not) within other apartments around you - that's why it's a great idea to take out insurance to protect you against losses from such an event.

I guess you're right - will just have to chalk it up as 'one of those things'. Anyhow, will see what legal come back with but judging by this thread they'll probably have the same opinion.

To answer a few questions though - the property above is in a poor state of repair, hasn't been redecorated in 15 years (despite their being a covenant in the leasehold agreement that the place should be re-painted every x years) and generally looks/smells like something from a Channel 4 documentary. The washing machine was the original one and of the same vintage - both the hot and cold water feeds became detached and it was effectively like a hosepipe had been left on upstairs.

This was all worsened due to there being no seal between my flat and the one above, a dispute which I have been involved in with the property owner for two years. So the damage to my property was extensive and potentially worsened because there was virtually no damage upstairs. They're getting a new floor though because it only takes a little bit of water in the veneer of an engineered floor for it to swell.