Water damage to downstairs neighbor?
June 7, 2010 by
Filed under condo water damage
My neighbor is claiming that I have a leak in my unit that has damaged a section of his ceiling. I checked all my sinks, toilets, water heater, showers, etc. No leak from those. Everything is dry. I found a damp spot in the central heat and air compartment, but none of the units or pipes that are exposed are leaking. I suspect a pipe running between the floors may be leaking. Am I liable regardless of the circumstances just because I live upstairs? I wasn’t negligent and I can’t get to a pipe in the floor. I’m afraid I may be forced to pay. I have insurance, but what if it doesn’t cover everything? I live in a condo.
You may want to find out exactly where that pipe is leaking, is it one of your pipes or his? Next, if it is your pipes, yes you are responsible, however, your homeowners should cover everything. First get the pipes checked out, they could be his.
Maybe your insurance maybe theirs. But they need to prove its your fault. Maybe the complex insurance.
First of all, you don’t have to be “negligent” to be responsible for damage. Accidents can happen through no fault of your own, but if something is in your “care, custody or control” you are responsible for it and any harm or injury it may cause.
In condos, many have an “association” and that association is responsible for common areas. That common area MAY include attics, between floor spaces, plumbing, electrical and HVAC outside the condo owner’s “envelope”.
If the HVAC is strictly for your home, then it is either on you or the condo association. If the unit is for condo building, then it is either on the condo association or the responsibility of the condo owners in that building.
As to insurance, yes this is the sort thing that is often covered fully. However, they usually distinguish between “sudden bursting” pipes and “ongoing leak”. So if this happened all of a sudden, then they’ll probably cover it all, unless they have a water damage exclusion. If the damage resulted from a small leak, over time, then they are unlikely to cover it, unless they don’t make the “sudden burst” distinction.
Clearly, this is not a cut and dried situation. The first step is to contact the condo association and report the problem. They should be able to tell you pretty quickly whether or not it is “their problem”.
As to the damage, drywall damage isn’t that expensive to repair. You also might consider paying it out of pocket if you end up being responsible. Making an insurance claim (whether they pay it or deny it) could result in higher premiums for years, that could add up to more than the cost of the damage, it could also get your policy cancelled and then making it harder to get a replacement policy.