Neighbour's Leaking Tap Causing Damage to My Wall

Lsunnyboys2 on 05/10/2021 - 17:13
Last edited 07/10/2021 - 10:03 by 1 other user

Hello people,

Writing to ask for advice here, so my situation is that I live in a townhouse with 1 shared wall, and my neighbours tap is leaking which has come through to my side and causing paint to crack + mould to buildup. I only just bought the place and found out a couple of weeks ago after a plumber came to inspect and confirmed this (he went inside next door and found the source).
Currently the neighbors' place is tenanted and they were kind enough to forward the plumber report and cost to fix etc. ($300-400 pretty easy fix), it looks like the damage is worse on his side too so i thought it would be in both our interest to fix it.
Turns out they don't care because they don't live in it, so they ignored the tenants. i have since raised to strata for help - they communicated the same message about getting it fixed etc. and also got ignored. Strata tells me they can't force him to do it and if i want get my walls patched/fixed it is on me to raise a complaint directly to the owner and/or get legal advice. Seriously baffled at this owner's negligence and realise it would cost me less (both time and money) to pay it myself than to go chasing him for money, but i don't want to be rewarding this kind of behaviour…

What should i do here? Is the owner obligated to fix his tap or at least the damage he's caused? Though this will be ongoing until leak is resolved
Is strata supposed be responsible for this? It is a common wall after all
Should i just fork out the bill myself and be done with it?
Can the tenant not pay him a weeks rent and use the money to fix it instead?

Your advice is appreciated!

Home & Garden

Comments

  • deme on 05/10/2021 - 17:20
    +2

    What should i do here? Is the owner obligated to fix his tap or at least the damage he's caused?

    Yes, Call your insurance.

    Can the tenant not pay him a weeks rent and use the money to fix it instead?

    No.

    • elgrande on 05/10/2021 - 18:49

      Insurance will not cover slow leaks.. only a sudden burst.

      • dizzle on 05/10/2021 - 19:02
        +4

        A hammer can fix that :)

      • blwnhr on 06/10/2021 - 08:27

        And only the resultant damage, not the cause. The pipe must be fixed before the insurance company will engage a repairer.

        • weezlebub on 06/10/2021 - 15:43

          don't tell the insurance company that you've found the cause, let the insurance company fight wiht strata / next door

  • godofpizza on 05/10/2021 - 17:22
    +1

    We had the same problem, a hose behind a wall had leaked. We didn't noticed until it was too late. It had ruined walls/mold and even wrote off our timber flooring. Main problem it was hidden behind funiture.

    We're gone thru insurance and we haven't been able to use the room for 4 months. We had to have dryers in our rooms for serveral weeks in order for the rooms to be dry enough repaired.

    With Covid, it was very hard for trades to be on sites. I would act quickly to get the room repaired and livable, as there will be delay in getting people to assess/quote/repair.

    all the best.

  • Muzeeb on 05/10/2021 - 17:27
    -1

    Diy repair an option?

    • godofpizza on 05/10/2021 - 17:28

      if the timber structure is wet from the leak, no. It will need to be dried professionally otherwise mold will grow.
      repairs to the wall/floor/paint/skirting/doors can definlety be DIY.

  • Quantumcat on 05/10/2021 - 17:27
    +2

    Talk to your insurance company. Then it will be their job to chase the other owner for the money and you can get your wall fixed without the hassle. That's why you have insurance.

    • FLICKIT on 05/10/2021 - 17:31
      +2

      I have my doubts an insurance company would have any interest in a pre-existing issue with a newly purchased property…

      • Quantumcat on 05/10/2021 - 22:46

        Yeah I guess that's a good point

  • Ocker on 05/10/2021 - 17:31
    -2

    If in Victoria then the new laws introduced on 31 March could meant the owner is legally required to fix the damage. If they fail to do so then have them tell the rental agent they propose to have repairs made and cost deducted from rent.

  • bobbified on 05/10/2021 - 17:34
    +3

    I would think that the shared wall is covered under strata insurance. If you claim it on that, they'll probably fix the wall and try to recover it from your neighbour. However a claim may cause an increase in your building policy as a whole and that's shared in your strata payments.

  • AndyC1 on 05/10/2021 - 17:49
    +1

    Call the state government department you are in that is in charge of strata and ask them what options you have. they will give you the options, but will not advice what is the best option. Also ask them if you can make a complaint via the different options then o they know what the costs and time frame will be.

    Ask them if you can do anything to put the responsibility to get the issue resolved on the strata as this would make your life allot easier. Also ask them what you can do if the strata does not do anything to get it resolved.

    Also ask them what the strata is responsible for fixing in your town house due to the leak and the strata's not wanting to get it resolved.

  • treekangagaroo on 05/10/2021 - 19:10
    +1

    Is shared wall not strata's responsibility ?

    • KaTst3R on 05/10/2021 - 22:28

      It potentially is strata's responsibility and insurance can cover. The problem is that there is no "accident" here. If it is a burst pipe and it damaged share wall then the strata can step in.

  • brendanm on 05/10/2021 - 19:19
    -2

    Sell townhouse, buy freestanding home.

  • askme69 on 05/10/2021 - 19:34
    -1

    My parents live in a townhouse, the place next door is an investment property since new.

    The owner was advised multiple times by tennants that the bathroom had a leak, he ignored it for years and then slugged the strata $20k for a new bathroom and they paid.

    • andrew229 on 05/10/2021 - 23:53

      why would the strata pay for a new bathroom ?
      the strata should only get involved in common property ?
      rooms inside the apartment shouldnt be common property ?

  • Richardc on 05/10/2021 - 20:45
    -2

    If the tap leaked for that long, I believe that’s tenant’s problem as they need to report the leak to landlord ASAP.

    • KaTst3R on 05/10/2021 - 22:30

      The tenants did forward the plumber's report and cost to fix to landlord but he/she ignored.

  • skid on 06/10/2021 - 08:26

    Is the tap leaking into a drain?

    The landlord is responsible for urgent repairs. The tenant is responsible for non-urgent repairs.

  • OzHunterNSW on 06/10/2021 - 11:50
    -3

    The leaking tap is not your concern… you demand they have it rectified.

    Just give a fresh coat of paint to your wall

  • 82norm on 06/10/2021 - 14:31

    If it’s a common wall, which what has been mentioned, then the Strata Corp should be organising it to be fixed. Assuming you have strata has insurance etc.

  • honky123 on 06/10/2021 - 17:11

    If you are in NSW. Call NSW Fair Trading and they can first request that the other owner attend strata mediation (free) to fix the issue. Mediation is confidential, non binding and voluntary. If mediation doesn't work or the other owner doesn't show, the next step is you can take it to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) (~$150?) to get an order for him to fix it. Could take weeks to go through the process, however you can apply for an urgent hearing to speed up the process.

    Document all correspondence you have with the other owner and take pictures of the damage. Good luck.

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