Hi guys, I live in an apartment and I am the owner. Last week, the tenant next door forgot to cap off the washing machine connector when moving out, which has resulted in flooding into my bedroom carpet. Today, I have received a carpet repair bill of $1000 above. The building manager has said each owner should pay for their the damage within their own apartment and I should really have a content insurance. However I am not really happy paying this bill. I was the first person to notice the water leak and took time off work dealing with these issues. Even if I have the content insurance, I will be bitter to pay the access fee anyway. Could anyone tell me whether by law, whoever is at fault should pay for this bill or not ? Or I should just suck it up and pay for the bill.
Neighbour Flooded My Apartment, Should They Pay for My Damage?
Comments
Small claims court?
Check your bylaws. Ours has a clause in it when damage is caused by another owner/tenant.
I have a look at mine. It doesn’t say anything about it. Only mention about damage to common area
Sounds like you may need to
A) Sort it out with the strata (pretty sure they take out insurance for you for instances like this)
B) Small claims.Sounds like the strata is trying to fob you off tbh you're not liable for someone else's error.
But yes, your carpets come under contents, not that you should be held liable.
Thank you! Our apartment has been self-managed by the committee since last year. The chairperson of the committee basically has said because the invoice is under my name and I should pay for it and my neighbour has no obligation to pay this bill even though the damage was caused by the tenant. This is my first property, I have no idea what to do when things like this happen.
May need a stat dec or something similar relating to the events leading up to the flooding, else they can and will most likely fob you off.
I could ask the plumber to send me a report .
ask the to place the bill in the other tenants name or strata's name! lol
I did last night ! Haha waiting for their response
The chairperson of the committee basically has said because the invoice is under my name and I should pay for it and my neighbour has no obligation to pay this bill
Ask the company to reissue the bill in the chairperson's name… Problem solved. I mean it is in their name, so they should pay!
the company just refused to do so
Would home and contents insurance protect you if your drain sprayed water on another appartment
my unqualified opinion is that they would be liable for damages caused to your apartment, it will probably just be a huge pain in the arse to get them to pay up.
With my common sense expertise, I think its gonna be really hard. Strata bylaws apply to owners but the owner did not do it.
How do you even prove that the flood was caused by tenant forgetting to cap off the washing machine connector? Plumber can provide a letter but his expertise is fixing pipes, not detective work. The 'who else could have done it' argument doesnt really work since after the tenant left, both you and the agent still have the keys.
their washing machine connector was dripping water by the time they found out the source.
I imagine that should be most likely what happened.
I am just saying what you have is basically 2 stat decs (you and owner), photos of flooding and plumber's report. These can show that the flood exists, but about who has done it, I'd say you need more than that.
Good luck tho.
I don’t have their keys. I am just a poor neighbour….
@Tree0508: sorry was saying owner and agent have the keys. I hope that you succeed at small claims tho.
@ripesashimi: CCTV can prove that and the tenant lease actually ended after the water leak..the apartment was vacant since they moved their washing machine a few days before it leaked into my apartment .
the tenant next door forgot to cap off the washing machine connector when moving out, which has resulted in flooding into my bedroom carpet.
How did the water come through? the walls? if so, sounds like you have a bigger problem with the building.
John Kimble is correct. The laws around this will vary from state to state. They will be similar. I would expect the owner of the other apartment to pay. Find out who they are and send a letter demanding payment warning that further costs will apply if not paid within (I would suggest 30 days). If they don't pay gather your evidence and head for the most appropriate tribunal small claims court in your state. In most states a solicitor won't be needed for small claims. In relatively small claims like this using a solicitor might be too expensive. The court or tribunal you apply to, should have publications guiding you on the process.
As how you go about it varies from state to state you may get better advice if we know what state you come from. Hopefully from someone who has shared your experience.
Thank you for your reply. I am from VIC. Now that the committee chairperson said to me I am unlikely to win atVCAT because I did not call the plumber in the middle of night and I contributed to the damage at such….!!!
By-laws aren't actually laws, they are guidelines for your strata, the actual law trumps any bylaws you may have
As far as who is responsible, for you it would be the owner of that unit, you would sue the owner, then that owner would sue their tenant.
I am the owner.
I should really have a content insurance.
You are a property owner and don't have home and contents insurance. What?
have received a carpet repair bill of $1000 above.
How'd the water come into your apartment, through the front door? if it was not through the front door and it was through the walls, the building has MUCH bigger issues than a $1000 carpet repair bill. The guy who did this is in for a treat if he has to pay for the building to be repaired. Water damage is no joke.
With apartments, body Corp has home insurance for the whole building. While I don’t have much valuables hence I did not think of getting a content insurance. I think the water was leaking into the gap of drain pipe hence the draining system underneath the flood is dripping water.
While I don’t have much valuables
Add up the cost of your bed, fridge, TV, furniture, couch, game consoles, computers. You'll quickly see that to replace all of this would cost quite a lot of money.
In QLD:
I had a leak in my apartment. Caused by a faulty hot water unit. The water from my apartment leaked into the neighbour's ceiling and damaged some things. Building insurance replaced the damaged infrastructure (Cupboards, ceiling, floorboards), however the items she had on the bench that got wet were covered by her contents insurance. Likewise, building insurance did not cover my hot water unit.Is it fair?
Not really, but that's the point of insurance. Sometimes damage occurs and although not caused by you, that doesn't mean you're not responsible for fixing it.Good luck :)
For those saying Small Claims.
Who is the responsible party? The owner of the adjacent unit? Or the tenant (now gone)?
Even though it’s self managed, there will be a strata insurance policy for the building.
Any owner can lodge a claim directly. Just find out what company the policy is with and submit a claim. There is cover for instances like this.
I’ve claimed successfully in the past when the unit upstairs water tank caused a massive flood.They said carpet is not included in the building insurance
Get a lawyer….