Damage to my property from leak from upstairs flat

Hi Becky,

I would suggest that the first thing that you do is consult a recent forum post about leaks from top floor flats, the link to the post is:

http://www.thelawforum.co.uk/who-liable

Secondly I need slightly more information before I can give you an accurate reply.

You said initially that you had a problem with your neighbour but then that the flat was a rented property. Could you tell me exactly what response you have had from the lettings agent or Landlord.

Secondly why did you call the council about the leak? Are they the ultimate freeholder of the property or did you call the council's housing enforcement department?

Thirdly how much will it cost to repair the damage to your property? This may be relevant as to whether it is worth pursuing your claim via a solicitor or issuing a claim yourself in the County Court via the moneyclaim online system, link below:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp

I do not quite understand the point about the Landlord not having any money. He clearly has at least one asset that you are aware of, i.e. the flat and possibly his own property as well. If the potential claim you have is actually against the Landlord (owner of the flat above) then you could apply to the court for a charging order. If you were successful the court would place a charge against the Landlord's flat or property which in reality would mean that it would make it difficult for the Landlord to sell or remortgage the property without paying off the debt owed to you.

Please let me have a bit more information and I will try to assist you further. There seem to be quite a lot of people who are having this type of problem and any help that I can give to you may also help other forum users.

Dear Gerard,

Thanks for your reply! I really appreciate it.

The private top flat of the property is currently rented through a local lettings agency.  This lettings agent do not tend to reply to my calls or my emails, but when I do speak to them, they say they need to check with the landlord.  They say they will call me back, but don't. When I contact them again, the cycle begins again.

I called the council environmental health department because the leak from the top flat was a fire hazard. The water had got into the lighting electrics of my flat on the ground floor.  They were great at acting on my behalf to make sure the leak was fixed, but say it is an insurance matter, with the landlord responsible for getting the damage to my property repaired.

Neither property is a council property.

I carried out the repairs to the lounge ceiling in 2008, when I was told that the leak had been repaired.  The lettings agency said the landlord had agreed to pay half of the cost and that I should send an involce. I did so, but have never received any acknowledgement or response -  certainly no payment. The repairs at that time cost approx. £3500 as the ceiling joists had rotted at the end in the wall plate, the whole ceiling needed plaster boarding, skimming and painting and the carpet needed replacing as it had also been water damaged.  My builder needed to jack up and support the floor joists from below and cut out the rot and replace the ends of 5 joists with new treated timber.

I had already involved a solicitor at this time, which also cost approx. £1000.

By this time, (it took well over a year to get this far, with constant leaks in that time) I just wrote the cost off because I found it all incredibly frustrating and upsetting. I had also been advised that if the landlord had no money, there was little point going to small claims. Perhaps this was bad advice. 

However, since the leak has now returned this month, I need to get the new damage repaired - hopefully much less this time.  I am also keen to pursue the original damage claim, since I feel that this work has been undermined again. I have not got a quote for any more repairs as yet.

I hope that answers your questions, and thank you once again for your help.

Becky

Hi Becky,

Thanks for providing such comprehensive information. I think from what you have said that it is pretty clear that the owner of the flat above is responsible for the damage.

Have you tried to contact the Housing Enforcement Department at your local authority, sometimes they will issue notices to property owners telling them that they must do something within a certain time frame. Generally this department of a local authority will deal with complaints from tenants in privately rented accommodation but it may be worth trying to contact them to see if they will issue the owner with a notice telling him to fix the leak immediately. You need to try to put as much pressure as possible on the Landlord. It may worth contacting the Environmental Health department again and making them aware that the leak hasn't been fixed to see whether they would be willing to do anything.

Given everything that you have said I really do think that you should try to pursue this claim via a solicitor or issue your own proceedings against the Landlord. Unfortunately I understand how quickly costs can build up if you use a solicitor which is why the moneyclaim online system would probably be ideal in this situation.

Did you get anything in writing from the agents stating that the Landlord would pay half of the cost of the repair? Have you got anything from the agents or the Landlord confirming that he was liable?

Was there any particular reason that you or your solicitor thought that the Landlord had or has no money? Generally speaking there is absolutely no point in suing someone who hasn't got any money but the Landlord has at least one asset that you are aware of, whether the property is in negative equity is another question.

It is also worth bearing in mind that if the total of your claim is over £5,000.00 it may be possible to ask the court to make the Landlord pay some of your legal costs. The general principle is that the losing party must pay the winner's costs although this is not always the case.