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My bad. The taps in the bathroom were not siliconed correctly. Lot below copped water that impacted their plaster and tiles. When owner contacts me, he says, ” it started 4 years ago”. Current bill to fix $1290. Not a massive amount. But my question is: How long should it be before an owner reports a problem with a leak from upstairs. Can’t help but think if dude below reported in first couple of months, it may have been rectified for a few hundred dollars.
Is there an onus to report immediately a leak from above lot is noticed?
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I would think the delay in reporting this has undoubtedly contributed to the extent of the damage and, as such, the resident below should share some of the cost.
But by how much and how you determine this is a whole other question. In an ideal world, you might say to your neighbours that you split the bill 50-50, and they can claim their half from their home and contents insurers.
And maybe you can claim against the plumber or builder who did the shoddy work. Whatever, the outcome, try to keep the communications amicable and productive. Sitting down over a coffee might be a first step.
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There’s not an easy answer to that question, I don’t know where the onus lies as water leaks in apartments in my limited experience are notoriously hard to diagnose.
I had a leak from the apartment above that was coming down behind my plaster into my living room and bedroom for five years straight. It would soak the carpets along the skirting boards and I needed to wet vac up the water a couple of times each day as it would soak through and leave a damp and musty odour. Black mould grew in the shower as a result too. It would only happen in winter months and would happen every day, the water being completely clean and clear (so unlikely to be from the roof guttering).
The trouble was that it took five years to diagnose the problem. Each year I would report it to the OC and they would try and diagnose but their investigations were only ever on the surface, drilling holes in the plaster and investigating if my apartment was the cause. They were looking in the wrong place (I kept telling them that too). Hindering things unfortunately, the owners and tenants in the apartment above were not forthcoming with access or cooperation in any way over the years. When the OC finally acted with force and got their maintenance crew in, they got forced access to the apartment above and found their shower wall buckling out with a lake of water trapped behind, the plumbers were amazed with that they saw. Their shower connections were simply not sealed properly. So the OC maintenance crew stepped in and repaired it themselves as an urgent work order, billing the owner for their costs (the owner was in London at that time).
We could now safely replace carpets and tiles knowing the problem was solved. Our home would be ours once more. Damage bill for us – recarpeting our apartment as the carpet and underlay were rotten and replacing the plaster and wall tiles in the bathroom to get rid of the black mould. We asked for zero – basically because we treated it as a minor renovation and improvement, and also we were sick of jumping through hoops and fighting a neighbour who was just plain nasty about it.
In your case though, you might have more luck with your neighbour in finding a good middle ground by having a chat. At least they live in your building which helps!
The seminar here talks about just this topic https://www.lookupstrata.com.au/strata-webinars/
It addresses claims on contents insurance, via the liability aspect, by the person who failed to report a problem or impeded investigation and thereby made things worse.