James_SE22
22-12-2010, 17:51 PM
Good evening.
I am hoping someone can advise me on my situation.
In essence:
Last Thursday morning I was woken by my upstairs neighbours who informed me that there was a leak from their property into mine.
We are both homeowners.
The leak in question was from their bathroom (and an improperly insulated bath surround) and occurred whilst a member of their family was using the shower with water dripping behind the bath through the water proof sealant.
The water seeped through my ceiling and drenched the bed in my spare room upon which my laptop computer had been left overnight.
They entered my property, stripped the bed, tipped it on its side and then said Oh well and went back upstairs.
Aside from a hole in the ceiling in the room, drenched furniture and damage to the hallway ceiling which is still wet, my laptop was damaged.
It was fairly new and would cost some £850 to replace.
Our entire ceiling in two areas would need to be re-plasterboarded and the electrics rewired.
Because they are the freeholders (we live in a 2 flat Victorian terrace conversion and are leaseholders), we can only put in a claim on the buildings' insurance with their agreement as the policy is in their name (as the freeholder).
Neither we nor they have current valid contents insurance.
What are my options here?
They have more or less indicated via email, whilst accepting responsibility for the water leak (my neighbour states she will put in a proper shower tray next year) that she is not liable for any damage to our property from their actions and we should just simply absorb the loss and "get over it".
Aside from the emotional context of this, is her assertion correct
i.e. that it is our responsibility to indemnify ourselves against any loss resulting from their negligent behaviour?
Incidentally, this is not the first time this situation has occurred with this neighbour.
Almost the exact same circumstances happened 10 years ago which had the same outcome. At the time I had no option but to claim against my contents insurance, and, as she had no cover, had to both pay the excess and an increased premium the following year.
As she doesn't have contents insurance, is my only option to take her to a small claims court to recover the cost of the damaged computer and the damage to the flat?
I deplore her, frankly, unbelievably casual attitude towards damaging my property.
If I crashed into her car, and she saw me do it, and I accepted responsibility for the accident, and had no insurance, and nor did she, SHE would take legal action against me, and rightly so, for damage to her property, if I refused to repair her vehicle.
Any advice on how best to proceed here would be greatly appreciated.
I am hoping someone can advise me on my situation.
In essence:
Last Thursday morning I was woken by my upstairs neighbours who informed me that there was a leak from their property into mine.
We are both homeowners.
The leak in question was from their bathroom (and an improperly insulated bath surround) and occurred whilst a member of their family was using the shower with water dripping behind the bath through the water proof sealant.
The water seeped through my ceiling and drenched the bed in my spare room upon which my laptop computer had been left overnight.
They entered my property, stripped the bed, tipped it on its side and then said Oh well and went back upstairs.
Aside from a hole in the ceiling in the room, drenched furniture and damage to the hallway ceiling which is still wet, my laptop was damaged.
It was fairly new and would cost some £850 to replace.
Our entire ceiling in two areas would need to be re-plasterboarded and the electrics rewired.
Because they are the freeholders (we live in a 2 flat Victorian terrace conversion and are leaseholders), we can only put in a claim on the buildings' insurance with their agreement as the policy is in their name (as the freeholder).
Neither we nor they have current valid contents insurance.
What are my options here?
They have more or less indicated via email, whilst accepting responsibility for the water leak (my neighbour states she will put in a proper shower tray next year) that she is not liable for any damage to our property from their actions and we should just simply absorb the loss and "get over it".
Aside from the emotional context of this, is her assertion correct
i.e. that it is our responsibility to indemnify ourselves against any loss resulting from their negligent behaviour?
Incidentally, this is not the first time this situation has occurred with this neighbour.
Almost the exact same circumstances happened 10 years ago which had the same outcome. At the time I had no option but to claim against my contents insurance, and, as she had no cover, had to both pay the excess and an increased premium the following year.
As she doesn't have contents insurance, is my only option to take her to a small claims court to recover the cost of the damaged computer and the damage to the flat?
I deplore her, frankly, unbelievably casual attitude towards damaging my property.
If I crashed into her car, and she saw me do it, and I accepted responsibility for the accident, and had no insurance, and nor did she, SHE would take legal action against me, and rightly so, for damage to her property, if I refused to repair her vehicle.
Any advice on how best to proceed here would be greatly appreciated.