Help -Advice on liability for damp due to burst mains water pipe in mansion block

[biglee]

I would really appreciate any advice or knowledge on the following situation.

I have recently purchased (leasehold) a lower ground flat in a mansion block in London, with a service charge etc. Whilst the builders were laying new wooden flooring they heard running water from under the concrete. We called the managing agents who sent their maintenance guys over, after some debating around whether the leak fell on my side of the front door or the communal hallway, they agreed it was their side. They then dug up the hall, realised it was the mains water pipe that had a leak, fixed the leak and concreted over it.

Am i right that they accepted liability for the leak by fixing it themselves?

We do not know how long the leak (it was a lot of water under high pressure) has been their but there is a lot of damp appearing all over my flat which has now just been renovated. The paint s peeling off, mould in all the new inbuilt storage, kitchen tiles loosening, wood floors loosening etc.

I informed the managing agent who said to get 2 quotes from damp specialists and fill out the form and send back which i am doing this week.

I assume that they will obviously cover any damp repair work which i think will be extensive.

But

- Will they cover making good after all the repair work, new wooden floors, re-decorate, kitchen if needed, built in storage etc as i have just had this all done and it will probably need to be ripped out.
- How do i go about making sure that it is covered and picking a suitable decorator/builder, getting quotes etc
- If we have to move out while the work is happening, will they cover temporary accommodation etc.

Any other advice or tips would be really helpful.

Many thanks

 

[onq]

You've just walked into a property nightmare in London which has significant legal implications for all parties and you've chosen to seek advice in a management companies and apartments forum on an Irish website. I'm not certain that this is the best course of action, but no doubt other posters here will express an opinion.

 

[zenga]

I assume that the block is insured under a block policy, if this is the case I would imagine that you can claim off the block insurance policy, you may possibly have to cover the excess and this could be quite substantial, I have known it to be as little as €500 and as much as €7500 depending on the developement and the claims history etc. First things first is to figure out if your issues are arising from the leak outside, then work from there. Keep in regular contact with the management company and put everything in e-mail / written form to ensure that both sides can keep an accurate account.