damage to my apartment from apartment above - where do I stand legally?

S

sussie

Guest
Hi there,
I'd appreciate any legal advise on the following. A water pump from the apartment above mine leaked. This didnt cause damage to the source apartment but unfortunately, my apartment below, Whilst its not a huge amount of damage needed to be de-humidified and painted, celing and walls. I think the owner of the apartment above doesnt want to put it though his insurance. He is is trying his best to get out of paying for this work. I'd like to know where I stand re getting someone in to do the paint work, the question is: am I within my rights to get someone without prior consent of the person who damaged it? and also do I legally have to produce a receipt for this work? I've a feeling he'll go to any lenghts to get out of paying, so I need to know where I stand legally.
Many thanks for any input.
 
A friend of mine had a similar problem where a shower in an appt above was leaking. From what I remember, it was the building insurance he claimed from (was part of the annual service charge) so go through the management company. His own insurance was only required for contents.
 
Thanks Tiger,
there's a big excess on the building insurance, it's far greater than the cost to restore
 
Getting someone in without prior consent would be long and arduous imho. I would try to come to some agreement with the person above. Its not clear from your post but I'm guessing you have already got the place de-humidified. Has the tenant above paid for this already ? Bear in mind that you may have needed a paint job soon anyway so I would try to compromise (again I'm assuming that its a while since you painted the place). What has the management company said about it ? Its partly their responsabilty to sort out this kinda thing.
 
even though there is a large policy excess on the buildings policy, should the management company not fix the damage anyway, from funds contributed over the years by the owners?

Is it not the same as any other policy with an excess, where the policyholder (building management company) pays the first so much of all claims?

other option is to sue, but this is very difficult. you must prove negligence and remember you ar eliving and must contine to live with chappie upstairs. it might not make for good neighbour atmosphere.
 
The apartment was in perfect condition b4 the damage. He lent me a de-humidifier, I left it on for a week, it caused cracks in other places as a result. We agreed to paint the walls and ceiling only where the water damage was but the marks came though as clear as they were before the painting. The result was they needed to be primed and painted over 3 times, its was big inconvenience. The paint work was only done where the water damage was visible, as a result is not perfect. He doesn’t want to pay for the work done. He wants an invoice. It’s my first time experiencing such things, and I'm learning a lot by it. Question is - legally do I have to consult him before I got the professionals in. I would like it to be amicable, I’m a reasonable person, but unfortunately its got a bit nasty now. The bottom line is, the apartment was perfect before now, and I don’t think I should be out of pocket to get it back to the condition it was in before hand. Thanks for all your input!
 
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