I own the ground floor flat in a converted Victorian which has one flat above mine. Over the last 10 years, the living room ceiling in my flat has had leaks on and off from upstairs flat. They get fixed but come back like 2-3x per year. I think the underlying problem has not been properly solved. The ceiling in my flat now looks like its buckling. My tenants want to move out because they think it’s dangerous. This is all after I spent the last year doing a big expensive refurb in my flat.
I really think the landlord upstairs needs to open up the floor and see what the damage is to structural beams and any continuing sources of leaks. I know he doesn’t want to spend much but this is a risk to me as well. From a legal perspective, what can I do in this situation? From an engineering perspective, could I open up a hole in my ceiling to investigate? I am happy to cover/share costs.
Would your building insurance cover these types of situations? We had a similar situation (in a block of flats) and the insurance company were involved to sort it out.
Beware insurance companies. You’ll chase your tail for months
Key issue will be to get a building surveyor involved first. Had a leak this year on a property that was covered by a NHBC guarantee. Took months for NHBC to get round to deciding what to do, but they sent out a surveyor plus a rep from the builder. They did the survey and concluded that the cost was less than the excess. Got an extensive survey out of it though.
Since I also had buildings insurance as a backup to the NHBC, I contact my insurers with the schedule of works from the NHBC. And guess what? Some of the items in the survey were not covered by my policy so fell under the second policy’s excess. So 2 insurance policies and no cover.
T has been very patient and am now searching for a local to rectify the issue.
Would suggest that you come to an agreement with the other LL about a survey. Then you can approach whichever insurance company might be liable as you ought to be able to recover the survey cost too. At least you’ll be closer to understanding what to do next.
Who owns the freehold of your building. Is it SOF with a company shared with the above LL? Check your lease. If the owner LL upstairs does not play ball go legal.
Does your lease say how repairs and maintenance costs are shared? Or what each party is responsible for? Each lease will differ in how repair costs are approached, so even if you sought legal advice, the lease document is the first thing they will ask you for.