Tweet
Neighbour's continuing damage to my home
Hi,
I own a flat (mortgaged) in Scotland. My upstairs neighbour also owns his flat.
I bought this place in 2006. It is over 100 years old and I fell in love with it when I first saw it.
My bathroom has been flooded multiple times over the years, caused by water running down the ceiling/walls from the flat upstairs (at first it was because he'd not applied proper sealant to his bath). Then there's been issues with burst pipes, etc.
This man intimidates me as he threatened my father with violence a few years ago when my dad approached him to ask him to sort out some other damage that had not been fixed, so I am always scared to approach him, although I have done so. His manner is rather brusk and he tends to talk over what you say in rambling tones with a few jokes thrown in - full of bs in other words. The very first time that he flooded my bathroom he got an acquaintance to come over and put new wallpaper up (not brand new, it was some leftover from before) but it was a shoddy job and the wallpaper was soon peeling off. One night when he had a noisy party I was so annoyed (lack of sleep) that I put a letter through his door complaining and also said I wanted his insurance details so I could claim for the damage to my bathroom - he ripped the letter up and stuck it through my letterbox. There's a few water marks on my ceiling where it's been damaged and a large spot with what looks like a puckered centre where it has come away a bit. My bathroom looks horrible, it depresses me and I'm embarrassed to have friends over.
I wonder now if the person who owned the flat before me had similar problems with damage from above. The bathroom had apparently been recently done up...
I have never done anything about the water damage in my bathroom. I am scared to get it done up myself in case it happens again. Also, I don't see why I should have to pay out to get something fixed that was caused by my neighbour's negligence. Can I still get my insurance to get my neighbour to pay up to get it fixed even though it happened years ago?
I really want to move, I'm sick of this always happening. But all the damage will have to be fixed before I put a plan into place to sell up.
Last time my bathroom had a leak was November. When I spoke to my neighbour he said he didn't think it was coming from him, that it must be coming from the roof but he'd pay for the damage. I didn't do anything as I wasn't sure what to do. When I spoke to my insurer's legal dept I was told that as he owns his property also there's nothing that can be done by the council unless it is an environmental health risk.
Then, last Saturday morning I got up to discover a puddle of water on my kitchen floor. There was water leaking from the light. My neighbour was out but when he returned I went up and spoke to him. Apparently he'd removed his broken washing machine and didn't realise that there would still be water lying in the pipe. And it had went everywhere. This had happened a few days before. He has stone tiles in his kitchen and evidently the water had seeped through them (they didn't look like they were grouted properly from what I could see) and somehow gotten into my light fixture.
The water is still dripping as I type. And today I discovered some new leaks - coming from my back door frame and the door frame between my living room and the kitchen. There was a puddle of water in my livingroom where it had dripped through. I went up again and he said he'd lift the kitchen tiles next week (tomorrow?) and get in a dehumidifier. I'll be going up to see him again tomorrow.
This is really getting me down. I used to like living here. I'm going to call my insurance provider tomorrow, but I'd really appreciate some advice about what steps to take to (finally) get this rectified. I have taken some photos of the damage in case I need them.
Many thanks for any advice.
I own a flat (mortgaged) in Scotland. My upstairs neighbour also owns his flat.
I bought this place in 2006. It is over 100 years old and I fell in love with it when I first saw it.
My bathroom has been flooded multiple times over the years, caused by water running down the ceiling/walls from the flat upstairs (at first it was because he'd not applied proper sealant to his bath). Then there's been issues with burst pipes, etc.
This man intimidates me as he threatened my father with violence a few years ago when my dad approached him to ask him to sort out some other damage that had not been fixed, so I am always scared to approach him, although I have done so. His manner is rather brusk and he tends to talk over what you say in rambling tones with a few jokes thrown in - full of bs in other words. The very first time that he flooded my bathroom he got an acquaintance to come over and put new wallpaper up (not brand new, it was some leftover from before) but it was a shoddy job and the wallpaper was soon peeling off. One night when he had a noisy party I was so annoyed (lack of sleep) that I put a letter through his door complaining and also said I wanted his insurance details so I could claim for the damage to my bathroom - he ripped the letter up and stuck it through my letterbox. There's a few water marks on my ceiling where it's been damaged and a large spot with what looks like a puckered centre where it has come away a bit. My bathroom looks horrible, it depresses me and I'm embarrassed to have friends over.
I wonder now if the person who owned the flat before me had similar problems with damage from above. The bathroom had apparently been recently done up...
I have never done anything about the water damage in my bathroom. I am scared to get it done up myself in case it happens again. Also, I don't see why I should have to pay out to get something fixed that was caused by my neighbour's negligence. Can I still get my insurance to get my neighbour to pay up to get it fixed even though it happened years ago?
I really want to move, I'm sick of this always happening. But all the damage will have to be fixed before I put a plan into place to sell up.
Last time my bathroom had a leak was November. When I spoke to my neighbour he said he didn't think it was coming from him, that it must be coming from the roof but he'd pay for the damage. I didn't do anything as I wasn't sure what to do. When I spoke to my insurer's legal dept I was told that as he owns his property also there's nothing that can be done by the council unless it is an environmental health risk.
Then, last Saturday morning I got up to discover a puddle of water on my kitchen floor. There was water leaking from the light. My neighbour was out but when he returned I went up and spoke to him. Apparently he'd removed his broken washing machine and didn't realise that there would still be water lying in the pipe. And it had went everywhere. This had happened a few days before. He has stone tiles in his kitchen and evidently the water had seeped through them (they didn't look like they were grouted properly from what I could see) and somehow gotten into my light fixture.
The water is still dripping as I type. And today I discovered some new leaks - coming from my back door frame and the door frame between my living room and the kitchen. There was a puddle of water in my livingroom where it had dripped through. I went up again and he said he'd lift the kitchen tiles next week (tomorrow?) and get in a dehumidifier. I'll be going up to see him again tomorrow.
This is really getting me down. I used to like living here. I'm going to call my insurance provider tomorrow, but I'd really appreciate some advice about what steps to take to (finally) get this rectified. I have taken some photos of the damage in case I need them.
Many thanks for any advice.
)
Comment