Flooding from APT upstairs

Woke up this morning to water dripping through the ceiling.

Got on the builder and management company.

A plimber came out and had a look in mine nothing to see.

Got into one place above me nothing there.

Looks like the real problem is next door, no one home no contact.

Came home after work to a much worse torent of water.

Sounded like shower in place up stairs no answers.

Tried several times again no answer.

Shoved a note under the door siwth my number and address again no reply.

WTF can I do, Can this place be accessed to determine the problem as it is effecting another property.

Constant flow of water and 10 minute empty schedule and the noise is doing my nut.

What is the situation here?

Hi Frank,

That seems fairly negligent on the managing agent... they should have advised you that in the case of an emergency access can be granted, this would be deemed an emergency as it was causing significant damage to your unit and by the sounds of it further increased the damage as it has been going on for sometime now....

I would get into the apartment ASAP (if your agent has after hours support I would say to get them to arrange a plumber and locksmith in order to gain access and then change the locks)

The further this goes on the more likely there will be more damage caused!

They, in the morning call the agents and advise them of the damage caused to your apartment, state they were negligent by not fully advising you, process your claim through the block insurance and seek to recover the excess via the agent!

Ultimately if its not sorted soon, the number of apartments affected will rise, in turn affecting the claims history and the premium paid for the insurance... all these things add up!

Thanks for the response.

managed to get contact with guy upstairs.

His shower and toilet are blocked which worries me to what sort of water is dripping on my kitchen.

he left a key with me for tomorrow.

I went and baught some waste pipe a flexible joint cut up a 2 liter milk bottle to act as a funnel and screwed it to the ceiling.

Agent outside hours response was not much we can do go and knock the nighbours door. I think a case of if you don't know rights you don't have any.

I am happy for now that the problem is contained.

I will get on to the agent and the plumber first thing.

Again I think my ignorance as to what to do or who to ring was annoying me most.

Digital camera Frank .... take photos as proof of flooding (but not of upstairs apt as you don't have permission ... privacy and all that) ... keep receipts etc. and write down when you noticed it, what you did, response etc.

Cheers Paddy.

Photos taken mails detailing all that happened and when sent saved.

Gonna put this down to steep learning curve.

kitchen will be getting a good going over with detol as soon as i get time mind.

Frank said:

Cheers Paddy.

Photos taken mails detailing all that happened and when sent saved.

Gonna put this down to steep learning curve.

kitchen will be getting a good going over with detol as soon as i get time mind.

Click to expand...

Check under your kitchen units Frank .... it you have to ... take off the kicker board (usually just clipped on) .... if you have water lodged there it could end up warping/rotting your kicker board etc.

If the floor was tiled to the wall prior to the units being fitted it should be an easy job to sort.

same thing happened to me....neighbour upstairs was away, so ended up getting managing agent out on saturday night with 8 members of the fire brigade who broke down door.

Water stains are a nightmare to get fixed. even after several paint layers it keeps coming through. Best to let the house dry out, and I wouldn't rule out claiming on your insurance.

Just to let everyone know.

Plumber came around the problem was a mix of a blocked drain which seemed to be causing problems, the bath upstairs was not sealed to the tiles properly either. Plumber probably low on silicon.

Plumber got upstairs sorted once we had found it.

Leak stopped and dried out for a week.

Plasterer came on Thursday and fixed up the holes I poopped back in the downlighter last night.

Needs a lick of paint but other than the initial annoyance the repairs seem to have gone quick enough. Just over a week from initial problem to holes filled.

I am going to leave the plaster to dry for a while and chase the management co. to sort out a painter.

As much as watching the rain in my kitchen freaked me out, since then has been a relatively ok experience.

Plumber was sound and plasterer just got on and got it done.

just the hassle of arranging to meet people.