Hi,can anyone help me

[peggle]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice. I don't really know what forum to post this in.

I live in a housing association flat but the man upstairs has bought his house, well on Thursday his son was putting in a new bathroom suite and he broke the main water pipe and my house got severly flooded.

The water damaged my living room, kitchen and bathroom.

The thing is, i have been trying to get his insurance details since Friday and he just keeps fobbing me off,saying he has to look for the details or his daughter-in-law is dealing with it.

I have went to my lawyers and they have said all they can do is send him a letter requesting his details.

My house is in some state but i keep getting told from my housing association that i can't start the clean up as an assessor from his insurance company will have to come out and see the damage before i start to clean it up.

I have a de-humidifier running 24 hours a day and also my central heating is to be left on 24 hours a day aswell.

I'm just not sure what my next step should be.

Has anyone got any advice.

PLEASE

[MARTIN3030]

Welcome to the site.

Will move this thread for you to a more appropriate place.

[MARTIN3030]

I would contact an estates manager from your housing association.

The property still belongs to them so it is in their interests to get this work moving as soon as possible.

They should be more than capable of serving papers on your neigbour to force cooperation with insurance details.Keep records of anything that costs you money before this is dealt with as you should claim it back.

As landlords your housing association have a responsibility towards getting this sorted.

[tonycee]

Hi Peggle.

What have your insurers said about this?

 

Ring THESE people for advice.

 

Or fill in an online enquiry HERE

[MrShed]

If he doesnt want to go through insurance, I would say he is liable personally...?

 

I disagree with the above that it is the HA/landlords responsibility.

[peggle]

Thanks for answering so quickly.

I don't have insurance so i need to claim his.

My housing association have told me that they will carry out the bare minimum to make the house habital but for flooring and such it is down to my neighbour.

I have photographs of the damage but do you think i still need to wait until his insurance people see it or do you think i could go ahead and start the clean up process because the way it is going i will be waiting weeks for him to come across with his details and then i will have to contact them and see what happens next.

At the moment my son is staying with my mum as he has asthma and i can't let him stay here because the place is so damp.

I am really upset about this at the moment and i feel as if i'm hitting my head against a brick wall.

Nobody seems to be giving me a straight answer about anything at the moment.

[tonycee]

I get the feeling you are going to get the runaround.

Surely your Housing Association have insurance.

[MrShed]

That is somewhat irrelevant - as it is not the HA insurance they need to claim on. The liability lies with the occupant upstairs. This basically means that the cost needs to be claimed either from the occupants insurance - most likely - or directly from the occupant.

 

Personally, I would contact the occupant upstairs, and give him 72 hours to provide the insurance details. If he fails to do so, I would advise him that you will have no choice but to pursue him personally, rather than the insurers, as he has failed to provide you with insurance details.

[tonycee]

That is somewhat irrelevant

 

Quite the contrary my dear fellow.

From what i am reading, That is the only way it will get sorted within a reasonable time.

 

as it is not the HA insurance they need to claim on. The liability lies with the occupant upstairs. This basically means that the cost needs to be claimed either from the occupants insurance - most likely - or directly from the occupant.

 

Personally, I would contact the occupant upstairs, and give him 72 hours to provide the insurance details. If he fails to do so, I would advise him that you will have no choice but to pursue him personally, rather than the insurers, as he has failed to provide you with insurance details.

 

Ok. So we go your way.

I forcast 6-9 months before you get a result through the courts.

In the meantime you can expect unbelievable costs and anguish.

 

The WHOLE POINT of having insurance, is so they take on the burden for you.

 

Again, i reiterate, you must contact the HAs insurers without delay.

I will leave you to decide which way you want to play it.

Good Luck.

[MrShed]

No costs I'm afraid - however, thats not quite the point

 

I will concede the point, as you are probably right the HA insurers should pursue the other insurers for the costs - made a mistake

[tonycee]

The costs to pursue through court will be high if you include legal fees/cleaning/temporary accommodation.

 

Although recoverable, there is no guarantee of getting them back.

 

Not to mention the stress and inconvenience.

 

There is no need to concede my friend, all opinions are equal in my eyes.

 

Let me just ask this though.

If some hoodlum put a brick through your window, would you do nothing until you have got him through court, or would you let your insurers deal with it.

 

I strongly believe the HAs insurers should be involved from the start.

[MrShed]

Not disagreeing with the main point tony but I dont think the brick thing is a correct analogy. For a kick off, there is a massive difference between a criminal and civil issue. Also, there would be the issue of accepting responsibility.

 

Anyway, by the by I am not an insurance expert, and on further thinking I'm fairly sure you are right

[tonycee]

Not only is there the sorrow and discomfort of having to deal with such an unfortunate event, one also has to remember the legal implications of a tenants responsibility.

Imagine the further scenario where you eventually get the culprit to pay for the damage through court, and say, 6 months later, the HA say we are not happy with the repairs.

Who pays then ?

The tenant unfortunately.

[peggle]

Thanks for the advice, i contacted my HA and they have told me that they are billing him for the structural work being carried out due to the flood but they cannot claim for, in their words,"DECORATION".

Also he hasn't given them his insurance details either.

He should have received the letter from my lawyer by now but he still hasn't attempted to contact me.

I just don't know where to turn. I can't leave the clean up for much longer as my house absolutely stinks to high heaven now.

I actually think he may be holding off with details so i will start cleaning up and when the insurance company rep comes to view it, it won't be as bad looking.

Anyway thanks for your advice. I'll let you know how i get on with this.

[Aequitas]

I assume your lease is for less than seven years, that the damage is more than just to the decorations and that there is no obligation on you to insure the "bricks and mortar" of the flat (which would be highly unusual as well as inappropriate.).

 

The fabric of the property is the responsibility of your landlord. (See Section 11 of the Housing Act 1985 here: http://tinyurl.com/2tgor9 ) You need to remind the Housing Association of the law. The fact that damage was caused by the tenant above is immaterial. It is up to the HA whether they claim on their insurance or go after the tenant above. But they must get and sort the matter out NOW.

 

Apart from that, if you had contents insurance it woulld not cover damage to the fabric.

[Aequitas]

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