Two years ago I had a toilet leak. I got a professional plumber to replace the wax ring. Few weeks ago I was informed that the leak was still there. I got a plumber in right away to fix it. Now there is no more leak.
I just received a letter from my downstairs neighbor to say that the leak had corroded the cover for the interior pipe(coop responsibility), which then created odor,in the bathroom walls and vanities. They claimed it attracted a lot of roaches, and they may have mold in the apartment. They want me to hire a contractor and plumber to fix everything in the bathroom.
I want to be a good neighbor. At the same time, this is a very old building. The super told me that most pipings need to be replaced. I don’t know if all of their issues were caused by my leak. I am inclined to tell them to get their own contractor to fix the problem(s) and then submit a formal letter with costs and determination of issues to me, I would then submit it to my insurance for resolution.
I don’t know if anyone has had this type of problem or has any advice on how to handle this.
Additional info - I paid for my own plumber to fix the toilet and the old plumber refunded my payment to release them from further liability. I did it because it would have taken a lot of effort to prove it was a faulty workmanship.
I think this is where you might have to ask an attorney about this issue in your town and state.
I agree with contacting an attorney. Years ago when the people above us flooded their bathroom, which then rained in our loft, we were responsible for fixing our space and our insurance responsible for paying. I don’t know if our insurance company ever tried to get reimbursed from our upstair neighbors’ insurance.
We had a flood - our homes were side by side, not top down. I was a kid. My dad was on a cruise. I was so apologetic to the neighbor, thinking of course we are gonna take care of it.
I was wrong.
That’s why they have insurance.
Your insurance doesn’t cover their property. Theirs does.
I have liability insurance which should cover anything above my deductible, but I think they need to determine what caused all of those issues and what’s my liability. They may not be related.
I think this will need to be addressed by your insurance company, their insurance company, and your coop board. It might not be easy to get these three parties to work together.
We had a family member who just had this exact issue. I handled the claim- the insurance company covered repairs in our condo but said that the condo below had to file with their insurance company. That company might seek reimbursement from our company.
Water is very hard to detect, follow and prove. Contact your insurance company. Just ask hypothetical questions. Then you can get an idea how to proceed. They would have to bring in an expert to prove it was your fault.
If it was leaking the question is how bad was it leaking? If it was fixed right away and didn’t linger there shouldn’t really be damage. If it was months till it was detected than that’s another story.
Just be the best neighbor you can be but ya have insurance for a reason.
That’s why they have insurance (well, hopefully they have insurance), they have to speak with their insurance company to start the process. Have you spoken with your insurance company? I don’t think your insurance is going to be the initial payer for fixing your neighbors’ space.
I had a tree fall in our yard and onto the neighbors. Our insurance adjuster advised us not to pay for any of their damage. Strongly recommended.
Tree damage is usually not covered by insurance.
In another home, we had trees from a vacant lot fall onto our house. Our insurance paid for the damage. Any tree that fell on our house, covered. In the yard, not covered.
In the first instance, we got a letter from their attorney that we should keep our trees trimmed. We responded that they could trim any that crossed their property line.
It sounds mean. It’s why you have insurance and why they do also.
You should definitely put your insurance company on notice now.
I just emailed my insurance.
My neighbor wants me to stop by. I am going to be sympathetic and let them know we should have the insurance companies deal with this. I am not inclined to hire anyone to fix their issues.
They even said the reason they had a lot of roaches in their apartment was due to the moisture. They said they may have mold in the bathroom.
We had something similar happen. The insurance company would only pay for removal of trees that fell on a structure (including deck, shed, and fencing) or prevented safe egress (blocked the driveway).
When my neighbors tree hit our shed, our insurance paid for the damage.
If they have, you should be checked too.
When we had our flood, the insurer brought in fans, was going to rip out the drywall and replace and done.
Fortunately, my dad had a friend who was an insurance investigator of some sort - he was like - heck no.
Years later and a judge finding the insurer guilty of bad faith, it was finally handled - with a lot more extensive work and monetary damages - that was suggested at the beginning. In fact the paid damage exceeded the policy due to the insurers bad faith.
Get a 3rd opinion or an expert to help.
Don’t let the insurance company roll you over like they tend to do.
Keep a log of what they say. Just write it down somewhere. Date. Time. Give it to your insurance company. Mold is from overtime long standing leaks, I think. Wonder if they have a slow leak in a pipe. Those are hard to detect but usually rip out the drywall where the mold is will uncover it.
Yes, step one is contacting your insurance company. Then politely refuse to meet with your neighbor, saying your insurance company advised you not to do so.
So I did go down to meet them. They are a young couple in their 30s. I told them that they should contact their insurance and we should let them work it out.
They showed me how they had a lot of bugs in their apartment. I looked around and their apartment had boxes all around like they moved in yesterday. They asked me if I had bugs. I said no. We are on the same line, if the moisture in the wall was the cause then some of those bugs would have been in my apartment too.
They showed me the bathroom vanity that was damaged by the moisture. The vanity was a 3 paneled mirror with wood veneer. It was 20 yrs old. It could have been from moisture from the shower.
They said there was a hole in the drainage pipe, which couldn’t have been caused by the wax ring.
I think they wanted to get a new bathroom out of this, but after I told them that they would need to go through their insurance first they started to have 2nd thoughts.
I don’t think this is going to just go away any time soon.
OMG. Bugs are not caused by moisture! They get attracted to food sources. This couple definitely wants to get a bath renovation out of this. And possibly they don’t have a policy to cover the insides of their unit but simply rely on the building policy. Which in my state would not cover what they want covered.
I’m not convinced that the boxes aren’t the source of bugs.
Termites, carpenter ants can be from long term moisture issues. Roaches, not as far as I know.
How long have they been in the unit? Did they have the unit inspected?
In any case, you told them to go through their insurance. I’d avoid any further contact.
Why did you release the plumber from liability?