Who is responsible for damages when upstair tenant flooded my ceiling?

Question

I own a condo and I do not have home insurance. The condo owner from upstair had a leak. During the leak, the home owner was not at home the whole day until late night in the AM. It ruined my bathroom ceiling. I called emergency repair to fix my ceiling. Who is responsible for my bill?

Answer 1

The condo owner upstairs is responsible for the damage. Whether he knew about the leak or not, the problem was in his apartment and his home insurance should pay for it.

Answer 2

The person upstairs

Answer 3

You are responsible for paying the repairman you called. You have a contract with the repairman.

The party who caused the damage is responsible for paying you for the damage to your property. That party does not have a contract with your repairman and has no direct obligation to him.

You should contact building maintenance and the upstairs tenant and explain the situation. Be calm, mature, and reasonable.

If one (or both, together) agree to pay you the amount of your repair bill, get it in writing, and make sure the check clears. Don't try to get each one to pay the full amount in an attempt to recover twice. That would be fraud.

If neither agrees to pay the repair bill or the check bounces, contact a reputable property lawyer.

I hope you took photographs of the damage prior to the repair.

Whatever you do, DON'T s***w the repairman over or breach your contract. He may hold a mechanic's lien on your property. Also, if things get hairy and everybody lawyers-up, you're going to need that repairman on your side.

Answer 4

i think its the person upstairs its not your fault..

Answer 5

The person upstairs is clearly responsible, unless they can prove that someone else caused the leak and can be made to pay instead. Refuse to pay the bill. If you do pay it, you could be forfeiting your claim against the person upstairs, depending on which state and city you live in.

Some might say that you have a "contract" with the repair person, but under these circumstances you're acting as an agent and duty for the contract will be transferred over to that person upstairs. You could be nice and pay the emergency repairer ahead of time, but there's no guarantee that you'll keep your claim in some states. Check with a lawyer.

Answer 6

The tenant upstairs is responsible - but if you have an HOA where you live, then I would talk to them about it as well.